TV License and court summons

[UKDomains]

Hi all,

 

Just recently received a court summons from my local magistrates court for not paying TV license.

 

To rewind back to what happened:

 

Received a visit on the 26th of March by an tv license person who told me my property was unlicensed. I had changed bank accounts sometime in January/February and I think this DD must have been forgotten.

 

This person filled in the form, cautioned me that whatever I say could be held against me, assured me this was just a formality and nothing would probably come of it, asked me to sign so that he had proof he had been there, and then we setup a new license with new DD details from my new bank, and off he went.

 

Summons now received saying:

 

Offences: Between 26/02/2013 and 27/03/2013 used a colour television receiver without a license.

(Date probably wrong as new license setup on the 26th of March?)

 

Now ok, yes I was wrong, should have ensured all DD's were up-to-date, but to be honest, with a 5 month old baby in the house, fulltime job and little sleep, this one was a very low priority on my list of things to do.

 

Court date: 4th July.

I plan to plead guilty by post, and in the section where I give details will basically tell them of bank changes, slipped my mind due to newborn baby, etc etc.

 

Bottom of the court summons page it says:

 

Costs: If you are convicted, an application will be made for costs of not less than £60.00 yet at the back of the stack of papers there is a photocopy slip stapled on stating if found guilty the minimum costs will be £90 and not £60 as printed on the summons page.

 

Does anyone have any idea of what will happen, how much I'll be forced to pay, etc. I've never had something like this before and need some advice.

[renegadeimp]

The amount of the fine will depend on the circumstances surrounding the non payment of the licence. The fine can go up to £1000 but it is very rare for that amount to be handed down, and is only used for those that the court think deliberately dont pay.

 

If i were in your shoes, i would go in person and speak to the court face to face, so they can see i am being honest and upfront.

[havinastella]

Another reason to NEVER sign ANYTHING at the door of your home.

 

If you had told them to bugger off, they could have done absolutely NOTHING.

[postggj]

The average fine is £175 with £50 costs which go to victim support

 

if there is a next time, slam the door on these wanabe cops

 

your only fault was in conversing with them

[UKDomains]

I suppose it might help my case that a new license was setup the exact same day by the person, and no payments have been missed since then?

 

In the paperwork it states if found guilty I need to have a payment method with me on the day to make payment. I could argue that I do not have the available amount and ask for a repayment schedule? Or how does it work in these cases at magistrates courts?

[UKDomains]

The average fine is £175 with £50 costs which go to victim support

 

if there is a next time, slam the door on these wanabe cops

 

your only fault was in conversing with them

 

I hear ya!

[UKDomains]

I'm just updating this thread as well:

 

I unfortunately could not attend court that day due to work commitments. So I plead guilty through the post and begged the court's mercy on the fine of not having a TV license for 1 month.

 

Received the following:

 

£100 fine

£90 court costs

£20 victim surcharge

 

Spoke to court and am paying £70/month over 3 months.

 

TVL ba$tards

[renegadeimp]

Let this be a lesson. Never open the door to the commission based tv licence muppets.

[porkyp1g]

The op needed a license though right, at some point he would need to deal with tvl, why would he ignore them?

[tvlb1]

That sounds like a pretty standard penalty to me. They've assumed a relevant weekly income of £200 and given you a fine at the bottom of Band A, no doubt reflecting your early guilty plea. Whenever they impose a fine they have to impose the victim surcharge, which is the greater of either £20 or 10% of the fine value. I was recently in court when someone got a similar penalty for being unlicensed for one week. Makes me think prosecutions are seen as a bit of a cash cow for Capita TVL.

 

I'm just updating this thread as well:

 

I unfortunately could not attend court that day due to work commitments. So I plead guilty through the post and begged the court's mercy on the fine of not having a TV license for 1 month.

 

Received the following:

 

£100 fine

£90 court costs

£20 victim surcharge

 

Spoke to court and am paying £70/month over 3 months.

 

TVL ba$tards

[renegadeimp]

The entire tv licence is a con and is used to garner cash for no reason. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why BBC cannot have adverts on its programming. The fact that a BUSINESS has a law that forces people to buy a licence, even if they do not watch any of the BBC's content is absurd.

[UKDomains]

The op needed a license though right, at some point he would need to deal with tvl, why would he ignore them?

 

It's funny how you are always on the side of TVL in every single post you make.

 

I changed bank accounts, I got a letter from TVL saying they did not receive the direct debit, and the next day I had TVL banging on my door. so yeah, I would have probably have updated my bank details that day/next day to pay for the license.

 

I still think the TVL is a $cam, disproportionate fines are issued and the public is being $cammed/cash cowed.

[porkyp1g]

I'm just saying the advice to ignore people from tvl is poor advice and would have probably made your penalty worse id assume, considering you actually need a license. I am surprised that they penalised you so harshly for a simple mistake. Why don't you try appealing it?

[snowy101]

It's funny how you are always on the side of TVL in every single post you make.

 

Think about it, it will become very clear.

 

There is no room for error or mistakes when dealing with Capita/TVL/BBC , the collecting of the TVL is out sourced & money / revenue is all they care about. You have learned a lesson, never speak, sign or communicate with them in any way. The law states you need a licence to watch live feeds, if one is required then it should be purchased, don` do business at the door. You always have a choice, stop watching live feeds. The way people now watch TV is changing & i always suggest stopping the licence, stop watching live feeds, everything is available on catch up. Ultimately , we will come to a crossroads with the way the BBC is funded. More & more people are questioning the BBC tax , i would make them a voluntary subscription channel , like Sky. Those that want to pay for their output can fund it. The BBC are trying to bolt the licence tax on to the internet, they are trying to get a private members bill through the house of lords, that will mean a traffic warden type, in a yellow jacket can see your property is unlicensed & issue you with a fine [ again, notice, they will have no proof you need one]. As it stands, i & others are not prepared to fund a private company [ yes they are one] who harbour & cover for, sex predators, finance fat cats, waste millions every year on such schemes as their IT systems, fiddle phone in quizzes, the list goes on . If they were not funded by the TVL, they would have gone bust years ago.