Reply to: Why pay the license tax...

[Mailman]

You Sir, are talking out of your arse, again/still.

Jealousy is such an ugly look for you Churchill

My error...what I was referring to was the law being changed specifically because of pay tv and the possibility of losing "revenue" because of it!

Mailman

[Dundeegeorge]

But that's what antipodeans do, isn't it?

You Sir, are talking out of your arse, again/still.

And talking about rectal communication, where's chicken?

[Churchill]

The law has already been changed so that even if you dont have a TV but you access BBC online that you have to pay the tv licence. This was forced upon the Government because of Sky and the number of people who were saying they dont watch the Beeb anymore!

Mailman

You Sir, are talking out of your arse, again/still.

[Mailman]

The BBC is trying to get the law changed so that you have to get a TV Licence for PCs internet connections. Hence why the BBC pushes it's Internet TV.

The law has already been changed so that even if you dont have a TV but you access BBC online that you have to pay the tv licence. This was forced upon the Government because of Sky and the number of people who were saying they dont watch the Beeb anymore!

Mailman

[PerlOfWisdom]

I was almost tricked by these b******s. The day after I moved into a rented house, the TV license man came calling. I said I had only moved in the previous day so he said I could fill in a direct debit form there and then.

He came in and started asking the details, then he started reading me my rights (you don not have to say anything, but etc ...). He asked to see my TV, so I showed him one that had been left in the attic and which had no ariel. He asked to see all the channels which were all blank and I showed him a pong game which was plugged it to the TV.

He ripped up the form and f****d off.

[Lucifer Box]

I was still notionally asleep when you posted that...

About five years ago I got a string of stroppy letters from TV licensing telling me I was in serious trouble for watching TV without having a TV license. As my TV license was safely filed underneath a small ornament on top of the TV I just chucked them in the bin thinking nothing of it but secretly hoping they would come knocking on the door so I could show them the license and send them away with a flea in their ear.

Anyways, some months passed and then I got a really stroppy letter telling me that unless I got a TV license within 7 days they would be taking me to court. At this point I phoned them up and asked what the hell was going on as I have my TV license right here in my hand. The gimp on the other end of the phone asks me to hold on while he checks "the records". When he comes back he says, "oh, we got a letter from a Mrs Smith about six months ago asking us to transfer the TV license registered at your address to her address, so we did."

I was speechless. I told him I had no idea who this Mrs Smith was and even less idea that this sort of thing was even possible. He agreed that this transfer had been carried out without my knowledge and he would arrange for the missing license period to be reinstated. He also told me "this sort of thing happens all the time."

Sounds to me like TV licensing is crying out for an EDS systems solution.

[expat]

One was also required to have a separate radio licence for the wireless in one's horseless carriage...

Bugger.

EXpat has already done that one...

I figgered I'd get in first with that since most people who remember it are pretty slow these days....

[Clog II The Avenger]

BBC and the TV-SS

TV SS

<<Even worse in some places. In France at one time you needed a separate licence for a VCR. And there is support in part of the French government for a licence for a PC (whether or not you actually make use of it for audio-visual applications).>>

The BBC is trying to get the law changed so that you have to get a TV Licence for PCs internet connections. Hence why the BBC pushes it's Internet TV.

Also I was talking to my neighbor last night and she said that after a knock on the door she was pushed inside her house by two TV inspectors who wanted to search her house. However, she showed them her license. The apologized as there had been a mistake on the database.

I found an interesting site, basically they do not have a right of entry, and your are not legally obliged to inform them or even communicate with them.

[expat]

Had an interesting discussion with some here a few months back about this. Apparantly until a few years ago Belgium used to have something similar which meant you had to pay the tax (sorry, license fee) even if all you had was a radio in your car...hmm, maybe I should edit that in case GB gets a few new ideas...

Indeed, when there was a radio licence in the UK, you did need a separate one for your car radio. Don't think many people got one though.

Even worse in some places. In France at one time you needed a separate licence for a VCR. And there is support in part of the French government for a licence for a PC (whether or not you actually make use of it for audio-visual applications).

[VectraMan]

I would totally support a blood sport of civil servant & politician hunting. The more blood the better.

I agree, but we should only start on the civil servants and politicians when we've run out of recruitment agents.

[DodgyAgent]

I would totally support a blood sport of civil servant & politician hunting. The more blood the better.

Good answer Xog, you neatly sidestepped the pothole. Ever thought of playing rugby?

[xoggoth]

I would totally support a blood sport of civil servant & politician hunting. The more blood the better.

[DodgyAgent]

I hate the bloody state. They need killing to the last man and to have their intestines boiled in nitric acid and injected into their eyeballs. They are scum.

Which is as good a reason as any to oppose the ban on foxhunting

[xoggoth]

As it happens I am really pissed off by the TV licence thing. Just moved onto a flat I've rented during week and got letter from licencing authorities.

I don't mind a polite reminder about penalities for using a TV without a licence, but the letter they send is rude and threatening. Unless we hear from you by xxxx it will be reported to etc. If you say you never watch their frigging crap TV and haven't got one, that isn't good enough, they will send the boys round to check.

I ignored their crap. I am still waiting for the 4am knock. I will probably end up in Guantanamo Bay

I hate the bloody state. They need killing to the last man and to have their intestines boiled in nitric acid and injected into their eyeballs. They are scum.

[Joe Black]

Britain did, in the past; from 1922 until 1971. During that time it was called a "Radio Licence", in accordance with British English usage.

Had an interesting discussion with some here a few months back about this. Apparantly until a few years ago Belgium used to have something similar which meant you had to pay the tax (sorry, license fee) even if all you had was a radio in your car...hmm, maybe I should edit that in case GB gets a few new ideas...