Monday, November 16, 2009

Confused about tv licensing!?

I decided to television ban in my house 3 years ago, as i'm a student (tv is too much of a distraction) and my daughter was getting far too addicted. Have kept the tv - as we have a movie night every saturday. I informed TV licensing about this and have had no probs until now. Received a letter saying that i may be prosecuted if i dont pay for a license, so called them up and now scared!! What im frightened about is firstly there is an aerial in the house, its not connected to the TV but there is indeed an aerial. Also whilst checking every thing out it mentions that there must be no images however vauge on the TV, ive just checked it out, and there is indeed a blurry fuzzy picture of terestrial channels!!! Im now terrified of some person banging on my door wanting to come in, its my home, i dont like unexpected guests, my firends dont even come in unexpectedly!

Confused about tv licensing!?
It's a interesting story .I had nerer heard


A hammer to be needed





























No hammering on me
Reply:Tv license is a total con anyway !!!!!!!!!!!!
Reply:TV Licensing themselves state that you need a TV licence to watch or record television programmes as they are being broadcast. You don't do that so you don't need a licence.





They used to claim that you need a licence if you merely have the ability to receive television signals, but they no longer say that.





They will harass you. They are infamous for that. So, you need to serve them with a notice (i.e. a letter) telling them that their common-law right to access your property is withdrawn. I suggest that you send it by recorded delivery. I also suggest that you tell them in that notice that you do not watch or record television programmes as they are broadcast and that you do not want them to harass you with visits or demands.





Having received that notice, they can then only approach your property with a warrant, which they cannot get without clear evidence to suggest that you are lying.





In any event, despite their strongly-worded claims, they in fact have no right of entry into your property unless you allow them or unless they have a warrant, they have no official investigatory powers, and they cannot press for prosecution without evidence. Harassment is their means of obtaining any such evidence.
Reply:Assume you are in the UK - Looks like you do not need one according to TV licencing site, but you must put it in writting


and enforcement officer may come to check.





"You need to notify us in writing that this is the case and one of our Enforcement Officers may need to visit you to confirm that you do not need a licence.





Please write to us including your name, address and the reason you believe that you don't need a licence at:





TV Licensing


Bristol


BS98 1TL


"





http://tvlicensing.metafaq.com/templates...
Reply:that's a tricky one, you have a tv that can receive pictures and you have an aerial so you could put them together and watch tv.


Best get rid of one of them !! Either that or buy a license.
Reply:To the best of my knowledge you must have a licence, in the U.K, if you have equipment that is capable of receiving and demodulating a television signal. Many years ago people tried to get round this by recording the TV programs on a video recorder and playing them back later. This also proved against the law as the VCR has an RF unit which can receive and demodulate the TV signal. Sorry, I think you are going to have to pay.
Reply:It happend to me i had my tv in the cornner, they treid it thay said it was able to receve, i got a fine, Hope that helps
Reply:Remove the TV from the property





It's good to hear of a parent that reads and plays with their child, rather than plonking them in front of the telly
Reply:you need a TV license if you have a TV that can receive pictures,even if you only watch DVDs on it,it is still capable of receiving.I'd buy a license or get rid of your TV if I was you.
Reply:TV licensing are heavy handed in their policing. They use blunt descriptions to frighten people into paying.





My wife moved out of her house prior to selling up and cancelled the license. The house had repeated thretening letters, even though TV licensing knew what was going on.





You need a TV license if you watch broadcast TV through an aerial, satellite dish or cable, or films taped off the TV. You do not need one to watch legal pre-recorded tapes and DVDs.





The problem is that it's difficult to prove that if you have a TV hooked up to a DVD player you are only using it to watch pre-recorded DVDs. Detuning your TV is technically enough to render it incapable under the law, but inspectors will not take no for an answer easily. Do you live in your own property? Can you cut the aerial cable in a way that is obvious.





The heavy handed methods of TV licensing agents may be difficult to stand up to. We certainly felt intimidated by the letters sent to a house we don't even live in!
Reply:You need a licence to use.


You own a TV. You can receive programmes. But you choose not to use. That is confusing for them.


Get rid of the TV. Problem solved.
Reply:When I was in halls of residence we needed a TV Licence if we had TV's in our individual rooms. However, we were told that we didn't need one if there wasn't an aerial attached and we only watched videos and dvds on it.
Reply:Technically you only need to have equipment "capable of receiving a TV signal" to require a license. So if your TV has a tuner in it you do technically require a license, even if you never watch TV, you have no way to prove this. If you are worried, you can get rid of the TV and get a PC monitor to use for watching DVDs, as then there is no way you could watch TV and you would be exempt from the license.


They regularly send those threatening letters to every address on their books without a license, hoping to scare non-payers into paying, but if you just phone them and tell them you have no TV, they will most likely not contact you again.
Reply:I have a property in which there is no TV set. Have replied to reminders telling licensing people this, but they still continue to send me demands every month. Actually they send me two, as they are also using a very similar address, which does not exist.


I refuse to incur the expense of postage or a telephone call every month to tell them that I still don't have a set. Currently, I'm ignoring them. It's been going on for years. They did call once, but I wasn't home, and of course, there was no signal.


Another property I own was empty for a while, we got a license refund when my Father died. Reminders started a month later. House was empty for about two years, and then daughter moved in, and bought a licence. Reminders still continue to come 8 years on.


Am just waiting to see what will happen in both cases.


Reminders are worded in an extremely threatening way. Can imagine an elderly person would buy a license, even if no TV, just to get the authorities off their backs. Meanwhile, I continue to feel harassed, and postage and printing costs must mount up for the licensing authorities.
Reply:TV licence inspectors do NOT have the rite to enter your home UNLESS you invite them in, or they are accompanied by a Police Officer with a warrant.


The TV licence is for owning a TV or any other electrical equipment that is capable of receiving a broadcasted signal. Whether you have a watchable picture or not, you have to have a licence if your equipment is capable of receiving and displaying broadcasted images.
Reply:All the previous posters are wrong. The TV licencing website clearly states:


__________________________________





You do not require to purchase a TV licence if you use your TV solely for:





Watching pre-recorded video (however, if you watch video recorded from a TV by someone else you may need a licence)





Computer gaming or as a computer monitor


Monitoring a closed circuit TV or CCTV network





If the TV used for the above purposes is ever used to watch a TV programme or if there is another TV in the household on which you watch programmes or with which you record them, then you will need a licence.


__________________________________





If you do not watch or record TV broadcasts then you do not need a licence, regardless of whether the TV is capable of receiving them. The best thing to do is to detune all of the channels (i.e. set them all to the minimum in the frequency range) and don't plug it in to the aerial.





Send a letter recorded post to the TV licence people saying that you have a television which is only used for watching non-recorded films on DVD and/or videos. They will say that an inspector will call, but none will. If they do call then you don't have to let them in, but if you have nothing to hide then just show them the TV and let them be on their way.





12 months later you'll get another letter from them saying you need to buy a licence or pay a fine, and you have to repeat the whole process!





TV licencing is the only time where you are assumed guilty until proven innocent. I have no TV and they just can't figure it out! They assume I must be telling lies and keep saying inspectors will call, but in 6 years I have never had a visit from an inspector. To be honest, I would welcome such a visit!
Reply:I pay the tv licence,but to me it is a waste of money.....paying the Government to watch tv .......Just another tax....to rip off people.
Reply:Ok, I have the exact same circumstances so I can tell you exactly what the situation is with regard to your licence. YOU DO NOT NEED A TV LICENCE if your tv is not tuned to received programmes. End of story. You can have a tv in every room if you want as long as they are detuned and not receiving channels.


I use my tv for dvd's and my playstation. I got fed up of tv licensing and their bully boy tactics and called them. I told them my situation and they flat out said they didn't believe me. So I told them fine, send an officer out if you like. A few months later an officer did call, and said that as my address was unlicensed he wanted to check I didn't have a tv. I asked to see his warrant (in order to enter your property, tv licensing officers must have a court warrant), and his demeanour instantly changed from assertive and officious to weasel-like. He said he didn't have a warrant, so I asked if there was any reason why I shouldn't tell him to piss off and stop wasting my time? He then became placating, saying he wasn't an enforcement officer and could we discuss it inside? I told him no, we would discuss it at the door, and explained my tv was detuned and used for films and playstation only. The aerial cable is not present, so all channels just receive static. He asked if I could prove it, and I replied that I didn't need to prove a damn thing to him. In the end I let him in, showed him that the tv was indeed not tuned or receiving, and he went away saying he'd report my story to be true. That was 2 years ago and I have heard nothing since.





Don't let them bully you. They have almost no power, and their heavy handed tactics are something from a Police State
Reply:sorry but if you have a t.v. in your home then you need a licence for it


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