TV Licence problems

[me123]

The US have two adverts for a half hour, whereas we only have one. That's why US shows have 3 or 6 segments and are often broken up in an odd way on UK TV.
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I agree that the wording is not acceptable but they have every right to use it, watching TV without a licence is a criminal offence.

Well, yes it is. But what evidence do they have? None. They just send everyone these lovely letters. Obviously if they've got no reason to suspect of believe that you are watching TV, there's no chance of you getting prosecuted, so why send a frankly abusive letter? What right do they have to assume that if you don't have a TV license then you are breaking the law? Is it that unbelievable that some people might not watch live TV?

There's no reason whatsoever to send personalised addressed letters to people threatening prosecution when there's no reason to believe that they're breaking the law. If there was evidence that they were watching TV, then that's a different issue. I don't have a problem with the literature they send students, which is actually very good at explaining what you need to pay and if you need to pay. It also states that you can be prosecuted if you break the law, but does it in a much more reasonable way.

 

[GB]

I can't stand all the adverts in the US, I don't know how folks put up with it.

Programe starts, opening credits/opening scene finsihes and then its in to an advert. Programe comes back on for 10-12 minutes then another advert. Programe comes back for another 10-12 minutes and another advert. Programe comes back closing credits roll then programe finished.

This is slightly offset by the fact they don't seem to have adverts between the end of one programe and the start of another but its still annoying.

 

[merlodlliw]

Interesting this thread.

1.You do not require a TV license for a lap top.
2. The cost of a colour license in the UK is £150 (not£145)
3.Whatever was said to the Capita Employee,may result in a back charge,you you only need a TV license bought on the day of the call by Capita,even if you viewed for ten years previous without one.
4.Having no TV license at the address,but watch tv, is a civil offence, it is not criminal law, thats why TV licensing use the Capita agency.

this site will give chapter and verse http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1423574

loads of info here on the subject

Bob

 

[Zoe]

4.Having no TV license at the address,but watch tv, is a civil offence, it is not criminal law, thats why TV licensing use the Capita agency.

It is a criminal offence, the difference is the prosecution will be brought by TV licencing rather than the CPS. It is dealt with by the Magistrates court, a criminal court.

 

[ainsworth74]

1.You do not require a TV license for a lap top.

You do if you intended to watch live TV broadcasts via the internet or an aerial adaptor card.

 

[merlodlliw]

I agree that the wording is not acceptable but they have every right to use it, watching TV without a licence is a criminal offence.

With all Respect Zoe it is not a criminal offence to watch TV without a license,the Police are not be involved, its civil law that covers this area.


Bob

 

[Zoe]

With all Respect Zoe it is not a criminal offence to watch TV without a license,the Police are not be involved, its civil law that covers this area.

No, it is dealt with by the criminal courts. The police do not have to bring the prosecutions, FGW bring prosecutions against fare evaders.

 

[merlodlliw]

It is a criminal offence, the difference is the prosecution will be brought by TV licencing rather than the CPS. It is dealt with by the Magistrates court, a criminal court.

Sorry it is civil law, magistrates courts deal with both Civil & Criminal law


Bob.

 

[SS4]

Especially as ITV / Channel 4 / Channel 5 have just been allowed to have 12 minutes of adverts instead of 7 in each hour. Assuming they can find enough advertisers.

Please no, I find my interest collapses when I have to watch ads that are too long, has anyone seen ITV's coverage of live football? And they don't even use the money to hire decent commentators!

Out of interest has anyone noticed how adverts are synchronised between all the channels showing them?

In addition the Data Protection Act 1998 demands that they keep factually accurate and up to date information on you.

 

[Zoe]

Sorry it is civil law, magistrates courts deal with both Civil & Criminal law

So you are calling fare evasion a civil offense then?

 

[merlodlliw]

You do if you intended to watch live TV broadcasts via the internet or an aerial adaptor card.

The choice is yours, if you buy a lap top, TV licensing does not have to be informed at all. If you buy a TV they do have to be informed.


Bob

 

[ralphchadkirk]

Sorry it is civil law, magistrates courts deal with both Civil & Criminal law


Bob.

You are mistaken. Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it a criminal offence to to install or use a television receiver to watch or record any television programmes as it is being shown on television without a valid TV Licence.

 

[merlodlliw]

So you are calling fare evasion a civil offense then?

We are discussing TV licenses nothing else.

Bob

 

[Zoe]

We are discussing TV licenses nothing else.

I was explaining that prosecutions don't have to be brought by the police, FGW bring cases against fare evaders. Watching TV without a licence is a criminal offence.

 

[ainsworth74]

The choice is yours, if you buy a lap top, TV licensing does not have to be informed at all. If you buy a TV they do have to be informed.

If you intend to watch live TV using a laptop you do require a licence. So the choice is yours in as much as you can watch TV illegally or buy a licence and watch it legally. If your caught the same outcome would apply as if you had a TV without a license.

 

[12CSVT]

No-one else would get away with that. In this country, I'm glad to say that innocence must be assumed until guilt is proven. Sadly, the TV Licensing people seem to operate a slightly different way, and its not acceptable. I reckon you could quite easily challenge this if you had enough power to do so.

I do actually know some students who got themselves very worked up when they started getting envelopes addressed to them with the words YOU MAY BE PROSECUTED written along the top. It's wholly unacceptable.

It is also worth pointing out that TV Licensing have been known to send these threatening letters to addresses where there is no television present.

 

[90019]

1.You do not require a TV license for a lap top.

As mentioned, this is rubbish. What you choose to watch TV on is irrelevant, you still need a licence if you're streaming it live online.

 

[jon0844]

They rarely get court orders as they need evidence and only usually get that if someone lets them in voluntarily or being tricked into thinking they can just come in.

Sent from my MB525 using Tapatalk

 

[me123]

Interesting this thread.

1.You do not require a TV license for a lap top.
2. The cost of a colour license in the UK is £150 (not£145)
3.Whatever was said to the Capita Employee,may result in a back charge,you you only need a TV license bought on the day of the call by Capita,even if you viewed for ten years previous without one.
4.Having no TV license at the address,but watch tv, is a civil offence, it is not criminal law, thats why TV licensing use the Capita agency.

It's definitely a criminal matter. The License is a tax[1][2] and as such evasion of the tax is a criminal matter. [2][3] You're also wrong about the price of the fee; it's £145.50, not £150 as you previously quoted.[2][4] And you do need a license for a laptop if it's receiving live TV (but not if it's catch-up on iPlayer etc). [4]

REFERENCES
[1]http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200506/ldselect/ldbbc/128/128i.pdf; Select Committee on BBC Charter Review, 2nd report of Session 2005-2006
[2]http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/detection-and-penalties-top5/; TV Licensing information page: "Detection and Penalties", accessed 23rd Feb 2011
[3]http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/part/4; Communications Act 2003; Part 4
[4]http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-if-a-tv-licence-is-not-needed-top12/; TV Licensing information page: "What if a TV license is not needed?", accessed 23rd Feb 2011

 

[bradders1983]

Interesting this thread.

1.You do not require a TV license for a lap top.
2. The cost of a colour license in the UK is £150 (not£145)
3.Whatever was said to the Capita Employee,may result in a back charge,you you only need a TV license bought on the day of the call by Capita,even if you viewed for ten years previous without one.
4.Having no TV license at the address,but watch tv, is a civil offence, it is not criminal law, thats why TV licensing use the Capita agency.

this site will give chapter and verse http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/forums/showthread.php?t=1423574

loads of info here on the subject

Bob

Are you Bedsit Bob on that site?

As of today I have gone 73 weeks without a license and saved over £200. Only had one knock on the door in that time which was ignored.

As Bob will testify to, the methods employed by the Capita drones are ineffective as they hold no legal authority to search your house, speak to you, or even be on your property. They need a Court warrant to enter your property and can only obtain one if they have enough evidence to believe you are watching TV. Police need to be in attendance and retired officers of 20+ years service have stated they have never been asked to attend such a warrant.

So make up your own minds.

 

[Jonny]

Your ISP would have a record.

Would such intrusive evidence be admissible for a minor offence?
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As mentioned, this is rubbish. What you choose to watch TV on is irrelevant, you still need a licence if you're streaming it live online.

Does the "powered by its own internal batteries" rule still apply, if so one licence can cover a laptop at another location (assuming it's not plugged in, which is very hard to prove)?
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Also, the TVL recruitment process is pretty slack.

See: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...niel-Lishman-preyed-children-jailed-life.html
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And while I remember on, there was this incident - made-up confessions to get a bonus. TVL staff are worse than the problem that they're meant to solve!

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/w...69792&method=full&siteid=50082-name_page.html

 

[Crossover]

2. The cost of a colour license in the UK is £150 (not£145)

Cost of a colour TV licence is definately £145.50 (as stated here)

I've personally also had some problems with TV Licencing - the most annoying of which was when we had a licence but kept getting letters saying we didn't - I think the reason for this was because the licence was under "Communal Area" for the house (student house) - took a fair few emails to sort it out (or at least, I think it is sorted...the emails I got from them didn't inspire great confidence it has to be said!)

My understanding is that with students, it is done based on the tenancy agreement (I have an email from them about this from when I asked a couple of years ago)
If its individual agreements (I think the locks on doors thing may be a myth) then you cover each room separately (but you can also add on for it to cover a room and the communal areas too)
For shared agreements, one covers the whole house.

In the halls I was in a couple of years ago, we were told that the likes of the kitchens were licenced, but our rooms weren't.

I believe there may be a clause that you don't need a licence if you are using a portable device which is running purely on batteries and has no connections to anything else (ie the portable TV's of yesteryear), and I believe that likes of caravans are OK provided you have a licence for your main home.

Licences are required for watching or recording any live TV, inc PC (so BBC live streaming, a TV or recording to a DVR etc), but not for on-demand services.

I also agree that the letters are very much intimidating and it does get your backs up to an extent (especially when you have a damned licence like we did!)

As for the OP, I doubt they would back charge unless they had proof of when you have not had the licence since and that you were watching TV then...likewise, if the house is rented, it may have been other tenants so nothing to do with you anyway.

 

[flymo]

Regarding iPlayer and the like on the BBC websites, I'm not in the UK and when trying to view such things the page loads and then there is a message saying that it is 'not available in your area' type of thing. When this first happened I clicked the help button and it mentions all about the way the BBC is funded through the licence fee and a licence is needed etc. Fair enough, no problems with that.

I did write to the BBC twice to ask if it is possible to acquire such a licence to watch from overseas legally. That was over 2 years ago and am still waiting for a reply.

There are ways around this which involves paying a fee to another party but I would rather pay the fee to the BBC if the BBC allowed it, they just don't seem to want to.

This also happens when listening to live sports broadcasts on say Radio five live, yet normal BBC radio is streamed without any problems. I quite often have Radio 2 on in the background whilst on the computer.

 

[LE Greys]

Please no, I find my interest collapses when I have to watch ads that are too long, has anyone seen ITV's coverage of live football? And they don't even use the money to hire decent commentators!

Out of interest has anyone noticed how adverts are synchronised between all the channels showing them?

In addition the Data Protection Act 1998 demands that they keep factually accurate and up to date information on you.

I do remember the moment when Michael Schumacher's tyre blew during the Japanese Grand Prix. Split-second of something happening - ad break - we come back three minutes later to find that the world championship has been decided while we were away. One of them was probably a certain watchmaker, "Timing is everything!".

Channel 4 did OK with the cricket (adverts between overs) but we missed a lot of the analysis. Still, I listen to BBC radio commentary anyway, and better the adverts than no televised cricket at all.

As for synchronising between channels, sometimes they don't quite get it right. I remember once watching two different QIs at the same time, one on Dave, the other on Dave Ja Vous.
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It is also worth pointing out that TV Licensing have been known to send these threatening letters to addresses where there is no television present.

And don't I know it!!!

Even when I inform them, they seem to ignore it.

The thing that really got me was the double-billing. I assumed that if you paid for a licence by direct debit, they would charge me for one quarter at a time. They charged for two quarters per quarter over the first six months, meaning that I had effectively given them a permanent interest-free loan of £65 (2004 prices). Does that make sense to you?

 

[merlodlliw]

Are you Bedsit Bob on that site?

As of today I have gone 73 weeks without a license and saved over £200. Only had one knock on the door in that time which was ignored.

As Bob will testify to, the methods employed by the Capita drones are ineffective as they hold no legal authority to search your house, speak to you, or even be on your property. They need a Court warrant to enter your property and can only obtain one if they have enough evidence to believe you are watching TV. Police need to be in attendance and retired officers of 20+ years service have stated they have never been asked to attend such a warrant.

So make up your own minds.

The £150 UK tv License paid by thousands below#

Quarterly* You pay instalments of around £37 every three months. By paying quarterly the majority of your licence is paid for on a pay-as-you-go basis. This differs from our other instalment schemes, where at least half of the licence fee is collected in advance. As a result, quarterly payments incur a small premium of £1.25 per quarter which is included in your payment.

If you pay up front it is £145 I agree, the majority dont pay up front.

Lap tops are up to you to license ,if required, but no retailer of lap tops is forced or asked to send your address details to Bristol.

As for criminal law on tv evasion, I respect this act is criminal law having looked it up ,unlike other acts which are civil law that I deal with.

And yes I probably commit a criminal offence every day when I travel at
31 or 32MPH on a adopted highway with a 30 m p h speed limit.

Bob

 

[Zoe]

And yes I probably commit a criminal offence every day when I travel at
31 or 32MPH on a adopted highway with a 30 m p h speed limit.

The speed limit is 30 mph for a reason, exceeding it is not a minor issue in any way. Your speedometer most likely overreads though so you would still be within the limit.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

The speed limit is 30 mph for a reason, exceeding it is not a minor issue in any way. Your speedometer most likely overreads though so you would still be within the limit.

It is minor if you're 1 or 2 mph over the limit!

 

[Zoe]

It is minor if you're 1 or 2 mph over the limit!

A police officer can still book you for it. The 10% + 2 mph is just a guideline. As I say there is a speed limit for a reason, exceeding it is dangerous. It should also be noted that the speed limit is not a target speed and that road conditions may not be suitable for that speed.

 

[ralphchadkirk]

A police officer can still book you for it. The 10% + 2 mph is just a guideline. As I say there is a speed limit for a reason, exceeding it is dangerous. It should also be noted that the speed limit is not a target speed and that road conditions may not be suitable for that speed.

Yes they can, but it would be utterly pointless to do so. Exceeding 30mph by 1 mile an hour will not suddenly become dangerous.

 

[merlodlliw]

A police officer can still book you for it. The 10% + 2 mph is just a guideline. As I say there is a speed limit for a reason, exceeding it is dangerous. It should also be noted that the speed limit is not a target speed and that road conditions may not be suitable for that speed.

this is correct, it is a guideline only.

In North Wales, probably the most zealous Police speeding authority in Wales,the ex Chief Officer a Mr Richard Brunston, declared all,speeding motorists to be criminals, Police using hand held hair dryers have discretion and will book at 32mph, the mobile vans set up with a photo book at 31mph. No matter what your speedo says, the permanent cameras with a flash result in a booking at 31mph. A lot of drivers have considered this to be nonsense & money grabbing, the new Chief Constable is considering changes.
A flaw with the mobile vans is,only cars facing the camera are booked,motor bikes get away with it.

Anyhow I am a criminal without a record.

Bob