TV Licensing

[Bubbs]

Anyone know the ins and outs of TV licencing? I'm looking to just run my tv with downloaded movies and TV. Maybe include some streaming from you tube, iplayer etc. Not looking to use live tv.

How long can I go without a license if I did watch live TV? Can they force their way into your house?

Any information on the subject would be handy.

Thanks.
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Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[Hetzer]

They have no right of access to your house other than by court-order, and they won't get that unless they have seen you with a TV in your house. They won't lie about that because if you actually don't have a TV the inspector would be done.

Throw all their letters in the bin and if you do get caught out by an inspector on the door tell him you're looking after the house for a friend, he has no TV and close the door. And make sure the TV can't be seen through any windows.
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"There's the horizon! Ride hard, ride fast and cut down all who stand in your way!"

[Bubbs]

AH, that's where I'll have an issue. I live in a small cottage, and the TV can only go by the window.
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Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.

[The Disapproving Brit]

If you're not watching live tv, you don't need a license anyway. IPlayer doesn't need a license unless you're watching live, nor does anything you download. With the setup you describe, you can cheerfully invite them in and show it off to them - best to make sure that when the aerial is unplugged, casual channel hopping won't reveal a working station, but beyond that you're bombproof. If connecting the aerial reveals tuned in stations thats fine - your line should he want the aerial connected is "its not connected because I don't have or need a TV license for my use. If you want to connect it that's fine mate, but I'm not doing it cos I'm not licensed - if you do it, you're the one committing the offence, not me."

As for how long you'd get away if you did watch live TV....small cottage implies rural area, yes? You'd probably never even get a visit. I live in the middle of a student area, prime location for TVL, and haven't had a license for years. I get letters every few months, but I've only had one visit in the 3 years I lived here.
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[hedgehugger]

Just tell them online you don't need a license.
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/what-if-a-tv-licence-is-not-needed-top12/

We haven't needed a license for a fair few years now. Told them once. Told them again when we moved.
We get no letters hassling us or any communication from them.

We watch no 'live' tv, only dvd's, iplayer and whatever we have dl'd.

Back when I needed one but wouldn't pay, they would turn up at the door, and I would tell them to go away. Eventually I did get a license though as it would have turned into even more of a headache.

[Imonster]

I told them we do have a licence and they should check their records properly. Only the once, and about three years ago as I refuse to waste any further time on these mouth breathers.

Since then, we've had a letter approximately every two months - what is interesting to note is that their letters go in cycles from "softly softly" through to "WE'RE GOING TO COME AND KILL YOU IN YOUR SLEEP!", and then back to "softly softly" again.

If you really want to piss them off, write to them and remove the implied right of access that they have to your property

John Hales (head of our local enforcement team allegedly, though this appears to be a TVL pseudonym according to a bit of googling) can suck my big hairy plums


Oh yeah, and for iPlayer you don't need a licence so long as you're not using the live TV facility on it.

Edit: Their literature's a joke too - addressed to "the legal occupier" followed by a court threat.

Yup, good luck getting a court summons through, that has "the legal occupier" named as the defendant you fucktards...
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Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable.

[bootsbiker]

this comes up again and again and tbh with all the new ways to watch TV you shouldn't need a TV unless you really have to watch live TV... The only live TV you would need to watch is a live sports program or a news flash.... lets say the FA cup final or the queen speech... I am sure this is only for the BBC as they are the 1's that get the dosh for there programs and BBC radio.. BBC 24hr news is a great service and I watched it all the time when I was in Thailand...

I did have an inspector a few weeks ago come around and I said I didn't have 1 and closed the window...

My broadband streams so fast I don't need an Ariel which is ugly anyway... There is a lot of stuff on the internet including where detector vans have been seen etc etc...
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https://justfuckinggoogleit.com/

[Skudd]

I feel mugged........... being honest seems to be the wrong way of doing things these days.
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[Imonster]

[Polarbear]

I think £145 for the privaledge of watching BBC is shite. I wish you could choose not to have BBC and not pay the licence.

I doubt I ever turn on the BBC although I have to admit the missus watches bloody east enders.

Oh and BBC world service radio is utter shit as well.
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Triumph Trophy Launch Edition

[WULFSTAN THE 2nd]

i havent got one and never would.no one else has to pay a tax to watch telly so why should we
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CBR 600 F L 1990

[Benno]

Personally I like the BBC and don't mind paying the fee. But their methods of enforcing it are a bit authoritarian and draconian.

I absolutely can't stand adverts, one of the reasons I like the BBC. They're also less biased than other news sources, but they're still annoyingly biased sometimes without perhaps realising it.

[U_W v2.0]

your supposed to have a liscence if you have devices connected to the internet.

for those of you with a liscence or the reminder letters check it. its in the small print.

but i had a TV dude knock on the door. invited him in n said, "look, no incoming TV signal, dont even get a mobile phone signal down here" (basement flat)

he just said "so you just use it for gaming and so on?" "yup" was my reply. havent heard anything back from them at all n that was months n months ago.
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[Derivative]

[stinkwheel]

Let's be clear folks.

You need a TV licence if you watch TV as it is being broadcast.

If you do not watch TV as it's being broadcast, you do not need one.

You do not need a TV licence if you have a computer with a broadband connection.

You do not need a TV licence if you watch programs on iPlayer or any form of on-demand service UNLESS it is at the same time as they are being broadcast.

You do not need a TV licence if you have a TV which is not used to watch TV or tuned in to any TV stations.

Nobody has ever *EVER* been prosecuted for watching TV without a licence using TV detector van evidence.

You are under no requirement to admit a TV inspector to your home or indeed engage them in conversation unless they are accompanied by a police officer and have a search warrant.

TV licencing is not a government agency. They are a private company which has been contracted to collect TV licence fees. The company is called Capita. You may recognise them from other quasi-non-elected government clusterfucks such as the DVLA.

TV licencing inspectors are paid a cut of any licence fees or fines they collect. As a result they will tell you anything they think will make you either admit to watching TV without a licence or buy one. Madness, it's like giving the police a cut of speeding fines and expecting them to focus on other aspects of road safety.. Wait, oh never mind.
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I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[bootsbiker]

[Kwaks]

[Derivative]

[stinkwheel]

You are both wrong.

You do are under no requirement to even talk to someone from TV licencing. There is no room, need or requirement for clever arguments, they will do nothing for you.

Don't even get drawn into a discussion with them. As soon as they announce who they are, shut the door. If they somehow got in, ask them to leave. If they don't leave imediately once asked and you're in England, they are trespassing, physically throw them out using "reasonable force".

They are not there to find out what you haven't been doing. There is nothing you can say to a TV licencing agent that could possibly benefit you so say nothing. They are experts at getting people riled so they slip up and admit to watching TV, that is how they get their prosecutions.

Don't talk to them. Shut the door with them on the outside of it.
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“Rule one: Always stick around for one more drink. That's when things happen. That's when you find out everything you want to know.”
I did the 2010 Round Britain Rally on my 350 Bullet. 89 landmarks, 3 months, 9,500 miles.

[Derivative]

[johnsmith222]

The BBC is a service that I would consider paying for if it wasn't for the way they go about enforcing their product.

For that reason, I will never pay for a TV licence.

[Rogerborg]

[jonbee56]

Have a look at the forum on www.moneysavingexpert.com
There are a few good threads explaining how and why you don't need to pay.

[tsmith]

https://tvlicensing.biz/ has lots of good info to aid you in not paying this silly tax.

[Nick 50]

Pardon my french here, but the TV Licencing goons are the biggest bunch of arseholes to ever of walked this earth!! They are fucking scum!!

As you can guess my experience of them is not great.

Short story - Idiot turned up at the door as apparently we were new tenants . My partner has lived here 15 years and I have been here 5 years. She had answered the door to an absolute arsehole who wouldn't identify who is was and where he was from. He insisted to be let, was very aggressive and told her "If she didn't let him in, he would force his way in anyway". At the time she was 8.5 months pregnant!!!

She shouted for me in tears. I went to the door fuming!! Demanded he left the property 4 times and he refused. At which point I told him I was going to call the police and went to close the door. The fucker slammed his foot in the door so it couldn't be closed.
I saw red jumped out of the house, grabbed him by the collar of his coat and literally dragged him down the path and threw in on to the road.
He picked himself up running down the street shouting he was going to get me arrested.

30 mins later, the Police turned up. He alleged I assaulted him

I explained to the officer what had happened and he could see my gf was still shaking through it all. The officer turned round and said I should of closed the door and rang the police. I had already explained that is what I was trying to do!
To be fair to the officer he was a decent bloke. I asked him off the record, what he would of done in the same situation, he said he would of done the same. He went on to explain that I would be amazed how many calls they got from people about abusive and threatening TV licence goons on peoples doorsteps.

To top it all off. This goon turned up literally 2 weeks after another one had been stating their records showed we had no licence. I went and got it showed him it and the bank statements showing the direct debits.

Couldn't bloody believe it!!
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