TV Licence paradox question.

[Ribenapigeon]

Im thinking of telling the Beeb to go hang themselves and inviting them round to see ive uninstalled iPlayer form any devices and disconnected my telly from the aerial socket. Yeah yeah I know inb4 "you can watch for free blahh blahh blahh freeman of the land, just tell them to go twist on it, dont open the door when the licence fee drone hovers outside etc and all that crap".

I just was thinking I don't watch much BBC output anymore especially since i dumped watching any of its news output since the frankly disgusting revelations about what some of its employees (apparently working in a public service capacity) get paid. Anything Beeb does make I might want I can always purchase as a one off from somewhere else as well and its unlikely in a years BBC output there would be enough of that to even come close to equalling the cost of the licence fee. So tatty-bye Auntie Beeb. All good and straight forward, write a letter to TV licencing and cancel direct debit. However it then occurred to me that if I want to watch freeview channels through my tv and therefore an aerial then strictly speaking im using a device capable of receiving Beeb broadcast effluence and so breaking the law of the land/of the universe/of (pick your favorite) God/Gods/Goddeses. The paradox is though, all modern tellies with freeview built in have the BBC channels as standard so effectively its impossible to have a device incapable of receiving BBC broadcasts. I dont want to have to fire up my Fire TV box or computer to stream my chosen content all the time I want to have the convenience of just switching on my TV. Surely this cant be right legally? Just by having a TV with freeview built in the consumer is effectively boxed into a contract to fork out to the licence authority if they just want to use the TV as its designed to be used (IE with an aerial). If you do want to watch TV without being exposed to the "device capable of recieving BBC" legal small print you are effectively compelled to have a broadband connecting to use internet streaming. This seems unfair and frankly wrong.

I mow its a bit of rant but cheers for reading anyway.

[stinkwheel]

It's all TV receiving equipment, not just the BBC.

If you're watching freeview as it's being broadcast, you need a TV licence. Even if BBC channels were blocked.

If you don't have a licence, you can only use your TV as a monitor to watch recorded media and non-BBC on-demand content. Also gaming.
____________________
“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.

[M.C]

[Ribenapigeon]

[Ste]

Don't tell the TV licensing people anything and ignore all their letters.

They're not going to actually do anything. It's much more profitable for them to spending their time targeting the people who engage in conversation and invite them into their houses.

[stinkwheel]

It's a TV licence, not a BBC licence.

You need one to watch any TV content as it's being broadcast. Also any specifically BBC online or on demand content (the latter bit is a recent addition).
____________________
“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.

[Johnnythefox]

My 'friend' hasn't bought a tv licence in last nine years, watches it sometimes though,that's pretty outlaw don't you think?

[Rogerborg]

[thx1138]

For years I never had a telly, this fact at the time (mid 90s) blew some peoples minds.

I'm pretty sure they just have 2 databases, a database of UK addresses and a database of TV licence holders, just subtract one from the other, then hassle the remainder.

[M.C]

[Ste]

Before any editing....

[-]

Of Jesus H Christ. C-Vit sparrow back at its best.
____________________
TZR250 2MA road, TZR250 1KT road, TZR250 2MA race, TDR250, YZF-750R Boost colours.
Jaguar S Type 3.0 V6 Sport R, VW Transporter T5 GP LWB Shuttle 140ps DSG.

[skatefreak]

You can watch anything non-BBC and as long as it's not live without a licence so 4od, Netflix, Amazon is all fair game. I find it hard to beleive people still put up with their sh*te tbh. Haven't bought a licence since I left home. Over £1,500 of mine they don't need to have!

[Johnnythefox]

[B5234FT]

For gods sake dont tell them anything.

I dumped mine when I moved house, so I get letters "to the occupier". it's harrassment, but worse with your name on the front.

The simple fact is, it's a racket. The license fee goes to the BBC, but isn't charged only to those who watch the BBC, it's based on owning "equipment capable of..." which means as someone said, they basically just take all the people on the cencus who dont pay and threaten them monthly.

Even if you only use your TV as a monitor to watch DVDs and dont have a connected antenna or cable input, there is still a grey area with radio. Normally your car radio is covered by extension from your household license (no requirement for a separate one) but if you dont have a household license? Then you need one

Obviously this is easily cured by disconnecting the antenna....

It needs to be banned.

[weasley]

[Ste]

https://i.imgur.com/EquTgBS.jpg

[Rogerborg]

[stinkwheel]

[-]

[-]

[M.C]

[janner_10]

[B5234FT]

[Sun Wukong]

I am moving to Germany now.

"Germany. The licence fee in Germany is now a blanket contribution of €17.50 per month (€210 per annum) for all households and is payable regardless of equipment or television/radio usage."

Fucking socialism
____________________
Top cat
"Hard times lead to hard people. Hard people lead to good times. Good times lead to weak people. Weak people lead to hard times." Smegballs
"Oh and STE balloons would be one of the nicer things we would receive at the office, the amount of dog turd in jiffy bags is not funny." Jsmith86