T.V Licence

[slowcoach]

my wife just brough this up, if on the boat we had a television which would be kept on the boat, would we need a tv licencefor the boat???

 

 

thought of this never came to my mind but maybe you do and maybe you don't

[Moley]

If it's a weekend / holiday boat, it's covered by your home licence.

[fuzzyduck]

If it's a weekend / holiday boat, it's covered by your home licence.

 

moley is 100% correct. from TVLs site

 

Do I need a licence for any other type of home?

If you watch or record TV programmes in a second home which is a touring caravan or vehicle, or a boat, you do not need a separate TV Licence; you will be covered by the TV Licence for your main residence.

[salmiron]

If it's a weekend / holiday boat, it's covered by your home licence.

 

Correct, as long as there is no one else using the television/recorder at home, at the same time.

 

You are also supposed to complete a declaration. You can get this at 0870 241 6468

 

Note that if your TV runs off self contained batteries you do not need a licence.

Edited December 5, 2006 by salmiron

[Noah]

We’ve recently cancelled the direct debits for our house TV licence because we rarely watch TV (the box goes to the tip next week!) We were telephoned yesterday evening and asked why we had cancelled and if we still have a TV of any kind. Although the “licensing officer” was polite, I didn’t like the intrusion while I was watching….. listening to the radio. So I said that we were going to be living on our boat (I wish) for a couple of years and would not have a television. I’m not sure she fully believed this so I asked if I were to have a TV on the boat would I need a licence if the boat were my permanent residence. She answered “yes” but seemed unsure and admitted that it was a “grey area” and asked me to notify them (as if!) if I got a TV.

 

Wonder what address I would give if I were continual cruising? Licensing enforcement officers with hand-held detection devices on the towpath?! Would I need a licence on a permanent mooring? I’ll leave those questions until then (or not).

 

Noah

[bottle]

All answers are here TV licence

 

As Daniel says; Google the answer to everything

[Hairy-Neil]

I’m not sure she fully believed this......

Noah

 

The TV license people have only two categories of households. There are payers and there are evaders. There is no tick box available for those of us who don't have a telly and it is policy to strongly persue all unlicenced addresses.

[PeterF]

Correct, as long as there is no one else using the television/recorder at home, at the same time.

 

You are also supposed to complete a declaration. You can get this at 0870 241 6468

 

Note that if your TV runs off self contained batteries you do not need a licence.

 

The above only applies to semi permanent 2nd homes, you need to check the TVL site to see the clarification.

 

I was thinking of asking the same question as we have just got our boat and bought a telly because my kids stay at home and will watch TV when I am on the boat.

 

If the 2nd home is static or fairly immobile (mobile home) then you need a second license if someone else remains at your main home watching TV. If there is no one at home watching TV while you are in your 2nd home you need the declaration but only 1 license.

 

However, if the 2nd home is mobile as in touring caravan or boat then you do not need a 2nd license at all and no declaration.

 

Extracts from the TVL site are appended below.

 

Peter.

 

Do I need a licence for my mobile home or caravan?

 

If you have a static caravan, mobile home or moveable chalet, and it has a TV which is used at the same time as a TV set is being used in your main licensed home - you'll need a separate licence to cover your second home.

 

However, if the TV in your static caravan or mobile home is never in use at the same time as your TV at your main home, you don't need a separate licence. But you do need to complete a declaration form and return it to us so that we can update our records.

 

Do I need a licence for any other type of home?

 

If you watch or record TV programmes in a second home which is a touring caravan or vehicle, or a boat, you do not need a separate TV Licence; you will be covered by the TV Licence for your main residence.

 

TVL 2nd home regs

[PaddingtonBear]

Ever since I got rid of my TV at home they've been threatening to come round but they've never turned up yet. What I want to know, all you electrical types, is can detector vans really work? I can see how it would be easy to pick up if someone/something was transmitting, but how can they tell if a signal is being RECEIVED? Is it all a big bluff?

[dor]

In theory, they can detect secondary radiation from your TV and so pinpoint its location and evne tell you what frequency you are tuned to.

 

However it is much easier and cheaper to just use a list of unlicenced premises. I don't think you have much to worry about on your boat.

 

Incidentally, a colour TV is one of the biggest emitters of electromagnetic radiation in your house. I wonder if all those people that complain about radiation cominf from mobile phone masts would be quite so vocal if they realised that the radiation they receive (inverse square law and all that) from their TV is considerably greater.

[PeterF]

Ever since I got rid of my TV at home they've been threatening to come round but they've never turned up yet. What I want to know, all you electrical types, is can detector vans really work? I can see how it would be easy to pick up if someone/something was transmitting, but how can they tell if a signal is being RECEIVED? Is it all a big bluff?

 

I can believe in the olden days steam powered TV sets generated RF noise that could be detected. What about modern TVs and more so LCD / Plasma screens, I have not heard of detector vans for years, do they still exist.

 

I thought it used to be that when you bought a TV set the shop colelcted names and addresses and this was passed on to TVL. These days such information does not appear to be collected. Perhaps ths comes back to the earlier posting that all houses have TVs therefore those without licenses are de facto evaders.

[Moley]

I thought it used to be that when you bought a TV set the shop colelcted names and addresses and this was passed on to TVL. These days such information does not appear to be collected.

Oh yes it is, and I think you might find Big Brother is watching even closer

 

We recently bought an LCD TV/DVD for the boat, from Argos.

We went through the usual sales procedure, and the “What's your postcode? House number?” business, and I'm sure the girl said something like “that's fine, it's just checked your licence”

[tomsk]

Oh yes it is, and I think you might find Big Brother is watching even closer

 

We recently bought an LCD TV/DVD for the boat, from Argos.

We went through the usual sales procedure, and the “What's your postcode? House number?” business, and I'm sure the girl said something like “that's fine, it's just checked your licence”

 

Yea, they won't sell you a TV unless you give them an address which they then pass on to The Man for persecution purposes

[Alastair]

The TV license people have only two categories of households. There are payers and there are evaders. There is no tick box available for those of us who don't have a telly and it is policy to strongly persue all unlicenced addresses.

Nonsense.

 

I have never owned a TV. The license people asked if they could visit once, looked in the house, never bothered me again.

[tillergirl]

Brings extremely funny pictures to mind - imagine a tv detector van whizzing down the towpaths of the UK radar whirring and fists waving.

 

Mr & Mrs Smith, Wandalust, somehwere on the GU.........or the LL...........or the Rochdale....................

[DHutch]

As Daniel says; Google the answer to everything

Its mega isnt it!

- The power of google, in its many forms, does warp the mind!!

 

 

Daniel

[WJM]

"a colour TV is one of the biggest emitters of electromagnetic radiation in your house."

 

Not the new generation of flat screens tho - no "detector" can trace them - but the aerial sticking out of the top of your boat can be a give away!

[anthony]

I have a big issue with tv licensencing.

I have a tv that gets used for watching dvds and a games machine.

 

So i get a knock on the door in the middle of day from an officer.

Why in the middle of the day I dont know.

He asked if i have a tv licence ,i said i dont need one and explained what i use the tv for.

Foolishly he tried to tell i had to have one anyway even if i dont watch broadcast channels.

 

I asked him are you telling me the truth?

Are you totally sure?

He said yes.

I said IM going to call up head office and check the facts because what you are saying makes no logical sence at all.

So of he goes.

 

So i call up head office and speak to a lady on the phone.

I ask her to confirm if i need a licensce.

She said yes you do.

Do you have your debit or credit card ready to make a payment please?

I said are you 100 percent sure?

She said yes I have my staff handbook right next to me on the desk.

I said put a senior member of staff on the phone please as I think someone is trying it on.

I speak to a senior member of staff and ask the same question.

She says yes you do.

I say IM going to ask you one more time and im going to record you on my dictaphone because i think tv licensing is trying to scam people into buying a tv license when they dont really need one.

She says 1 sec ill just double check.

30 seconds later sorry sir no you do not after all so long as the tv is not tuned into any channels.

We will also be sending someone round to inspect your tv within the next 3 months.

I asked why have 3 people try to tell me i need a license just because i own a tv?

This is basic information.

I suggest this is a scam you people do.

She ranted that the member off staff i spoke to initially was new and from an agency!

I said so whats your excuse?

In fact what is your name?

I get back from her, under the data protection act I dont have to give that infomation!

She puts the phone down!

 

I thought to myself if that had been someone like my missus who is more trusting than me( in fact i dont trust anyone sad i know) she would of bought a tv license on the doorstep.

 

Who is that person who knocks on the door asking to check the tv?

IM not letting them in my house they could be anyone.

If they can lie on the doorstep then they are dishonest and will not be comming in my house regardless of the law.

The guy on the doorstep was very well dressed and drove a very uneconomical BMW.

Do they get commision for getting sign ups or something?

I ask becasue it dont really seem like a proper job really especially one that affords wearing designer clothes and driving a BMW at work.

Its the same with the meter man.

Who is this person who can just step in my house?

My last 3 bills have all been estimated despite this bloke reading the meters,dont seem right to me.

Sooner I move onto a boat the better lol.

[Yoda]

I can believe in the olden days steam powered TV sets generated RF noise that could be detected. What about modern TVs and more so LCD / Plasma screens, I have not heard of detector vans for years, do they still exist.

 

 

The answer is vans do exist. It is the electronics that enable the colour in your TV that they pick up on. Its called the colour burst frequency. This frequency is totally unique to colour televisions, so cannot be confused with anything else. Further to that, the tuner section oscilates at a given frequency that determines which channel you are watching. In that way they can find out what you are watching and all your TV habits.

 

If you wish to watch TV and not pay a licence fee, you need to surround your TV with a Faraday cage.

[Djuwenda]

The answer is vans do exist. It is the electronics that enable the colour in your TV that they pick up on. Its called the colour burst frequency. This frequency is totally unique to colour televisions, so cannot be confused with anything else. Further to that, the tuner section oscilates at a given frequency that determines which channel you are watching. In that way they can find out what you are watching and all your TV habits.

 

If you wish to watch TV and not pay a licence fee, you need to surround your TV with a Faraday cage.

 

do you mean a steel structure not dissimilar to a boat?

[Yoda]

do you mean a steel structure not dissimilar to a boat?

 

Yes but all appatures would have to be no bigger than one tenth of a wavelength. That means a mesh on all windows.

[Hairy-Neil]

Nonsense.

 

I have never owned a TV. The license people asked if they could visit once, looked in the house, never bothered me again.

 

I disagree.

 

The TV license people, AKA the Home Office, (its a tax basically) have hounded me for most of my adult life. I also have never owned a TV set and have lived at my current address for 23 years. I bin all their attempts at correspondence, I refuse to reply on the basis that its unsolicited mail. When they get a bee in their bonnet I get letters on a weekly basis threatening all sorts of dire consequences including inprisonment. Eventually they catch me in and I tell them to "go forth and multiply". And then they've even accused me of wasting their time.....

 

One once told me, "but you have an ariel on the chimney sir".........I replied, "I also have a pint of milk in the fridge but you can see there's no cow in the garden".

 

Eventually they call and catch my wife instead of me and she takes them round the house and shows them we don't have a telly and they go away happy and leave me alone for a couple of years. I would say this has happened perhaps 5 times in the 23 year period.

[fuzzyduck]

http://www.tvlicensing.biz/

 

how to annoy crapita, and the BBC, if you so desire.

 

Disclaimer

 

I have a TV license, and a TV.

[Hairy-Neil]

The answer is vans do exist.

 

They do....... but are all hype. I once worked for PO Telephones and we serviced and hosted the vans when they were working in our area. Their purpose is ride up and down the main street and scare people into buying a license.

 

The fact is the REAL equipment they use to make a case against you is a hand held device, little bigger than a mobile phone. My daughter is at Uni and says the enforcement people were accompanied round the halls seeking out unlicensed sets and PC's with a TV card......That said, they trap most evaders by self incrimination.

Edited December 5, 2006 by Hairy-Neil

[chris w]

Surrounding your TV with a quasi Faraday Cage (aka narrowboat) won't work I'm afraid. Some of the TV's internal oscillators' frequency will radiate out from your aerial so, effectively, you are transmitting as well as receiving and this can be picked up at close range with appropriate equipment.

 

Chris