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Tv licence dilemna


bastion

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Got back to my boat today to find a letter delivered by hand from the TV licence authority. Basically it warned me that I could be watching tv illegally and that I was to make my premises available for inspection from the 25th July. My problem is that I am on a 2 day visitor mooring, have already overstayed due to mechanical problems,  have told Crt, so if I move and the tv people can't find me will I be in trouble with them or if I stay I will be in trouble with CRT. I do not have a tv nor do I watch tv online so have no worries about the licence. Who has the higher authority Crt or the tv licence people?

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3 minutes ago, bastion said:

Got back to my boat today to find a letter delivered by hand from the TV licence authority. Basically it warned me that I could be watching tv illegally and that I was to make my premises available for inspection from the 25th July. My problem is that I am on a 2 day visitor mooring, have already overstayed due to mechanical problems,  have told Crt, so if I move and the tv people can't find me will I be in trouble with them or if I stay I will be in trouble with CRT. I do not have a tv nor do I watch tv online so have no worries about the licence. Who has the higher authority Crt or the tv licence people?

Why not phone up the TV people, explain the situation & tell them you will be at XYZ on the 25th and they are welcome to visit you, (or, even email them then you have a record).

 

When you accepted the licence you accepted the licence conditions one of which is that C&RT will release your personal details to anyone they think should have them.

No use trying to 'run' it may result in the 'mire' just being deeper than it would have been as the TV people chase you over the country.

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The letter was addressed to the legal owner not to me personally, so presume it might be a towpath campaign that they are starting as I am on the first mooring at the start/end of a canal. I have had many letters and run ins with the tv authorities who do not believe that in this day and age I do not watch tv.

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13 minutes ago, bastion said:

Got back to my boat today to find a letter delivered by hand from the TV licence authority. Basically it warned me that I could be watching tv illegally and that I was to make my premises available for inspection from the 25th July. My problem is that I am on a 2 day visitor mooring, have already overstayed due to mechanical problems,  have told Crt, so if I move and the tv people can't find me will I be in trouble with them or if I stay I will be in trouble with CRT. I do not have a tv nor do I watch tv online so have no worries about the licence. Who has the higher authority Crt or the tv licence people?

Put the letter in the bin and move on. If you don't have a tv then you certainly don't have to worry about tv licensing.

1 minute ago, bastion said:

The letter was addressed to the legal owner not to me personally, so presume it might be a towpath campaign that they are starting as I am on the first mooring at the start/end of a canal. I have had many letters and run ins with the tv authorities who do not believe that in this day and age I do not watch tv.

The fact they don't believe you watch tv is their problem not yours, they would have to prove you do.

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I can’t imagine that TV licensing people have any powers to stop you moving your boat. I would just ignore it, they are renowned for using bullying scare tactics which are ultimately hollow. At the gliding club we regularly receive threatening letters from them, we have never received an actual visit nor any follow up on threats to “launch an investigation” etc. (We don’t have a TV).

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1 minute ago, Phil. said:

Put the letter in the bin and move on. If you don't have a tv then you certainly don't have to worry about tv licensing.

Absolutely correct.

I had this when I lived in a flat at the school where I was teaching. I had no T.V. Letters of increasingly threatening nature arrived each few weeks from the T.V. licensing people. I ignored them all, because as I did not have a set, they did not apply to me. Nothing ever happened.

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6 minutes ago, zenataomm said:

Put TV licensing into YouTube and then write off 3 days of your life while you try and understand the complexities of it all.

But the point is that if you don’t have a TV and don’t watch on line, you don’t need a licence. End of, they can poke off.

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3 minutes ago, Phil. said:

Put the letter in the bin and move on. If you don't have a tv then you certainly don't have to worry about tv licensing.

Letter is in the bin already. It is a light hearted post about who is the highest authority.

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Just now, nicknorman said:

But the point is that if you don’t have a TV and don’t watch on line, you don’t need a licence. End of, they can poke off.

How immaculately restrained.

Just now, bastion said:

Letter is in the bin already. It is a light hearted post about who is the highest authority.

Coming each Sunday to a church near you.

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8 minutes ago, bastion said:

Letter is in the bin already. It is a light hearted post about who is the highest authority.

I would suggest CRT as tv licensing has been outsourced to some private outfit who have no authority whatsoever, unless in possession of a warrant from the court which they almost certainly won't have.

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10 minutes ago, Phil. said:

I would suggest CRT as tv licensing has been outsourced to some private outfit who have no authority whatsoever, unless in possession of a warrant from the court which they almost certainly won't have.

Yes they backed off several years ago when I told them I would be taking legal advice about harassment. I was getting letters and phone calls every week for months.

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12 minutes ago, bastion said:

Yes they backed off several years ago when I told them I would be taking legal advice about harassment. I was getting letters and phone calls every week for months.

Did telling them you didn't possess a TV or watch online not stop them?

Edited by rgreg
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4 minutes ago, rgreg said:

Did telling them you didn't possess a TV or watch online not stop them?

They work on the basis if you don't have a license then you are watching TV without one, in their book everyone has a TV and watches

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39 minutes ago, nicknorman said:

But the point is that if you don’t have a TV and don’t watch on line, you don’t need a licence. End of, they can poke off.

You can still have a TV and legally not have a TV licence.  It’s receiving broadcast TV and now Iplayer that you need the licence for.

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13 minutes ago, rgreg said:

Did telling them you didn't possess a TV or watch online not stop them?

No only the threat of legal action and they would review my case every 2 years. The letter today makes me think it is the start of a towpath campaign

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1 hour ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Why not phone up the TV people, explain the situation & tell them you will be at XYZ on the 25th and they are welcome to visit you, (or, even email them then you have a record).

 

 

Why not do nothing? Then the OP won't have to suffer these goons tramping through his boat asking stupid questions and wasting his time. 

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2 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Why not do nothing? Then the OP won't have to suffer these goons tramping through his boat asking stupid questions and wasting his time. 

They can only get on board or in any premise with an invite or court order. I will not be inviting them in.

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They have no authority to enter your property, unless you volunteer (incidentally they will lie to you).  If you don't then they assume you are watching without a licence, so they then will get a court order and turn up with plod. You will then have to admit them.  They will search until they find nothing or a tv/laptop/broadband and if it's possible to access live broadcast or iPlayer then they will do you (unless you have a licence for a home address) 

They don't have to prove you are it seems only that you can.  It would appear that having a mobile that is internet accessible is a problem.

Like I said, have a butcher's  at YouTube.

 

If I were you, I'd make sure your case is as watertight as your boat, move off and be better prepared for the next time.

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Just now, bastion said:

They can only get on board or in any premise with an invite or court order. I will not be inviting them in.

 

Engaging with them in any way at all simply encourages them I suspect. I can see no upside for you in communicating with them.

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33 minutes ago, Robbo said:

You can still have a TV and legally not have a TV licence.  It’s receiving broadcast TV and now Iplayer that you need the licence for.

You can still have a laptop, tablet or mobile and be safe...

 

Licensable activity does not include: a) watching programmes by means of pre-recorded media such as DVD and Bluray; b) downloading or watching S4C TV on demand on BBC iPlayer or listening to radio programmes on BBC iPlayer. c) downloading or watching on demand programmes from other providers, such as: • ITV Hub, All 4 or Demand 5 • BT Vision, Virgin Media or Sky Go • Netflix or Now TV. AMAZON

 

At the end of the day, you are not at YOUR official residential address, they cant make you stay there nor can they ask you where you are going next. The only other option they have is a NON-Residential address, which their operational policy states is a' business' address.

 

They are conducting this as a scare to get money out of people scheme, quite a common tactic of Capita - a massive business outsourcing and professional services company(also known as Crapita by Private Eye), they are well known for making massive cock-ups such as sending a truancy letter to the family of a pupil who died 2 months earlier, losing many NHS contracts,  losing masses of NHS registered patients details and records as they took over its nationwide management...etc etc etc...

 

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Why do I need a TV Licence?

A TV Licence is a legal permission to install or use television receiving equipment to watch or record television programmes as they are being shown on TV or live on an online TV service, and to download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch up TV, on BBC iPlayer. This could be on any device, including TVs, desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, tablets, games consoles, digital boxes, DVD, Blu-ray and VHS recorders. This applies regardless of which television channels a person receives or how those channels are received. The licence fee is not a payment for BBC services (or any other television service), although licence fee revenue is used to fund the BBC.

The requirement to hold a TV Licence and to pay a fee for it is mandated by law under the Communications Act 2003 and Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 (as amended). It is an offence to watch or record television programmes as they are being shown on any channel and on any broadcast platform (terrestrial, satellite, cable and the internet) or download or watch BBC programmes on demand, including catch up TV, on BBC iPlayer without a valid TV Licence.

Section 363 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to install or use a television receiver to watch or record any television programmes as they’re being shown on television without a TV Licence.

Section 365 of that Act requires that a person to whom a TV Licence is issued must pay a fee to the BBC. The nature and amount of this fee is set out in the Communications (Television Licensing) Regulations 2004 (as amended).

Since 1991, the BBC, in its role as the relevant licensing authority, has been responsible for collecting and enforcing the TV Licence fee. The BBC contracts companies to do this work under the BBC trade mark ‘TV Licensing’. The BBC (and contractors acting on its behalf) must comply with the law in collecting and enforcing the licence fee. The BBC Charter further requires that these arrangements be appropriate, proportionate and efficient.

Legislation on television licensing is available from legislation.gov.uk (opens in a new window).

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13 minutes ago, Rickent said:

I thought the law had changed, and not having a tv licence is now a civil offence, and not a criminal offence.

 

Probably because Crapita are in charge and they are scared of the cockups coming back to haunt them.

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