TV licensing puzzles me.

[Snork Maiden]

When i was in university halls i got letters from them on a regualr basis. As its a lot of people living in a small space, they can't detect who's got a tv and who hasn't... apparently. I ignored them and in the whole year i lived in halls they didnt come round to check once - the warden told us that every few years or so they do pop in to make an inspection to keep everyone on their toes.

I for one welcomed it, as i didnt have a telly, and i refused to talk to the robot on the other end of the phone line they told us 'criminals' to ring.

Eh, at halls I don't think any of us got letters :/ Wouldn't surprise me if they did shock visits every so often though.

iPlayer isn't free, it's basically "If you have watch Live Tv, or have the internet with access to TV".

You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

iPlayer isn't played "as its broadcast." So while it's probably somewhat unethical to watch iPlayer sans a license, it's certainly not illegal.

 

[Vie]

iPlayer isn't played "as its broadcast." So while it's probably somewhat unethical to watch iPlayer sans a license, it's certainly not illegal.

Actually iPlayer shows live TV streams as well as a catchup service.

 

[Tiny116]

Has anyone else had similar dealings with these people?

Yup I was away from home for 3 months...I watched a little illegal live televison..until I got my first letter then i stuck with ITV player and I player.
And the even funnier thing is, They can only narrow down the non tv-license own to the street so not all that threatening, anyway I left the accomadation and that was that XD

 

[IckleMissMayhem]

The whole high-tech detector system they're meant to have? They've got a list of every address in the UK. Everyone who's not paid up gets a letter, and if they don't reply they get harassed.

This. Just ignore them, but make sure you don't have your tv connected to an aerial or tuned in, and even if they do turn up on your doorstep, they can't do jack.

 

[Snork Maiden]

iPlayer isn't played "as its broadcast." So while it's probably somewhat unethical to watch iPlayer sans a license, it's certainly not illegal.

Actually iPlayer shows live TV streams as well as a catchup service.

Dammit. Ignore me.

 

[DemonicVixen]

Well, so long as you don't have any kind of access to an electronic gizmo that can receive a TV signal - you should be safe and won't have to pay anything. However, computer monitors are something of a grey-area seeing that you can probably pick up the BBC's i-Player so long as you have an internet connection to your PC.

But the way I see it is - No TV, No need for TV license fee.

Ah well, i told my mother that if i removed my ariel or disconnected it then i wouldnt need to pay for tv license. However, since my mum died the other day (coincidently) i am now wondering what to do... For now, i have turned off the tv's, im not watching them as i need to keep bills low for the moment, and even though its only £11 odd or something each month according to my mum's bank account, its still a lot to pay if you dont watch "normal" tv. All i want is the tv itself so as to still watch DVD's or video's.

(Yeah i can just use my laptop for the DVD player but its not always the same).

 

[Soxafloppin]

Ive never understand a TV license, its not like a car or a gun..You cant kill anyone with it?

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

There is NO license fee for only using iPlayer
If you have BOTH an antenna and a TV Tuner capable of receiving broadcasts (eg. TV card, TV, Freeview box), you have to pay the license.
If you have only one of the two above things, you do not have to pay as you are technically incapable of receiving broadcasts. If you are capable of receiving them, whether or not you do, you have to pay.

And I'd gladly pay the licence fee for shows like QI, Top Gear and F1 coverage, Armstrong and Miller and so much more, all commercial free. Not to mention iPlayer. I can't handle american TV channels the few times I've tried watching it. Watching one show made me want to scream in frustration at the length, frequency and sheer 'annoyingness' of the ceaseless adverts. I can hardly watch ITV or Five at all either.

 

[Binerexis]

I for one don't plan to pay for a TV license when I get a place of my own. There's never anything decent on to watch. If I don't watch television programs broadcast by the BBC then why should I pay money to the BBC for owning a television?

 

[fix-the-spade]

I've been labelled a criminal in their eyes. Even now he said they would send someone round to 'check'. What the hell was the point of ringing up in the first place?

It's bluff and bluster. Every year I get a series of those threatening letters including a 'we are coming' visit notification. I don't own a TV, total number of actualy visits from TV licensing Gestapo... 0. I started getting the letters in 2006, running on a four letter threat cycle each year around November to January, nothing ever comes of it they're just trying to put the willies up you.

 

[Gunner 51]

Well, so long as you don't have any kind of access to an electronic gizmo that can receive a TV signal - you should be safe and won't have to pay anything. However, computer monitors are something of a grey-area seeing that you can probably pick up the BBC's i-Player so long as you have an internet connection to your PC.

But the way I see it is - No TV, No need for TV license fee.

Ah well, i told my mother that if i removed my ariel or disconnected it then i wouldnt need to pay for tv license. However, since my mum died the other day (coincidently) i am now wondering what to do... For now, i have turned off the tv's, im not watching them as i need to keep bills low for the moment, and even though its only £11 odd or something each month according to my mum's bank account, its still a lot to pay if you dont watch "normal" tv. All i want is the tv itself so as to still watch DVD's or video's.

(Yeah i can just use my laptop for the DVD player but its not always the same).

I'm sorry to hear your mum has died, DemonicKitten. I really feel for you there.

But just to be on the safe side, I would stash the TVs at a friend's house just to be safe. I've heard a few rumours that detector vans can pinpoint the location of a TV even if it's switched off.

However, I think you can get away with laptop computers and computer monitors. Seeing that they aren't strictly speaking, televisions. But I do have a friend of mine who even though she has no TVs in her house, she is still in the same boat as you. The TV licensing people will continue to harass you, but don't give in to them.

If all else fails, try and get an appointment with your local Citizen's Advice Bureaux to ask for further advice.

*Edit* According to the TV Licensing webpage you do. http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/ (But looking at it's criteria - I fail to see the logic in needing a TV license if you buy a mobile phone.)

 

[DemonicVixen]

*Edit* According to the TV Licensing webpage you do. http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/ (But looking at it's criteria - I fail to see the logic in needing a TV license if you buy a mobile phone.)

Taken from their website: "What you might not know is that television licensing law still applies to you no matter what you use to watch TV. Whether it's a laptop, PC or any other device that receives television, you need to be covered by a TV Licence. It's the law." So if you buy a phone with intent to watch tv, you need to pay the license. BUMMER! coz i do 2...

 

[_Serendipity_]

They sent me letters all year long when I lived in Halls of Residence, worded in such a way as to imply that they were mere moments from breaking down my door and appropriating my furniture on behalf of the BBC.

It's bullshit and scare-tactics, nothing more. It's good bullshit and scare-tactics, mind you, Around half the people I lived with eventually caved and bought a license for no reason, giving away about £1000 in total for nothing at all.

Ignore them or send them letters explaining that you don't have a TV, it's up to you.

I support the TV licence overall, but their strong-arm borderline intimidation-through-legalese tactics appall me, especially as they pick on students who have just moved away from home for he first time and aren't exactly financially stable.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

If I don't watch television programs broadcast by the BBC then why should I pay money to the BBC for owning a television?

Because it's the law. It doesn't matter if you watch it or not. If you are capable of receiving the broadcasts, you have to pay it. If you only plan to use DVD/HTPC/console, etc then simply buy a "panel" screen (a display without a built in TV tuner) and you will be fine.

 

[Gunner 51]

*Edit* According to the TV Licensing webpage you do. http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/ (But looking at it's criteria - I fail to see the logic in needing a TV license if you buy a mobile phone.)

Taken from their website: "What you might not know is that television licensing law still applies to you no matter what you use to watch TV. Whether it's a laptop, PC or any other device that receives television, you need to be covered by a TV Licence. It's the law." So if you buy a phone with intent to watch tv, you need to pay the license. BUMMER! coz i do 2...

Now that I have read the TV Licensing Website, the whole thing looks more like a tax rather than a voluntary payment. I understand why people are wanting to scrap the whole thing, especially when they resort to such heavy handed intimidation to scare people into paying.

 

[jh322]

iPlayer isn't free, it's basically "If you have watch Live Tv, or have the internet with access to TV".

You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

that's with reference to watching live tv over the internet, not iPlayer

 

[DemonicVixen]

*Edit* According to the TV Licensing webpage you do. http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/ (But looking at it's criteria - I fail to see the logic in needing a TV license if you buy a mobile phone.)

Taken from their website: "What you might not know is that television licensing law still applies to you no matter what you use to watch TV. Whether it's a laptop, PC or any other device that receives television, you need to be covered by a TV Licence. It's the law." So if you buy a phone with intent to watch tv, you need to pay the license. BUMMER! coz i do 2...

Now that I have read the TV Licensing Website, the whole thing looks more like a tax rather than a voluntary payment. I understand why people are wanting to scrap the whole thing, especially when they resort to such heavy handed intimidation to scare people into paying.

Exactly... my mum hated paying for it, as far as she was concerned, you were only meant to be paying for BBC channels only (BBC 1, 2 etc), not the other lot. She hated what was on these channels, there was rarely anything decent on, and she prefered ITV...

Now, i dont know whether this has changed and you are just paying for the privilage of having a tv in your house period, or for the sake of having a metal pole stuck on your roof.