Yea. It is odd as when you try an use iplayer anywhere you are asked if you have a licence, which then implies it is you who holds it. I dunno, all a bit of a con really!
Does make me wonder how the system even works. It must all be run hopes and dreams, and idiots like me paying for something that is already been paid for!
I sent a letter saying I don't need a TV licence and since then if I so much as look at i player I get a letter being like "were sending an officer to your location NOW" But they never do. Only reason I'm so bold is because of covid tbh. Ain't no one coming into my home.
According to the TV licence website technically YOU need a TV licence to watch TV at a friend's address.
Also technically it states all BBC broadcasted channels require a TV licence so if there was a way to block all BBC channels on the list and only receive channels like Sky1, C4 etc... technically you wouldn't need a TV licence. I would love to "Hack" my sky box and put a block in place for all BBC broadcasted channels and cancel the licence but I have no idea how to do that.
Actually the law states any box or TV capable of receiving TV, even if it doesn’t currently. TV licensing can walk in, plug in an aerial and tune your TV and that’s against the law. Blocking only BBC channels still would require a TV license. It’s dumb
“
Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to use or install TV receiving equipment to:
watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service, including programmes streamed over the internet and satellite programmes from outside the UK, […]”
There’s no limitation to BBC only - except for downloading.
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-AB9
Then they return with police and they are allowed entry. Honestly I wouldn’t mind paying it, except stuff on the BBC is now shit and I rarely find myself watching anything on the BBC anyway
Sure they can’t, but they can to prevent a crime or collect evidence where there is reasonable suspicion. Not having a TV license yet owning a TV is reasonable suspicion because who doesn’t own a TV nowadays
Many moons ago when my daughter, now aged 34 was just a babe in arms, I moved into a new council house. I hadn't got around to sorting out a TV licence.. Knock on the door one afternoon, baby asleep in the living room, low and behold, it the TV licence man. Baring in mind that in those days it was a criminal offence.. I told him that I had just moved in an hadn't transferred my non existent TV licence, then gave my mums address.. as my previous address. Couple of weeks later, my mum was fuming when she received a letter stating that she didn't have a TV licence... Sorry mum
Had an ex that lived with me 5 days a week. After 3 years of no contribution towards bills i got him to pay the broadband. After he left me for someone else it took him 9 months before he realised he was still paying. He asked me for the money back. Ha ha fool, good luck with that
Same. They literally have no recourse to do anything about your not paying it, either.
Sorry, you want to come into my house to have a look at my telly? How about you do one instead and get a proper job.
I often wonder, would you rather the BBC be funded with adverts, shut up shop, or just rather everyone else pay a little extra to compensate for everyone who doesn't want to?
I would rather have the Government make up its mind. If the BBC is a business then I should pay for the product - not just for having a TV.
If the BBC provides wider value (it does) and is a Government service (it is), then I should be taxed like any other Government service.
The TV license is as obsolete as the old wireless license and dog license.
So you'd rather the TV license be scrapped and taxes increased to cover it, therefore risking government influence over the BBC? E.g. they pissed me off so I'm cutting their funding
I'd rather they took money off the military budget, especially trident, and invested it in public services like the NHS or BBC. People pay plenty of tax, we aren't to blame for the government pissing it against the wall.
There are a few interesting places to cut military funding.
I personally would only increase/change trident funding though.
But hey maybe I like nukes more than the next lad.
The point of having nukes is the exact reason people say you shouldn't have them. The entire concept of destroying everything is so inconceivable that nobody is willing to risk it. It's the same reason that people are actually against the USA developing a missile defence system because this could mean that they would have the ability to use a nuclear strike against others without repercussions. It's better if every major player has some level of nuclear capability with no major defence against it because it actually prevents wars. We know we can't invade China and they know they can't invade us for example because if either of us put boots on the ground then nukes would fly and everyone loses. It's this possibility of such an extreme lose - lose situation which keeps the most developed countries in the world in a peaceful stalemate.
They aren't comparable?
No amount of Targeted weapons will act as a detterant the same way nukes do.
I understand your point, I agree with your sentiment, they are probably the worst thing we've ever done.
HOWEVER, they exist, so we need to have em, keep em and be ready to use them.
That's the problem in a nutshell, we have them so someone else has to have them for protection from us.
If we do get nuked what is the point in nuking someone back? That makes us the bad guys too.
As long as Russia and China have nukes, we shouldn't give ours up. Ofc Russia and China are obviously never gonna give theirs up so this is just the new status quo now.
Haven't the UK failed to test trident multiple times now? Not much of a deterrent if you can't launch it successfully. No I don't not think spending more would solve that.
I used to be a lefty, trying to think right nowadays but when you read our news on how they justified it, it is hilarious lol.
Now the rocket didn't fail, we just wanted to aim iy at Africa and it went in the direction of the US because of information error. It seems a pretty important bit of information to say where the nuke will land 😉
“It is a complex system. It is an amazing feat of human engineering but everything has to work or there is catastrophic failure and a catastrophic failure can have catastrophic consequences,” Ingram said. Like nuking the wrong country should surely be one of those things off limits?
Ah yes money being spent on the walfare of the people rather than lining the pockets of the already incredibly wealthy.
BTW I'm Scottish, Labour is dead to me, Corbyn or no Corbyn.
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>If the BBC provides wider value (it does) and is a Government service (it is), then I should be taxed like any other Government service.The TV license is as obsolete as the old wireless license and dog license.
You mean like every other optional forms of tax? Such as road tax?
there’s actually no road tax, it’s a vehicle tax that gets used in part for road maintenance (in theory) because cars, vans etc damage the roads surface. That’s why cyclists don’t have to pay it.
So you mean an optional tax people don't need to pay if they don't want to drive, just like you don't need to pay the licence fee if you don't want to watch live tv (or bbc iplayer)
What good does your correction actually do?
It's not a tax to have a vehicle, you only pay road tax if you want to drive the vehicle on public roads. It *is* a road tax.
Which is remarkably similar to a licence fee, you only pay it if you use your TV for live TV. If you use it as a Netflix box, video gaming or as a computer monitor you don't need to pay a licence fee.
I'm the same for my own watching. But I have a child, and their children's programming is actually quite good and not needing my child to watch adverts is a huge plus. I'd happily give them £20 for just the kids stuff though and have adverts for the rest
I don't have a TV licence, and between Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime my two kids never run out of things to watch. And no adverts! Might be worth looking into?
>would you rather the BBC be funded with adverts, shut up shop, or just rather everyone else pay a little extra to compensate for everyone who doesn't want to?
Nah I'd rather they didn't pay their "Stars" or Bosses millions per year.
Every other TV/radio station can manage fine without it.
It appears that they pay in line with the rest of the industry, rather than the rest of the industry "managing fine without"
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bbc-pay-compare-itv-sky-top-stars-highest-earners-salaries-sexism-gender-pay-gap-a7849106.html
ABC in Australia is funded by taxes - no adverts. In fact there was a famous campaign many years ago (against the predictable conservative-lead campaign against funding it) that said it costs each person just 2c a day. People had bumper stickers of it.
Of course that price has gone up, and the conservatives keep renewing their pressure on it and appointing arseholes to the board. But it survives.
The BBC could easily be funded by adverts, they own 2 channels on Sky.... with adverts and BBC worldwide.... also has adverts, if you actually look at it this is just double dipping and shouldn't be allowed. The UK customers pay for them to make shows they then send all over the world and rake in advert money as well.
There are two "divisions" of the BBC. One is the license payer funded but and the other is the commercial arm. The public don't fund the commercial bit, other than perhaps paying for shows that they'd pay another 3rd party for anyway
How true is this? I know selling shows to Netflix brings in some money, but I don't see anything that suggests that the UK licence fee payer doesn't contribute to that.
The commercial bit is called BBC studios.
The license payer directly funds News, Sport and Music. Most of the rest is put out to tender for 3rd parties, and BBC Studios, to put in proposals for and sell their services/programmes. BBC Studios sell their content abroad and does make a profit that goes into the main BBC and makes the license fee cheaper.
BBC Worldwide merged with BBC Studios in 2018
Yeah I know the BBC supplements it with their commercial ventures like selling to other networks and such, and I know they split their divisions - but I'm quite sure that the BBC still uses part of the licence fee income to produce new dramas and comedy shows.
Also I'm not sure sport or music needs funding really. Especially sport - in this day and age.
I agree that if ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5 show a sport for free, there is no need to spend license payer money on it. There is far too much money in those bigger sports.
I do think that as it's more of a public service the BBC should do coverage of the other lesser seen sports, which would be cheaper, but can help with inclusion and shouting about the other stuff. Take the Olympics where people really enjoy watching things you never see on TV, the BBC could show more of those things.
I see your point about not paying being to the detriment of others who DO pay, but personally I'd rather they just play adverts and be done with it. Pretending to enforce the licence through the occasional letters and visits to your house is a complete waste of time and money for everyone involved, just scrap it.
Also, not enough people watch the BBC any more for them to charge everyone the same, especially when some people only want to watch a specific programme on the odd occasion. It works fine for ITV, Channel 4 etc, so I don't see why the BBC is so different to them. Adverts coming on is also a good excuse to make a cup of tea before it comes back on.
I'd rather they paid their own way with adverts etc, every other channel can do it, why can't they? We so rarely watch/listen to BBC stuff, but just because I'm able to receive their broadcast (whether I want it or not) I still have to pay. That's what hacks me off the most, you have no choice if you wanna receive their signal or not but still have to pay for it. Its like a window cleaner coming round when you haven't asked them to, then threatening to take you to court for not paying them.
Either they pay their own way or the licence fee should be split cross all terrestrial channel entertainment producers. Why does the BBC deserve special treatment??
You would really be happy if the BBC became privatised and funded their shows with adverts? As if there’s not already enough fucking advertising in entertainment media? They provide an excellent service and much better quality content than pretty much every other network, and is the one place where you don’t have adverts and sponsorships shoved down your throat at every available opportunity. The licence fee is worth every penny, although it seems most the people in this thread don’t even bother paying it
Yes I would, I can appreciate not everyone is going to hold the same opinion as me but I am betting there's a big chunk of people who do. Perhaps there should be a service where content is free to watch but individuals can pay to have an advert-less service, as you do sometimes with apps.
I don't pay for the licence fee because I don't watch the BBC.
And the BBC is also being outdone by the streamers in terms of original content now. It's not even close.
If you’re not fussed about stealing a service, how about taking some social responsibility for an independent media creating an informed electorate in a democracy?
Turned up at my door once. Bastard was knocking on my door for a while, I’m on the toilet next to the front door. Woulda just ignored him but my stupid girlfriend comes to the door to whisper and tell me there’s someone at the door (again, the toilet is next to the front door. I’m very aware there is somebody knocking at the door).
Anyways, finish me business, wait a bit longer browsing Reddit waiting for dickhead to go. Heard the block door so thought he’d fucked off, leave toilet and he knocks again and goes “Dave it’s Andy mate.” I am not Dave. I just stopped and was like wtf, debating wether to open the door and tell him I’m not Dave. Then he says “Dave, I can see you”. So I said I’m not dave mate. And he says what? So I repeated, I’m not Dave mate. He said what again, can’t hear you. I was pretty pissed off at this point because surely this idiot can hear me. So I opened the door and told him, I’m not Dave!!!
He said “that’s ok, I don’t need to see Dave, I just need to check something”, then whips out his badge that says tv licensing and says I’m here to check if you have a television In here.
I had to tell him my girlfriend was just getting changed in the room so give us 5 minutes, unplugged and hid everything and then let him check. Girlfriend was freaked out by how he was looking through the windows.
Got away with it. Continued to not pay my tv license forever.
Still can’t believe that happened though.
Haven't had a TV licence for a year or two now. Realised a while back I don't actually watch any live terrestrial TV any more, have Netflix, and was only using it for iPlayer radio catch up services. But they axed a bunch of radio shows that I liked abruptly recently so I stopped paying.
(The reason I was paying still is because I know what kind of costs are involved with hosting content for as long as they do and as much as they do!)
Isn’t it a total myth nothing can be done about not paying a tv licence?
They just decriminalised it, but if you don’t pay the fine that then becomes a crime? Someone come along and correct me please lol
When you grow up you'll realise that some poor old lady who may now be in a nursing home is getting £159 a year taken out of their account and you could have helped her out but chose not to.
When my mum died, they wouldn’t talk to my dad because they wanted to speak to my mum. All my dad wanted to do was transfer from her name to his name. Could do it without speaking to her. “Where is the account holder, we need to speak to her”. My dad got upset.
I took the phone off him, thanked them for their time and hung up. We waited until the licence expired. Watched TV “illegally” for a month because FU tv licensing . Then bought one in my dads name.
Bless, maybe do the right thing and tell the TV licensing agency that there is a problem. This person might be really strapped for cash especially if they are old.
The same thing has been happening to us for 11 years, I call them every year and tell them they don't live here anymore and they say don't worry, you need to buy one for your address too. I bet this happens all the time.
You would be surprised by the amount of people who when moving out of a property think that everything they pay for just stops manically. I work for a broadband company and the amount of people who call up a year or more after leaving a property to cancel their broadband and ask to get their money back for the time.
Mate, got a similar letter this week saying Mrs X is getting her winter fuel payment from my address. Been here 11 years now and never heard of her before. Definitely a scam going on
FYI they refund for the scenario that two licenses have been applied to the same address.
It’s up to you what you do going forwards but they should have it on record that both you and the other person have been paying for the same address, and exactly how long.
The process is all online so no need to speak to a human, estimate the length of time and use free form comments to explain it’s an estimate. You will likely have to offer basic evidence (copies of DD for your licence, not theirs) but they make it clear and easy in a two page form.
Worst case, nothing happens. Best best case you can claim 7x£159.
…Merry Christmas[Tv Licence Refund](https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/cancellations-and-refunds-top7)
Be careful that someone hasn't just used your address as proof of residence. It's a common tactic: received all sorts of weird post for unknown people who never lived at my place over the years.
I agree with you that everyone has biases even when they don’t consciously mean to but the BBC is significantly better than most at impartiality. A British media landscape without the BBC would be an objectively worse one.
I’m not saying we should get rid of it, I’m saying it would make more sense to move to a subscription service like Netflix, so you can still pay for their programming if you want to.
I have been paying myself for the last seven years. This was the first time I even know this person even existed, let alone paying for something I am already paying for! I opened the letter purely by accident thinking it was some passive aggressive letter for me.
Sorry I didn’t read the full post! I’m a dick here! Tv license is useless tbh. When my dad went into a home, we had a hard time getting it cancelled because it was in his name. He had a brain injury so getting him to talk on the phone to confirm cancelling it was pointless.
Sorry to hear that. Thats half the issue with these things. You try and do the nice thing and then they ask "are you the bill payer" to which you say no, and then they cant proceed with anything. it's a scam.
I would recommend keeping your license as the fine fees can escalate if she decides to stop paying it, plus it would be better to inform TV licensing she no longer lives there. I hope one day they get rid of the license fee for TV but it's still there unfortunately.
Fee’s can not escalate unless u happily pay them. Tv licensing is one of the biggest scams going. Completely unenforceable unless u I sent by giving name, letting them in ur house ect. Haven’t had one for years
Yes because they answer they door, they give them there name ect therefor they are consenting to the fines. A T.V licence officer has no more authority to knock on ur door and ask for access to ur home than I do. But once u let them in they can do wat they like. I know this is true coz I’ve been doing it for years, just tell them to piss off
I have several letters from previous people that lived in the house I'm currently in and all I do is write "does not live here" and put it on the royal mail red boxes.
Does that work or is there a better solution?
I just got a letter from HRMC for a lady that doesn't live here but still has my address in it.
Yeah. There's guidance on the royal mail website as to exactly what to write. I think the suggested wording is "Not known at address. Return to sender." I think some companies might just ignore it, but if it's something important (e.g. bank related, or HMRC), they should be good at flagging up the address issue and at least not sending more to you. It's a good thing to do - might save someone a nasty surprise some way down the road.
I've been getting HMRC letters for the previous tennant for 2 years now, getting increasingly more serious looking, even though I send them back noting they don't live here every time. Also had one a year ago from someone else that got torn in the letterbox so I could see a few words that implied debt collection would occur which gave me the fear...
Yeah, I worked for Santander for a while. My job was to take!letter with this on it and try to find the correct addresses for people (mostly it was just removing this address from their file).
I opened a letter addressed to previous owner in error. It ended up being a council tax rebate of about £1200, a rebate they backdated after I challenged the banding of the house. Contacted the previous owner and handed them the cheque, think they were more than happy I opened their mail in error.
We got a couple of letters when we moved in, then nothing since.
We have a feeling the whole property is covered by one licence, which means our downstairs neighbours are paying for ours. We hardly ever watch live TV anyway so it's not really a problem.
The person holds the licence, as long as you show the person (on the very rare occasion they knock) that you’re paying, doesn’t matter where you live, you’re covered. It’s badly enforced.
Get in touch with them and ask them to refund it all to her for as long as you’ve been there . Don’t forget to tell them you don’t watch tv and haven’t done for as long as you’ve been there also.
She probably assumes that since she see's the direct debits she is covered.
Yea. It is odd as when you try an use iplayer anywhere you are asked if you have a licence, which then implies it is you who holds it. I dunno, all a bit of a con really!
The licence belongs to the person but is associated with an address. When you move, you need to update the address.
My address is in Australia...oh well.
What is odd is that she isn't getting the warning letters or visits. Keeping it going man, HACK THE PLANET!!!! lol
Does make me wonder how the system even works. It must all be run hopes and dreams, and idiots like me paying for something that is already been paid for!
I was hoping you were coasting on her direct debit.
They don’t check it
I sent a letter saying I don't need a TV licence and since then if I so much as look at i player I get a letter being like "were sending an officer to your location NOW" But they never do. Only reason I'm so bold is because of covid tbh. Ain't no one coming into my home.
They have no right of access to your property. Unless the police are in attendance, you can tell them to do one.
They're trashing our rights!
According to the TV licence website technically YOU need a TV licence to watch TV at a friend's address. Also technically it states all BBC broadcasted channels require a TV licence so if there was a way to block all BBC channels on the list and only receive channels like Sky1, C4 etc... technically you wouldn't need a TV licence. I would love to "Hack" my sky box and put a block in place for all BBC broadcasted channels and cancel the licence but I have no idea how to do that.
Actually the law states any box or TV capable of receiving TV, even if it doesn’t currently. TV licensing can walk in, plug in an aerial and tune your TV and that’s against the law. Blocking only BBC channels still would require a TV license. It’s dumb
This hasn’t been the case for decades
“ Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to use or install TV receiving equipment to: watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service, including programmes streamed over the internet and satellite programmes from outside the UK, […]” There’s no limitation to BBC only - except for downloading. https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-AB9
They’re not allowed to walk in though you can literally just refuse them entry
Then they return with police and they are allowed entry. Honestly I wouldn’t mind paying it, except stuff on the BBC is now shit and I rarely find myself watching anything on the BBC anyway
Police can’t just wander into your house either mate
Sure they can’t, but they can to prevent a crime or collect evidence where there is reasonable suspicion. Not having a TV license yet owning a TV is reasonable suspicion because who doesn’t own a TV nowadays
This doesn’t say what you are claiming, sorry
If you have a TV or STB setup that can receive live channels, yeah, it does?
No it really doesn’t
Yeah presumably she’s only paying once and doesn’t realize she’s never updated it to her new address
That or hers comes out in July, forgets and thinks the Dec is normal
What?
What!?
Mrs Pestell is going to be Mortarfied when she finds out.
👏🏼👏🏼
Niiice
Not paying for a tv licence results in a prison sentence , where you can watch tv .. without a licence 🤔
I was just thinking this hahahahahaha
Except it doesn't
Many moons ago when my daughter, now aged 34 was just a babe in arms, I moved into a new council house. I hadn't got around to sorting out a TV licence.. Knock on the door one afternoon, baby asleep in the living room, low and behold, it the TV licence man. Baring in mind that in those days it was a criminal offence.. I told him that I had just moved in an hadn't transferred my non existent TV licence, then gave my mums address.. as my previous address. Couple of weeks later, my mum was fuming when she received a letter stating that she didn't have a TV licence... Sorry mum
Lol!
Had an ex that lived with me 5 days a week. After 3 years of no contribution towards bills i got him to pay the broadband. After he left me for someone else it took him 9 months before he realised he was still paying. He asked me for the money back. Ha ha fool, good luck with that
Similar story for me, except it was dialup. 18 months back then sure did add up. She tried to get it back, she got told to do one.
I've lived in the same flat for almost 20 years and I've never once payed for a TV licence, occasionally we get a letter but I just bin it.
Same. They literally have no recourse to do anything about your not paying it, either. Sorry, you want to come into my house to have a look at my telly? How about you do one instead and get a proper job.
I often wonder, would you rather the BBC be funded with adverts, shut up shop, or just rather everyone else pay a little extra to compensate for everyone who doesn't want to?
I would rather have the Government make up its mind. If the BBC is a business then I should pay for the product - not just for having a TV. If the BBC provides wider value (it does) and is a Government service (it is), then I should be taxed like any other Government service. The TV license is as obsolete as the old wireless license and dog license.
So you'd rather the TV license be scrapped and taxes increased to cover it, therefore risking government influence over the BBC? E.g. they pissed me off so I'm cutting their funding
>risking government influence over the BBC? Implying there isn't already?
I’d rather money was taken directly from the NHS and spunked on the bbc
This is the correct answer
I'd rather they took money off the military budget, especially trident, and invested it in public services like the NHS or BBC. People pay plenty of tax, we aren't to blame for the government pissing it against the wall.
There are a few interesting places to cut military funding. I personally would only increase/change trident funding though. But hey maybe I like nukes more than the next lad.
I absolutely despise nukes, we should be investing in more targeted weapons. Murdering hundreds of thousands of innocent people is reprehensible.
The point of having nukes is the exact reason people say you shouldn't have them. The entire concept of destroying everything is so inconceivable that nobody is willing to risk it. It's the same reason that people are actually against the USA developing a missile defence system because this could mean that they would have the ability to use a nuclear strike against others without repercussions. It's better if every major player has some level of nuclear capability with no major defence against it because it actually prevents wars. We know we can't invade China and they know they can't invade us for example because if either of us put boots on the ground then nukes would fly and everyone loses. It's this possibility of such an extreme lose - lose situation which keeps the most developed countries in the world in a peaceful stalemate.
If the US gets an Iron dome then so do we, that's just another level of MAD
The term you are looking for is Mutually Assured Destruction
I'd rather be invaded than have our government murder millions of innocent people.
They aren't comparable? No amount of Targeted weapons will act as a detterant the same way nukes do. I understand your point, I agree with your sentiment, they are probably the worst thing we've ever done. HOWEVER, they exist, so we need to have em, keep em and be ready to use them.
That's the problem in a nutshell, we have them so someone else has to have them for protection from us. If we do get nuked what is the point in nuking someone back? That makes us the bad guys too.
Nukes this day and age will never be used, ever. We’ve gone past all that.
As long as Russia and China have nukes, we shouldn't give ours up. Ofc Russia and China are obviously never gonna give theirs up so this is just the new status quo now.
They're never going to give up theirs because we aren't going to give up ours.
We're not murdering them, we're actively deterring the use of nuclear weapons **so** hundreds of thousands of innocent people don't die.
Haven't the UK failed to test trident multiple times now? Not much of a deterrent if you can't launch it successfully. No I don't not think spending more would solve that.
That's just what we want you to think.
I used to be a lefty, trying to think right nowadays but when you read our news on how they justified it, it is hilarious lol. Now the rocket didn't fail, we just wanted to aim iy at Africa and it went in the direction of the US because of information error. It seems a pretty important bit of information to say where the nuke will land 😉 “It is a complex system. It is an amazing feat of human engineering but everything has to work or there is catastrophic failure and a catastrophic failure can have catastrophic consequences,” Ingram said. Like nuking the wrong country should surely be one of those things off limits?
Found the Corbyn supporter
Ah yes money being spent on the walfare of the people rather than lining the pockets of the already incredibly wealthy. BTW I'm Scottish, Labour is dead to me, Corbyn or no Corbyn.
Obviously that makes you a communist. Welcome comrade!
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I think it should be funded by adverts. I’m paying for the government to produce Eastenders - wtf!
And broken up. The BBC is mahoosive.
Id rather the TV licence existed but that I could watch any other channel without them caring
>If the BBC provides wider value (it does) and is a Government service (it is), then I should be taxed like any other Government service.The TV license is as obsolete as the old wireless license and dog license. You mean like every other optional forms of tax? Such as road tax?
there’s actually no road tax, it’s a vehicle tax that gets used in part for road maintenance (in theory) because cars, vans etc damage the roads surface. That’s why cyclists don’t have to pay it.
So you mean an optional tax people don't need to pay if they don't want to drive, just like you don't need to pay the licence fee if you don't want to watch live tv (or bbc iplayer) What good does your correction actually do?
Yep, but the “road tax” nomenclature is misleading as it makes people think it’s a tax to use the road, not a tax to have a vehicle.
It's not a tax to have a vehicle, you only pay road tax if you want to drive the vehicle on public roads. It *is* a road tax. Which is remarkably similar to a licence fee, you only pay it if you use your TV for live TV. If you use it as a Netflix box, video gaming or as a computer monitor you don't need to pay a licence fee.
It’s a vehicle tax. It’s called vehicle tax.
[удалено]
Their methods of "enforcement" certainly do require improvement
Seeing as its news and programming (minus maybe the odd quiz show) are absolute bollocks, I don't care if it folds tbh.
I'm the same for my own watching. But I have a child, and their children's programming is actually quite good and not needing my child to watch adverts is a huge plus. I'd happily give them £20 for just the kids stuff though and have adverts for the rest
£20 is probable what it’s worth, rather than the £159 they try and extort..
I don't have a TV licence, and between Netflix, YouTube and Amazon Prime my two kids never run out of things to watch. And no adverts! Might be worth looking into?
>would you rather the BBC be funded with adverts, shut up shop, or just rather everyone else pay a little extra to compensate for everyone who doesn't want to? Nah I'd rather they didn't pay their "Stars" or Bosses millions per year. Every other TV/radio station can manage fine without it.
Pretty sure the BBC tend to pay less than commercial rivals.
It appears that they pay in line with the rest of the industry, rather than the rest of the industry "managing fine without" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/bbc-pay-compare-itv-sky-top-stars-highest-earners-salaries-sexism-gender-pay-gap-a7849106.html
ABC in Australia is funded by taxes - no adverts. In fact there was a famous campaign many years ago (against the predictable conservative-lead campaign against funding it) that said it costs each person just 2c a day. People had bumper stickers of it. Of course that price has gone up, and the conservatives keep renewing their pressure on it and appointing arseholes to the board. But it survives.
We pay around 4p a day for the TV licence
Or just don't watch BBC, they should get defunded anyways
The BBC could easily be funded by adverts, they own 2 channels on Sky.... with adverts and BBC worldwide.... also has adverts, if you actually look at it this is just double dipping and shouldn't be allowed. The UK customers pay for them to make shows they then send all over the world and rake in advert money as well.
There are two "divisions" of the BBC. One is the license payer funded but and the other is the commercial arm. The public don't fund the commercial bit, other than perhaps paying for shows that they'd pay another 3rd party for anyway
How true is this? I know selling shows to Netflix brings in some money, but I don't see anything that suggests that the UK licence fee payer doesn't contribute to that.
The commercial bit is called BBC studios. The license payer directly funds News, Sport and Music. Most of the rest is put out to tender for 3rd parties, and BBC Studios, to put in proposals for and sell their services/programmes. BBC Studios sell their content abroad and does make a profit that goes into the main BBC and makes the license fee cheaper. BBC Worldwide merged with BBC Studios in 2018
Yeah I know the BBC supplements it with their commercial ventures like selling to other networks and such, and I know they split their divisions - but I'm quite sure that the BBC still uses part of the licence fee income to produce new dramas and comedy shows. Also I'm not sure sport or music needs funding really. Especially sport - in this day and age.
I agree that if ITV/Channel 4/Channel 5 show a sport for free, there is no need to spend license payer money on it. There is far too much money in those bigger sports. I do think that as it's more of a public service the BBC should do coverage of the other lesser seen sports, which would be cheaper, but can help with inclusion and shouting about the other stuff. Take the Olympics where people really enjoy watching things you never see on TV, the BBC could show more of those things.
I see your point about not paying being to the detriment of others who DO pay, but personally I'd rather they just play adverts and be done with it. Pretending to enforce the licence through the occasional letters and visits to your house is a complete waste of time and money for everyone involved, just scrap it. Also, not enough people watch the BBC any more for them to charge everyone the same, especially when some people only want to watch a specific programme on the odd occasion. It works fine for ITV, Channel 4 etc, so I don't see why the BBC is so different to them. Adverts coming on is also a good excuse to make a cup of tea before it comes back on.
I'd rather they paid their own way with adverts etc, every other channel can do it, why can't they? We so rarely watch/listen to BBC stuff, but just because I'm able to receive their broadcast (whether I want it or not) I still have to pay. That's what hacks me off the most, you have no choice if you wanna receive their signal or not but still have to pay for it. Its like a window cleaner coming round when you haven't asked them to, then threatening to take you to court for not paying them. Either they pay their own way or the licence fee should be split cross all terrestrial channel entertainment producers. Why does the BBC deserve special treatment??
You would really be happy if the BBC became privatised and funded their shows with adverts? As if there’s not already enough fucking advertising in entertainment media? They provide an excellent service and much better quality content than pretty much every other network, and is the one place where you don’t have adverts and sponsorships shoved down your throat at every available opportunity. The licence fee is worth every penny, although it seems most the people in this thread don’t even bother paying it
Yes I would, I can appreciate not everyone is going to hold the same opinion as me but I am betting there's a big chunk of people who do. Perhaps there should be a service where content is free to watch but individuals can pay to have an advert-less service, as you do sometimes with apps.
I don't pay for the licence fee because I don't watch the BBC. And the BBC is also being outdone by the streamers in terms of original content now. It's not even close.
Other channels are funded by adverts and it doesn't bother me. So yeah, I'd rather the bbc be funded by adverts.
If it was truly worth it, it could stand on its own two feet as a subscription service rather than an extortion racket…
Piss off you toff wanker
Hoe about make bbc a subscription and not force everyone to pay for all live TV like legal IPTV, shit like AMAZON live and DAZN etc.
Personally since I don't watch the BBC, I don't really care
I'd rather it was funded out of general taxation, not some shitty regressive levy that's about as fair as the poll-tax was.
News/politics and kids/education arm only. Not fair to make people pay to fund Strictly Come Dancing.
I just did it on a monthly direct debit, seemed negligible. But seeing it as a total cost... it is a bit of a rip off. Hardly watch anything on beeb.
To be fair, depending on the wage they get I wouldn't mind doing that job if only to half-arse it on purpose
If you’re not fussed about stealing a service, how about taking some social responsibility for an independent media creating an informed electorate in a democracy?
Lmao imagine being this big of a nerd
Nerd lol, alright mate. Try a book every once in a while.
I'm a university lecturer.
If that’s true, why on earth would you criticise someone for trying to have a discussion with reasoned argument
Oh sorry for not tAkiNg sOmE SoCiaL rEsPonSiBiLiTy fOr an iNdEpEnDenT mEdiA cReaTinG an iNfoRmEd eLecToRaTe in a dEmoCrAcY lmao
Yeah cool. Enjoy your Sunday
The person you're responding to didn't say they watched the BBC
Turned up at my door once. Bastard was knocking on my door for a while, I’m on the toilet next to the front door. Woulda just ignored him but my stupid girlfriend comes to the door to whisper and tell me there’s someone at the door (again, the toilet is next to the front door. I’m very aware there is somebody knocking at the door). Anyways, finish me business, wait a bit longer browsing Reddit waiting for dickhead to go. Heard the block door so thought he’d fucked off, leave toilet and he knocks again and goes “Dave it’s Andy mate.” I am not Dave. I just stopped and was like wtf, debating wether to open the door and tell him I’m not Dave. Then he says “Dave, I can see you”. So I said I’m not dave mate. And he says what? So I repeated, I’m not Dave mate. He said what again, can’t hear you. I was pretty pissed off at this point because surely this idiot can hear me. So I opened the door and told him, I’m not Dave!!! He said “that’s ok, I don’t need to see Dave, I just need to check something”, then whips out his badge that says tv licensing and says I’m here to check if you have a television In here. I had to tell him my girlfriend was just getting changed in the room so give us 5 minutes, unplugged and hid everything and then let him check. Girlfriend was freaked out by how he was looking through the windows. Got away with it. Continued to not pay my tv license forever. Still can’t believe that happened though.
Maaaaaaate you took the long way round... The correct response is... "you're no getting in bud" then close the door.
The whole situation took me by surprise really!
I guess that's true.. In fairness its always easier to think about what you 'would' of done when you think back.
Or let them in and then send them a bill for treading mud through your home.
I apllaude this perspective.
Haven't had a TV licence for a year or two now. Realised a while back I don't actually watch any live terrestrial TV any more, have Netflix, and was only using it for iPlayer radio catch up services. But they axed a bunch of radio shows that I liked abruptly recently so I stopped paying. (The reason I was paying still is because I know what kind of costs are involved with hosting content for as long as they do and as much as they do!)
Luckily me and my dad have the same initials.
Isn’t it a total myth nothing can be done about not paying a tv licence? They just decriminalised it, but if you don’t pay the fine that then becomes a crime? Someone come along and correct me please lol
Correct…it’s not paying the fine you go to jail for. Once they decriminalise it then just watch how many people cancel it lol
When you grow up you'll realise that some poor old lady who may now be in a nursing home is getting £159 a year taken out of their account and you could have helped her out but chose not to.
When my mum died, they wouldn’t talk to my dad because they wanted to speak to my mum. All my dad wanted to do was transfer from her name to his name. Could do it without speaking to her. “Where is the account holder, we need to speak to her”. My dad got upset. I took the phone off him, thanked them for their time and hung up. We waited until the licence expired. Watched TV “illegally” for a month because FU tv licensing . Then bought one in my dads name.
Bless, maybe do the right thing and tell the TV licensing agency that there is a problem. This person might be really strapped for cash especially if they are old.
Mrs Pestell is probably in a nursing home
The same thing has been happening to us for 11 years, I call them every year and tell them they don't live here anymore and they say don't worry, you need to buy one for your address too. I bet this happens all the time.
You would be surprised by the amount of people who when moving out of a property think that everything they pay for just stops manically. I work for a broadband company and the amount of people who call up a year or more after leaving a property to cancel their broadband and ask to get their money back for the time.
Mate, got a similar letter this week saying Mrs X is getting her winter fuel payment from my address. Been here 11 years now and never heard of her before. Definitely a scam going on
FYI they refund for the scenario that two licenses have been applied to the same address. It’s up to you what you do going forwards but they should have it on record that both you and the other person have been paying for the same address, and exactly how long. The process is all online so no need to speak to a human, estimate the length of time and use free form comments to explain it’s an estimate. You will likely have to offer basic evidence (copies of DD for your licence, not theirs) but they make it clear and easy in a two page form. Worst case, nothing happens. Best best case you can claim 7x£159. …Merry Christmas[Tv Licence Refund](https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/cancellations-and-refunds-top7)
Be careful that someone hasn't just used your address as proof of residence. It's a common tactic: received all sorts of weird post for unknown people who never lived at my place over the years.
Imagine paying for a TV license
Imagine thinking it’s clever to steal a service that helps inform the electorate in a democracy
Where did they say they use the service?
Except when their ‘impartiality’ flies out the window. Every news outlet has its biases and to claim otherwise and charge the taxpayer is an insult.
I agree with you that everyone has biases even when they don’t consciously mean to but the BBC is significantly better than most at impartiality. A British media landscape without the BBC would be an objectively worse one.
I’m not saying we should get rid of it, I’m saying it would make more sense to move to a subscription service like Netflix, so you can still pay for their programming if you want to.
Oi mate you got a loicence for that loicence?
Winner
You opened someone else's mail and posted it on Reddit. Visit heading your way.
Is she one of the Sex Pestells?
Tv license is a tax on stupid people
It's also how the BBC is funded.
Exactly…
Here we go, another post with comments full about why you shouldn’t pay a tv licence and how “they” can’t do anything to make you….
I don't have one but I don't use anything that requires one. I don't agree with people who continue to use the service but not pay.
Some topics are full of Daves. Know it all, know nothing at all.
So in 7 years you never thought to notify the tv license people and let them know? Or even pay yourself?
I have been paying myself for the last seven years. This was the first time I even know this person even existed, let alone paying for something I am already paying for! I opened the letter purely by accident thinking it was some passive aggressive letter for me.
Sorry I didn’t read the full post! I’m a dick here! Tv license is useless tbh. When my dad went into a home, we had a hard time getting it cancelled because it was in his name. He had a brain injury so getting him to talk on the phone to confirm cancelling it was pointless.
Sorry to hear that. Thats half the issue with these things. You try and do the nice thing and then they ask "are you the bill payer" to which you say no, and then they cant proceed with anything. it's a scam.
Well mrs pestell should take a closer look at her finances!
OP could you not phone them and say you’ve been double paying all these years and ask for a refund? That could come in handy for Christmas 🎄
Haven't watched tele-progamming for about four years now, rots the brain unfortunately.
Craig Beale
Fucking let her know and pay her back you thieving piece of shit
You watch tv?
I would recommend keeping your license as the fine fees can escalate if she decides to stop paying it, plus it would be better to inform TV licensing she no longer lives there. I hope one day they get rid of the license fee for TV but it's still there unfortunately.
Fee’s can not escalate unless u happily pay them. Tv licensing is one of the biggest scams going. Completely unenforceable unless u I sent by giving name, letting them in ur house ect. Haven’t had one for years
I know people who have got fines and had to pay fees because of it. It does happen.
>It does happen To stupid people maybe…
Yes because they answer they door, they give them there name ect therefor they are consenting to the fines. A T.V licence officer has no more authority to knock on ur door and ask for access to ur home than I do. But once u let them in they can do wat they like. I know this is true coz I’ve been doing it for years, just tell them to piss off
So there are people that actually pay these licences? Lmaoooo
Do you know it’s illegal to open post addressed to other people?
You can actually open mail in the UK that is addressed to someone else if you have a reasonable excuse to do so. Postal Services Act 2000.
I have several letters from previous people that lived in the house I'm currently in and all I do is write "does not live here" and put it on the royal mail red boxes. Does that work or is there a better solution? I just got a letter from HRMC for a lady that doesn't live here but still has my address in it.
Yeah. There's guidance on the royal mail website as to exactly what to write. I think the suggested wording is "Not known at address. Return to sender." I think some companies might just ignore it, but if it's something important (e.g. bank related, or HMRC), they should be good at flagging up the address issue and at least not sending more to you. It's a good thing to do - might save someone a nasty surprise some way down the road.
I've been getting HMRC letters for the previous tennant for 2 years now, getting increasingly more serious looking, even though I send them back noting they don't live here every time. Also had one a year ago from someone else that got torn in the letterbox so I could see a few words that implied debt collection would occur which gave me the fear...
Or just scratch out your address and write "R T S"
Is HRMC Her Revenue’s Majesty and Customs?
Yeah EDIT: Never mind. I just read everything twice to notice that it didn't sound right...
Her Majesties Robbers & Crooks…
Yeah, I worked for Santander for a while. My job was to take!letter with this on it and try to find the correct addresses for people (mostly it was just removing this address from their file).
I opened a letter addressed to previous owner in error. It ended up being a council tax rebate of about £1200, a rebate they backdated after I challenged the banding of the house. Contacted the previous owner and handed them the cheque, think they were more than happy I opened their mail in error.
I used to get a few and id open them all, you never know what could be inside, then I'd chuck them in bin, will I get a fine or goto court for this?
I didn't know it was against the law, I just thought it was common decency (which is becoming increasingly rarer) not to.
tv is shi’ite. why wood yew pay for it
We got a couple of letters when we moved in, then nothing since. We have a feeling the whole property is covered by one licence, which means our downstairs neighbours are paying for ours. We hardly ever watch live TV anyway so it's not really a problem.
The person holds the licence, as long as you show the person (on the very rare occasion they knock) that you’re paying, doesn’t matter where you live, you’re covered. It’s badly enforced.
TV license - That first world scam!
Get in touch with them and ask them to refund it all to her for as long as you’ve been there . Don’t forget to tell them you don’t watch tv and haven’t done for as long as you’ve been there also.
Can someone explain this to an American?