Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

If the BBC can retain it's current excellent service and keep costs to the public the same then i am in favour of any model it chooses ,but i seriously doubt that as a private company it would be possible to run the BBC as a not for profit organisation ,it is quite frankly a ridiculous idea .I might add also that i am certainly not blinkered ,i simply favour the cheapest option to retain a national service that is used by 80% of the population

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Why would the BBC become a private company if all they do is set a subscription charge based on the present charge set by the Government, that way those who wish to pay and watch can and those who don't want to pay don't watch.

A subscription linked to a decoder and card would NOT mean the BBC is a private company. All it would do is make the BBC produce quality programs because if they don't they will not get the subscribers. If it mean that the BBC's output gets better then that's great if not then the senior managers might at last get a kick in the behind unlike now where they know they get the money no matter how bad they perform.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

The question you have to ask is why would a public service broadcaster need a decoder ,the BBC is meant to be a public service with a shared cost ,any other model simply will not be a public service imo.
If you are saying that we no longer need a public service broadcaster like the BBC,CH4 and i think CH5 then that is a totally different discussion to one of should we have TV licence

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I'd imagine the BBC would do ok being a private entity, given the number of people who watch their amazing *gag* shows like Eastenders and the like, I bet they wouldn't mind paying £1-3 a month for access to all the BBC TV shows.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Not all receivers have a card slot. The ones in my TV's don't and why should I have to buy something extra to watch the BBC?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Indeed but why should i have to pay the Tv tax when i dont watch it ?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

For the same reason you pay taxes to fund all sorts of services our government has deemed socially necessary, even though you don't use them. You see, no matter how many times you ask that question, the answer isn't going to go away. ;)

You can of course argue that a quality national broadcaster with a remit to produce a wide range of programming for a wide range of audiences is not actually socially necessary. You wouldn't be the only one to think that. But you would have a hard time pushing that view in a democratic forum like Parliament, which votes on the BBC's Royal Charter every 10 years. MPs are mostly in favour of the BBC's status and polls show that voters are too.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

That may be the case Chris, but I reckon that some time in the not so distant future, the BBC and it's forced licence fee, will be assigned to room 101, where it belongs.

People are beginning to realise just how corrupt and out-of-date "Auntie" really is. The BBC, are losing the public's support and confidence, and this will show in their figures.

Many people I know have already cancelled their direct debits, and many more are refusing to be forced into paying for something they no longer want nor need.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Actually despite the recent scandals at the BBC "Aunties" audience share has remained steady ,people have not turned off because of any scandal or perceived corruption

http://www.barb.co.uk/viewing/weekly...ry?period_year[]=2014&period_month[]=3&period_week[]=2&button_submit=View+figures&period[]=201403060102

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

They may not of turned off but i bet more and more are not paying ;)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

That may be the case i have no idea ,i would imagine that because it is getting easier to evade a greater number are making a conscious decision to not pay it but still use the service

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Luckily i have never had the pleasure of watching it. :D

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I would pay to watch Sherlock, or Planet Earth, or Doctor Who. Do you not watch any of them? Sherlock is very good.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

They've killed of Nasty Nick Cotton.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

WHO ?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I wouldn't but the wife is quite partial along with about 7 million other people.You may want to look past 1 program you dislike and look at some others ,a really good one i watched over the last couple of days was a drama called 37 days ,about the build up to and causes of the first world war ,a class production and one typical of the BBC

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

You do know that BBC content often ends up on Discovery and Nat Geo ?That in doing so the BBC are recouping the licence money?That the the licence money you don't want to pay to watch Eastenders etc but in fact go to produce a lot of documentaries and Natural History programmes as well.;)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I wouldn't knock Benedict Cumberbatch's Sherlock before you've seen him in action. Personally, for me, the quintessential Sherlock was Jeremy Brett, but Cumberbatch does a damn good job.

Regarding the programme Planet Earth, I fail to see how you can dismiss it as "you've seen one rutting rhino, you've seen them all". That's like dismissing the output of Discovery by saying "Well, you've seen one Nazi Invasion, you've seen them all" or "You've seen one big machine, you've seen them all". Discovery has some excellent documentaries. As does the BBC, but you need to be prepared to look a little further than just BBC 1 or 2. BBC 4 has documentaries that, in some cases, are better than those provided by Discovery or National Geographic (and I speak as a fan of Discovery, which was actually the main reason I got cable).

Regarding the comments about Doctor Who, refusing to watch the whole series because you didn't like one actress who stopped being a main character 8 years ago is a little odd, IMO. The series has changed a lot since it's re-launch and has given us what are, IMO, some of the best examples of storytelling on British TV recently. One example being Blink where a young girl, Sally Sparrow (played brilliantly by Carey Mulligan before she was famous) gets to rescue the doctor who has been trapped along with his assistant in 1969. This episode was wonderfully creepy.

---------- Post added at 13:12 ---------- Previous post was at 13:05 ----------

Also, bear in mind that the profits from something low-brow but cheap to make (like Eastenders) also go back into making the more high brow stuff.

To give an idea of prices, an episode of Eastenders costs around £141,000 to produce. A good drama can cost ten times that per episode.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

True.

I'll be honest, when Dr Who relaunched, I was very excited (being a long term fan). Then I saw the first couple of episodes and wondered why I'd bothered. A couple of weeks later, we had two of the best stories of the series (as a whole), "Dalek" and "The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances". Dalek was quite a taught action/thriller story about the Doctor, Rose and a few other people being trapped in a massive underground bunker in Nevada with the last remaining Dalek, and the story did a good job of making the Dalek look scary (especially the way it massacres a group of armed security guards without even moving from the spot). Then, the Empty Child came along, featuring the Doctor visiting WWII London, where a seriously creepy small boy was looking for his mummy. As a story, I have not done it justice, but it actually manages to be scary in the way a lot of Horror films aren't.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I think after years of supporting TV licencing my opinion has changed, it's been a year.since I got a TV again and I'm not getting value for money from it, if it wasn't for the kids I'd go without the idiot box again for another five years

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I finally cancelled my licence this week, well perhaps I should say attempted to cancel it!

Their site sends you around in circles, if you choose the option of cancelling your licence it opens up a form for you to ask them a question with pre-defined categories.

I cancelled the monthly direct debit with my bank and then used one of the generic headings about direct debit to inform them. I made it clear that I was not asking them a question but I was making a statement that I did not need a TV licence because I do not watch live or recorded TV.

Note:

I didn't elaborate but due to a number of reasons I don't watch live TV at home.

a) I'm hardly ever there due to work commitments and spending the majority of my time at my partners house. (I don't even watch TV when I'm there)

b) Any time I have at home is spent on my hobbies, study or achieving something else productive.

c) The majority of programming appears to be soaps, game shows, talk shows and reality TV, which I would never watch anyway. The only sport I would watch is boxing, and the vast majority of this is on subscription TV anyway. (I cancelled my Sky subscription about 4 year ago and have not missed it one bit)


I have received an email reply acknowledging that my direct debit has been cancelled on their system, and that it is paid in advance and I can follow another link supplied to apply for a refund. To be honest I'm not bothered about applying for a 1 month refund, but I'm keeping the email from them safe as I expect the threats of action to start soon.

This is long overdue, I should have done it 4 years ago when I cancelled the Sky subscription. The only reason I kept paying is the hassle factor and the thought that they may gain entry by force because I'm hardly ever there. (As the police did last year when they were so sure without any evidence that I was running a large scale drugs operation. They had a lot of egg on their faces but are still refusing to pay for their incompetence on that one)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Good job!

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Monday night on Discovery History - Fred Dibnah's Age of Steam

Discovery Home & Health - Homes Under The Hammer

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

here's a few

http://www.thewrap.com/tv/article/bb...e-series-37851

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_Day

http://www.discovery.com/tv-shows/ot...net-videos.htm

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Welcome to the 'Everybody's doing it' club.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

:LOL:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I finally got rid of the BT part of my youview box - so if I can talk Natalie into it I'm dumping it and going down the no license / on demand route.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Excellent.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

i think its going to be a rough couple of years for the BBC once the Tv Tax is no longer a criminal offence. The occurrence of non payment will increase you can bet.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Pretty much as expected, following TVL's acknowledgement of my email that I don't need a licence.

I have now received a letter headed with bold 'Please respond urgently'. It informs me that I must set up a new direct debit or visit a link provided to inform them I don't need a TV licence.

The link is the same form that I attempted to fill in previously, after completing the form it tells me that I cannot inform them that I don't need a TV licence as I already have a TV licence.:dunce:

It appears that they deliberately send you around in circles, obviously they don't understand that some people wish to stop using their product/services. Or rather they refuse to accept that anyone could possibly do without live TV services.

The link eventually sent me back to the section to ask them generic questions with pull-down question topics and sub-topics. What a surprise that there is no pull-down to inform them that I wish to ask a question about cancelling my licence. I don't want to ask them anything, I have already stated to them in an email that they have acknowledged that I don't need a TV licence.

I have gone back to step one and had to use the generic question about a 'refund' to again tell them I don't need a licence. I'm not going to waste any further time on these people because it's obvious the only way to keep them off your back would be to carry on as I was paying for something I wasn't using.:td:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I would write to them the old fashioned way and send it by recorded post.

Keep the receipt and letter, you'll probably need it...you naughty criminal you! :P

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I will not be long before the goons are at the door to collect there tax money. :mad:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

The Times on Friday had an article (behind paywall) which said one way of funding by subscription could be supported would be by encrypting the broadcasts.... It wouldn't be easy, but this initiative would support those who say they never watch the BBC, as it would not disadvantage them.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

You can bet they will still try to say you can end up in court. As soon as this is passed i will stop paying and they can go to hell.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

That,s the system i want them to go to as it means i am not charged for something i don't use. They can easily do the same as the adult channels do.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I wouldn't have a problem with that as long as they encrypted EVERYTHING the license currently pays for not just the TV.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Indeed i have no issue with that.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Sounds good to me.
Including the BBC site(s).

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

How am I supposed to watch Eastenders?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

And Doctor Who... How are we to survive without our dose of DW?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I think the writing is now on the wall for the TVL, and I think that is exactly what is the long-term aim of those who have successfully lobbied for decriminalisation of non-payment.

There will undoubtedly be those who were put off non-payment by the threat of a criminal record who will be willing to chance it if there is only a civil penalty. There will be others who see the 'downgrading' in severity as a signal that it is now sort-of OK to refuse to pay. By the time we get to negotiations for the 2027 charter renewal I predict the BBC will be struggling with a serious non-payment problem and this will force significant changes to the BBC's funding model from 2027.

I don't believe the idea of encrypting its services will fly; half of all households still don't take subscription TV and the BBC will not take the chance that resistance to that funding model and the technology that supports it will lead to reduced take-up of its services. We are going to end up in a world where the BBC sells advertising slots just as ITV does, and as the BBC hoovers up a share of the finite advertising money available to our supermarkets, consumer brands etc, we are going to see some other less popular channels go to the wall.

Interesting times ahead.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Which will be because they might not be providing the level of service that encourages people to watch. Conversely the BBC don't not give a hoot if they provide good programs because they still get there money via a tax that at this time is FORCED on people with no choice.

The BBC needs to be brought in to the real world and i hope that is about to be done. Ether the BBC finds a new model that allows choice for those who do not wish to watch them and therefore are not forced to pay the tax or they loss a lot of money.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Good news

http://news.sky.com/story/1231467/tv...ce-jail-threat

Even the Labour party have said they will support it

:clap:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

The BBC have already threatened to close services if this goes through and they lose revenue as a result.

The thing is however they managed to **** £100 million up the wall on a failed IT project with no real comebacks and have handed out hundreds of thousands of pounds in overly generous severance packages.

It's definitely time for the BBC to feel a bit of a squeeze on its finances. Yes, it does make and transmit a lot of great stuff, and as someone who can only receive the 5 main BBC radio statons (R1-4 and Radio Cymru) I do have some support for them, but in broadcasting terms its a behemoth, and unlike Sky/VM/BT or any other broadcast platform I can't avoid paying them.

Using the licence fee to pay for the world service/S4C/BBC Alba is a good start, as these are public/not commercially viable services that the licence fee was envisioned to pay for once ITV got going. Should the other broadcasters get a share? I'm not so sure.

One thing is for certain though, if the licence fee must remain then it should be made a requirement that all TV masts carry all multiplexes, otherwise your in a situation where someone paying £145.50 in Cardiff is getting much better value for money than someone on a 3 multiplex relay paying the same £145.50

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Why the BBC should keep the licence fee. I'm sure I know him from somewhere? ;) :D

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

LOL Carl Waring!

he was the same with blueyonder back in the day. even the staff avoided him :)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

....oh hell, Carl Waring? Scary stuff.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

So we go from scrapping the licence to every household needing one regardless of having an actual TV or not

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/t...or-longer.html

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Hands up who didn't see that one coming.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

They've been angling for it for years - this is not the first time someone has pointed out that online broadcasting will have to be brought within the remit of the licence at some point.

I think I can see the possibility of the TVL becoming a precept on top of council tax, with the collecting authority passing on the appropriate amount to the BBC as a 'PSB tax' or somesuch. I suspect, also, there is now a greater likelihood of an idea the BBC likes somewhat less : top slicing the fee so other broadcasters can apply for funding for public service programming.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

So they now want to call it a tax, its been a tax in every way but name for many years.

From the article above

also the poll on that link is as follows


Would it be fair to pay the licence fee even if you do not own a television?

Yes - we should take the rise of online on-demand viewing into account 11.49% (722 votes)

No - this seems exploitative 86.28% (5,421 votes)

Undecided 2.23% (140 votes)

The BBC need to be brought to task and made to work for there money not just get handed it on a plate via a tax. Make it subscription and then they will find out if there programs are worth paying for.

---------- Post added at 09:50 ---------- Previous post was at 09:44 ----------



As soon as it is decriminalised i will not pay it.


Indeed

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Put it behind a pay-wall.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I think you're pretty much on the money there, Chris.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I suspect that as some have already mentioned, it will become a tax, either on earnings or most likely added to council tax. This will be good news for those who don't work or pay any tax as those who work will be paying it for them.

I suspect that this is the real reason why Labour are in agreement with it becoming a non criminal offence, it fits in with their political policy where those who work to pay and those who won't work get it for free.

Such a method of collecting the licence payment would be unfair because it would be compulsory for those tax payers who do not view the services.

Subscription/conditional access is the only fair method:dozey:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Indeed so the lazy gits that will not work and have never worked get free tv and the workers who have to fund the lazy gits benefits get shafted again. You can bet it will not get deducted from there benefits :mad:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

If you look at it that way about having money deducted from their benefits. you could have deductions of..

£14 for The bedroom Tax
£3 the TV licence
£4 Poll Tax
£2.50 Out of work Tax
£1.50 Burden Tax
£0.90 Dave Tax

every week.

after all the taxes, they'd have nothing left :)

Probably best to deduct a Robbing Tax just in case.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

If you say so.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

If Labour are agreeing it should be a civil offence, I'm sure they will have something like this up their sleeve should they get in. I expect it to appear in their manifesto to make sure they secure the votes of the shirking class.:rolleyes:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

:tu:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

It's pretty similar to how things have been working in general regarding entertainment mediums as far as the last 10+ years have been concerned.

Working or not, those who insist on downloading stuff for free & who refuse to pay for media are being subsidised by those who do pay.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Indeed. This is how it goes. Over 60% of all households in the UK are net beneficiaries from the state. As a wild generalisation it's not until a household's gross income breaks a little over 38k/year that they are likely to be paying more in tax than they are receiving in all kinds of services, benefits, etc, from the state.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Cheating by downloading music etc via torrents is not limited to a certain class of society though is it. This though would mean free media services for a particular section of society with government blessing.

I can't understand why Labour didn't think of this idea years ago.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

They were worried the Conservative party would privatise it then subsidise it with oodles of taxpayers' cash in order to shovel yet more of our money into private pockets and buy more election donations and votes.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

You're quite right, it absolutely is not.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

What do you get for the 0.90 Dave tax?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Top Gear repeats.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Not a signed photo, pulling his best frowny constipated baby face then, shame

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

BBC licence fee could be re-examined, says Harriet Harman.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...-harman-labour

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

but she didn't offer any ideas of how to fund the BBC ;)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Who also said:

So she's not on the verge of announcing some kind of radical policy shift.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Indeed but a good debate on how the BBC goes forward is something that cannot be put off for much longer as the TV licence fee as it is is not substainable in the long run.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Look at what she said though. She wants the BBC to be universally available, so that rules out subscription. She wants it to have a measure of independence from government, so that rules out funding out of taxation. By implication, she doesn't find the prospect of making the BBC advert-supported appealing, otherwise she wouldn't have said "we haven't found it in the past" - the State-owned broadcaster, Channel 4, is funded in precisely this way. It is a solution that is well understood.

She wants to keep an open mind but she does not want to come to the table with a radical plan for change. I don't think the TVL is going anywhere quite yet.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Indeed, role on decriminalisation. ;)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I'm very surprised, it was over 3 months ago that I cancelled my licence. I had an initial contact where they had completely ignored my wish to cancel and sent me a letter to set up direct debit. I sent them an email reply being very blunt so I assume they got the message.

Since that I have heard nothing further from them, I guess they could have been around looking for me but they would be lucky to find me at home. A number of years ago when I didn't have a TV licence the letters arrived at least one a week. Then again I guess the threatening letters could start any day soon.:erm:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

She's not said anything that hasn't been said before over the last two years. She's not even in power so can't change anything.

Must be an election coming up and she wants some publicity. She's been on a few things lately, maybe she is trying to become leader of the Labour Party. I doubt she could care less about the BBC and licence fee tbh.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

It'll be 4-6 months before the first bozo turns up. Before that you'll get the following numbers of increasingly silly letters all in envelopes marked "Urgent action required" or something equally stupid.

"Every home needs a TV licence" Blatent lie.

"Official warning: We have opened an investigation" :rolleyes:

"You have not responeded to out letters yet" :rolleyes: No reason that I have to morons.

"We are in the final stages of our investigation" :rolleyes: Not much of one when you've supposidly had a dozen or so now.

"What you need to know if you go to court":rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes: I'm not going to court, idiots.

"Ignoring this letter could cost you more than the licence fee" :LOL:

And they'll try harassing you by phone too. Caller ID is your friend.

Repeat ad nausium. You'd think after 5 years they might get the message: Get lost losers.

Oh I forgot the one that looks like a form where you should declare whether you have TV receiving/recording equipment and then send it back to TVL. I mean you have no licence and you're going to admit you're breaking the law. Really are these people for real.:rolleyes:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

To think that people have been in jail for non payment of a TV license and the cost of the court case. How much does it cost to keep people in jail. Poor old tax payers footing the bill.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

No they haven't ,they go to jail for ignoring the fine as anyone else would for ignoring a speeding fine for example

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Dooh.. as if I did not know that... the point is what does it cost to keep THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT PAY THE FINE... in jail.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

you sure ??

presumably the same as anyone else who goes to jail for non payment of any other fine .Having said that it looks now that non payment will be decriminalised so it won't matter .It looks like the BBC will have to rely on peoples honesty to pay for the service they receive.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

The BBC don't care about that as the money to keep them in jail doesn't come out of their pocket, it came out of the tax payers pockets instead. The system was heavily in their favour before.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Just like the honest way there idiots from the TVL try to work you over. See goggle for links to there actions. ;)

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Or they could stop providing / forcing that service on to those who can't, won't and don't pay.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

they don't :rolleyes:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

If this come to pass I wonder what threats TVL will be able to use?


Comfy chair? :LOL:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

They do, if i only want to ever watch Sky sports on my TV or monitor i still have to pay the TV tax. A tax that is then given to the BBC for doing sweet FA as they have nothing to do with the production of sport on SKY. How is that not forced ????

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

Be aware that the latest wheeze by TVL is to get their officers salesmen to dress in high viz jackets to encourage you to open the door.:rolleyes:

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

How don't they?

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

That's the thing with these guys, if you let them in and they see you have a tv then they assume guilt of watching live tv without a licence and a judge will believe them. For someone like me who doesn't watch live tv at all now, only catchup or downloads, no tv licence is needed but it's more hassle than it's worth to let them in my place if they knock. They would do everything they could to fine me. Entering dialogue with them by letter is also pointless and a waste of time in my opinion.

They can't see in my windows and can't even get through the gate unless I buzz them in so I don't have to worry them seeing a movie playing from the media centre of bluray player. I have had them ring the buzzer and say they are here to inspect the property without saying who are they are and with it being a newly build place I was waiting for someone to have a look for the one year warranty on stuff anyway. Glad I pushed him for who he worked for, still wouldn't tell me at first and even when he told me he worked for Capita (which I know collect for them) he didn't mention bbc or tv licencing. So they are as crafty as can be, hardly come across as legitimate. Just like their threatening letters about investigations being opened. They must fool people in to paying who don't actually need one, which is criminal!

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

From their(capita) point of view most people who say they don't need one actually do need one so it is perfectly understandable for them to be suspicious and assume guilt .......plus it is their job ,as it is the BBC's legal duty to collect the fees

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

The point is in this country you are innocent until proven guilty. They shouldn't be treating people like criminals nor turning them in to criminals. Having a criminal record for not paying a private company is beyond ridiculous and i'm glad it's changing.

If it's their job to treat me like a criminal then there is something wrong with their job. Their time of getting their friends in politics to pull strings for them is coming to an end though.

Assuming guilt here is the same us as assuming all BBC employee's are paedophiles. It's understandable considering some of their employers have been caught bang to rights....

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

knocking on doors and asking for proof that a person does not need a licence is hardly treating people as criminals .Anyway this has been done to death and the overwhelming conclusion is that some people will shout and scream harassment and victimisation whilst getting a freebie

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I've just heard that Sky are going to unscramble all their channels so that everyone will have access to them... The licence fee will be increased to £568.48 in order to pay for it.

Hang on, I don't watch Sky, I don't want it. Hard luck, pay up or suffer the monthly threats and random visits from the enforcement officers!

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

You don't really have any idea what a public service broadcaster is do you

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

:nono: The overwhelming conclusion is that the BBC through capita are harassing people that don't need a licence, on a monthly basis.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

the burden of proof is on the person claiming they do not need a licence so it is to be expected that someone will knock on your door or "harass" you as you put it .I should point out that i am in favour of treating non payment as a civil matter ,similar to that of a parking fine

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I think you are getting your opinion mixed up with the law!

I have no reason to let anyone into my house to have a look around unless they have a search warrant.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

I didn't say you had to let anyone into your house ,i said the burden of proof is on people who claim they don't need a licence to show they don't need a licence .

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

So, explain to me how I 'show' that I don't need a licence.

Re: TV licence non payment could be made a civil offence
 

by allowing TVL enforcement into your house to see for themselves that you don't need one ,it really is that simple .Of course if you are so bloody minded as to not allow them into your house to check then any "harassment" you might get is your own fault .