No TV Licence

[NorthernSky]

It doesn't work like that, TV goon knocks on the door, when you answer they tell you who they are, you say no thank you & close the door, don't engage in a discussion with them, don't speak to them, that way you don't trip up & drop yourself in it, they are only sales people from Capita, and have no powers whatsoever, you have to sign in to iPlayer so they know if you're watching it, and can trace it back to your ip address if necessary, if you don't talk to them, they can't instigate a prosecution, let alone get The Police involved

this. they will be forceful and try to trip you up asking questions. you need to be vigilant and say no thankyou and close the door. say nothing. i have a license as i watch bbc but there was a period i didn't have one and learnt the hard way about engaging with these goons.

 

[JtB]

You need a TV licence for watching iPlayer or any live TV channel (not just BBC) whether terrestrial, satellite or internet. Also, deleting internet channel Apps from your smart TV / computer is not going to help if your ISP or BBC iPlayer servers log your internet usage.

PS. I seem to remember that temporary portable devices not requiring an external antenna or power connection do not require the property to have a TV license.

 

[Mad Doug Biker]

I’d rather read cycle chat threads from 10 years ago than watch the BBC.

... Pervert!

 

[lazybloke]

Only mugs pay this stealth tax. I’d rather read cycle chat threads from 10 years ago than watch the BBC.

Have you never watched the delights of "Last of the summer wine"? Worth every penny!

 

[bonzobanana]

Competitors are Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Disney and Warner. They all seem to link across the pond to agent orange.

There are free alternatives you just have to put up with some advertising unless you can use an adblocker of course.

 

[bonzobanana]

In that case, how did they come into existence?

A TV licence was required to use a TV before commercial channels existed in the UK. TV licences were introduced in 1946, with the first commercial stations not broadcasting until 1955.

Those first TV licences were required to use a TV set, without any reference to the BBC or other broadcasters. And it basically stayed that way until new rules were required to cover cable and satellitre TV, and later internet coverage.

I really don't accept that requiring a licence damages commercial TV in any real sense.

Surely your logic is flawed. Back then just owning a TV meant you have to have a TV Licence so it had no effect on commercial channels but now millions don't have a TV Licence and also can't watch commercial channels despite them being wholly funded by advertising so it has a huge effect for those people who are honest and don't watch any live TV etc. I don't watch any live tv at all at home but occasionally use itv streaming services but not very often as it more inconvenient. I would probably just have the TV on in the background even if not watching it properly but now I'm more likely to just have the radio on instead.

 

[bonzobanana]

A complteley pointless suggestion, since it isn't remotely close to being an either-or situation.



This is a completely different point, which does have some merit, though I'm not sure many of the current alternatives are much better.

The original point was buying a TV Licence funds British jobs but the BBC is grossly inefficient and wasteful so if you want to have a positive effect on the economy it would be better to buy British products ideally by British companies and manufactured in the UK if possible or simply invest in British companies. This is much more likely to have a positive effect because the BBC will never be self-sufficient and a viable standalone company because its so poorly managed, wasteful of money and pays itself far too much in wages and pensions. I remember ITC which was a brilliant company, made loads of fantastic programs and exported a huge amount of content and was hugely beneficial to our economy at its peak. Unfortunately some bad choices in movies and other issues meant the company went out of business but a truly fantastic British company in the 60s and 70s with a huge catalogue of great shows that were popular around the world.

 

[DaveReading]

the BBC will never be self-sufficient

If it was, it would be indistinguishable from commercial TV companies, and we would be the poorer for it.

 

[MontyVeda]

this. they will be forceful and try to trip you up asking questions. you need to be vigilant and say no thankyou and close the door. say nothing. i have a license as i watch bbc but there was a period i didn't have one and learnt the hard way about engaging with these goons.

The only time a 'goon' has come to my door, he was very nice and immediately stated that he did not want to come in. He had the 'I don't have a telly' form on a clipboard... the same one on the TV Licencing website that supposedly halts the threatening letters for three years. He asked me to sign it, which i did. There was no 'print my name' request so he just got my squiggle. The letters stopped for a year, then started again. I ignored them and they've never returned.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

Only mugs pay this stealth tax. I’d rather read cycle chat threads from 10 years ago than watch the BBC.

Er, what if there is plenty of stuff on the BBC they like watching?

 

[Alex321]

Off topic & don’t normally watch TV except Netflix & Prime but is there a way to uninstall the free view channels on your Samsung tv? Deleted all the BBC related content. Factory reset brings me to back to the initial set-up Samsung TV page and makes me tune them again?!.

Never paid for the license & wanting to keep it that way. Major watching happens on the eyepee tv though. 😀

If you have an aerial and are setting up reception via that, then no you can't uninstall channels.

But if you are receiving ANY TV over the air, then you need a licence, so it is irrelevant whether you can or not.

 

[Alex321]

I'm not sure that's true. There's some videos on YT I've seen where they enter the property with a policeman. it seems that having a device with iPlayer on it is enough to prove that you watch it. Otherwise, how else would they prove an offense that would stand up in court, without monitoring your lounge with a camera 24/7? I could me wrong, happy to be corrected

They can check your online usage, if they have reasonable cause to suspect you have been using iPlayer or live streaming other channels.

 

[Milzy]

Er, what if there is plenty of stuff on the BBC they like watching?

Still don’t pay it. It’s going up because you can get away without paying.

 

[Emanresu]

Still don’t pay it. It’s going up because you can get away without paying.

I've met people who didn't pay - at the Magistrates Court. It seems a lot of hassle to avoid a small amount of money in comparison to what you could spend on Sky for example. Some background. The SJP has made the prosecution route cheaper and faster

• Total Prosecutions: The number of prosecutions has fallen substantially from over 100,000 annually before the COVID-19 pandemic to just 28,542 in the year ending June 2024.
• Conviction Rate: Of those prosecuted, a high proportion are convicted, with some reports citing a 92% conviction rate.
• Gender Disparity: A striking feature is the gender imbalance:
  • In 2023, 74% of all prosecutions for TV licence evasion were against women, despite women accounting for roughly 50% of licence holders.
  • This has been a consistent pattern, though the rate slightly decreased to 73% in the year ending June 2024.
• Court Process: The vast majority of these cases are handled efficiently in the Magistrates' Court using the Single Justice Procedure (SJP), a fast-track, mostly paper-based process where the defendant does not need to physically attend court. This procedure takes an average of only two minutes per case.
• • Fines: The maximum fine for evasion is £1,000, plus court costs and a victim surcharge. However, the actual average fine levied in the past was around £169, with magistrates encouraged to consider an individual's financial circumstances.
  • Vulnerability: Concerns have been raised by legal and advice charities that many of those prosecuted are vulnerable individuals experiencing financial hardship, mental health issues, or confusion over their obligations.

Am I allowed to call this stupid?

 

[Milzy]

If you watch it then maybe you should. In the modern world many don’t watch TV.