The TV Nazi's

[Scilly Suffolk]

What they fail to say is a licence is not needed if your watching programmes on a pc from another time and not live broadcast.

Absolutely! Which bearing in mind that you can now watch "tv" on everything from a 'phone upwards makes the whole idea of a TV Licence even more ridiculous.

If, as I do, you believe there is merit in a state funded broadcaster (if for no other reason than to stop the likes of Rupert "bastard" Murdoch and pornographers such as Richard Desmond having complete control over the media), then it is high time that it was funded from central taxation.

The abolition of the TV Licencing authority should pay for a whole series of Celebrity Monkey Tennis alone (anything that allows Dad's Army to be laid to rest FFS).

 

[col]

Absolutely! Which bearing in mind that you can now watch "tv" on everything from a 'phone upwards makes the whole idea of a TV Licence even more ridiculous.

If, as I do, you believe there is merit in a state funded broadcaster (if for no other reason than to stop the likes of Rupert "bastard" Murdoch and pornographers such as Richard Desmond having complete control over the media), then it is high time that it was funded from central taxation.

The abolition of the TV Licencing authority should pay for a whole series of Celebrity Monkey Tennis alone (anything that allows Dad's Army to be laid to rest FFS).

Yes, but if you watched live telly on a phone or pc you would need to have a licence in the eyes of the law. But watch those same programmes on the same equipment on iplayer from the day before, and no licence needed.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Which is exactly my point: it's farcical.

 

[col]

Which is exactly my point: it's farcical.

Totally agree, Iv read of people with a tv set, but because they dont watch live tv on it, just use it as a screen for their pc to watch other stuff like iplayer. The tv licence people cant do a thing, its all threats and hopes of people letting them in to see if they are using a tv for live telly. The reason they get so many prosecutions, is because the householders all let them in and admitted to using the telly as a telly, because the threats made scared them.

 

[Scilly Suffolk]

Spot on Col: intimidation and ignorance, the bread & butter of bullies.

 

[Bman]

I thought you meant these ones!

What a mistakea to makea!

 

[MissTillyFlop]

To be honest, I would be quite happy pay more to get rid of ITV, it's all awful.

 

[growingvegetables]

Better still - pay nothing and get rid of the lot! Best thing I ever did - and by god did the telly make a satisfying sound when it hit the bottom of the skip nearly 15 years ago.

 

[Dan B]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3964598/Row-over-television-licence-fee-fines.html
120,955 fines says you're wrong.

[quote="The BBC" ]
TV Licensing visit a sample of homes to confirm there is in fact no television being used as, when we make contact on these visits, almost a fifth of people visited are found to require a TV Licence.[/quote]
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/foi-administering-the-tv-licensing-system-part-2-AB20/

Let's turn that statistic the other way round: over four fifths of people who are sent threatening letters including phrases like "Enforcement Officers", being "interviewed under caution", "taken to court and fined up to £1000", "criminal offence", "summoned to court" and who subsequently have one of Capita's goons turn up on their doorstep have actually done nothing wrong

 

[BluesDave]

I had them turn up on our doorstep several times when we lived up North. On each occasion they would say do you own a television. On each occasion I would reply "it's none of your damn business what I've got in my house". In any event we didn't have a television and if I had my way we wouldn't have one now. Distracting annoying things that they are.

 

[CopperBrompton]

They are absurdly aggressive. I haven't owned a television set for many years, and received from them a great number of threatening letters, despite having replied to the first one advising them that no television set was owned. In the end, I had to threaten legal proceedings for harassment before the letters finally ceased.

 

[tyred]

Look on the bright side. RTE not only insist on a licence fee but also have 5 minute ad breaks.

Apart from F1, I rarely watch TV now and even that is being partly taken away next season. My TV is over 20 year old and will not be repaired or replaced whenever it kicks the bucket.

 

[GrumpyGregry]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/3964598/Row-over-television-licence-fee-fines.html
120,955 fines says you're wrong.

Criminal record, plus a bonus prison sentence for non-payment of said fine, for what is a civil matter.

Some mistake surely?

 

[ASC1951]

Criminal record, plus a bonus prison sentence for non-payment of said fine, for what is a civil matter.

Some mistake surely?

Yes, yours.

It's not a 'civil matter', it's a criminal offence under section 363 of the Communications Act 2003.
http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/21/section/363

 

[MontyVeda]

...

WHY should I have to pay for a TV license if I only want to watch ITV C4 etc and not BBC??

because it's a tv license... the clue is in the name... are ITV and C4 on the TV or not?