[Clart]

Being hounded by TV license people for a tv I haven't got. I told them a few years ago I didn't have one but apparently need to confirm that I haven't got one since. They are now threatening me with a court summons.

Now as far as I'm concerned I've told them once and don't see why I should tell them again.

Point is has anyone gone the distance with these tools?

[slackline]

Never had this problem, but if it goes to court they would need to prove, beyond resonable doubt that you are watching television, what evidence have they provided to suggest that you are?

I'd be inclined to ignore it, you're in the right, if there's a court summons and/or warrant to check your house, you can smugly let them and then tell them to 

[Will Hunt]

My advice would be to ignore it if you have no TV. The cocks used to send literally thousands of these things to my halls in my 1st year of uni. Everyone who didn't have a TV license (i.e. just about everybody) in my hall of over a thousand people got one of these things about once a month. Total waste of resources. I tried to contact them on several occasions and never successfully got through so gave up.

Let them take you to court (very unlikely) and when it turns out that you did no wrong and made every effort to contact them simply insist that they are billed for wasting your time.

[Paul B]

Our tv license expired about a week after we left for a 6 month climbing trip. We phoned before we left and informed them we wouldn't be using it, and that the place would be left empty etc. and the woman was helpful and said that was all fine and "thanks for letting us know".

When we returned I was waist deep in letters threatening this that and everything else which left me royally pissed off. They're just a bunch of CVNTS and seem to use scare tactics to make sure people buy or feel suitably threatened should they be thinking about not doing so.

[lagerstarfish]

insist that they are billed for wasting your time

unfortunately it is the licence payers who ultimately pay for this

send them a link to this thread and it should get sorted within the week

[slackline]

insist that they are billed for wasting your time

unfortunately it is the licence payers who ultimately pay for this

True, but if they realise that they can't go around repeatedly threatening people who don't have TVs then they might, just might, change their tactics and start believing people.

[Clart]

Never had this problem, but if it goes to court they would need to prove, beyond resonable doubt that you are watching television, what evidence have they provided to suggest that you are?

I'd be inclined to ignore it, you're in the right, if there's a court summons and/or warrant to check your house, you can smugly let them and then tell them to 

They have no evidence at all and have a written statement from 4-5 years ago stating that I don't have a tv, which they accepted.

The options they've give me are 1) buy a license or 2) tell us you don't have a tv so we can arrange for someone to come round and check!

FFS, I don't get the police hassling me to get a gun license for the gun I don't own.

I'll continue to sail the fair ship Rebellion against the winds of scaremongry and see where I end up.

[Clart]

insist that they are billed for wasting your time

unfortunately it is the licence payers who ultimately pay for this

True, but if they realise that they can't go around repeatedly threatening people who don't have TVs then they might, just might, change their tactics and start believing people.

Yup, that's my take on it. There is certainly a feeling of guilty until proven (and verified) innocent.

[Will Hunt]

I'll continue to sail the fair ship Rebellion against the winds of scaremongry and see where I end up.

Probably with a load on unwanted mail. Could that count as harassment? While we're griping about this kind of thing it really pisses me off that we get between two and four letters a week from Virgin Media begging us to use their broadband package or some shite. It would be less galling if we weren't already signed up to their poxy service.

Why do I let this annoy me so much? Am I turning into my dad?
 

[DaveC]

We left our last house in the UK over five years ago (and cancelled the TV license at the time) but apparently the couple who bought the house were getting letters from the TVLA for nearly a year and had two visits attempting to follow it up! Sounds like they have some internal communication issues and even worse database management!

[tomtom]

Never had this problem, but if it goes to court they would need to prove, beyond resonable doubt that you are watching television, what evidence have they provided to suggest that you are?

I'd be inclined to ignore it, you're in the right, if there's a court summons and/or warrant to check your house, you can smugly let them and then tell them to 

They have no evidence at all and have a written statement from 4-5 years ago stating that I don't have a tv, which they accepted.

The options they've give me are 1) buy a license or 2) tell us you don't have a tv so we can arrange for someone to come round and check!

If they come around to check, say you sent them a letter X months ago to that effect.... (option 2 that is) and just ignore all the shit that comes through in the meantime. Lifes to short etc... or shit in a jiffy bag and send it to them

[peewee]

I'll continue to sail the fair ship Rebellion against the winds of scaremongry and see where I end up.

Probably with a load on unwanted mail. Could that count as harassment? While we're griping about this kind of thing it really pisses me off that we get between two and four letters a week from Virgin Media begging us to use their broadband package or some shite. It would be less galling if we weren't already signed up to their poxy service.

Why do I let this annoy me so much? Am I turning into my dad?
 

I keep getting letters from Virgin Media offering their services, I'd like to sign up to them but I don't live within 2 miles of any of their equipment yet, Now if they were prepared to spent thousands to run a cable to my house at their expense i would sign up, but since they aren't their junk mail helps to get the fire going each night so not all bad.   

[Clart]

It would be less galling if we weren't already signed up to their poxy service.

Yeh, I get them as well. Apparently if they offer a deal for new customers you too can phone up and take advantage of it. I tried it once but I'd actually have been worse off.

- they only bother visiting poor areas as they know their hit rate will be higher.

...Bugger!

[butters]

Being hounded by TV license people for a tv I haven't got. I told them a few years ago I didn't have one but apparently need to confirm that I haven't got one since. They are now threatening me with a court summons.

Now as far as I'm concerned I've told them once and don't see why I should tell them again.

Point is has anyone gone the distance with these tools?

Sloper used to go through this all the time with very little in the way of success given that they kept pursuing him with almost religious fervour so he eventually gave up and bought a TV - no idea if he has bought a licence for it yet though. 

[Fiend]

LOL. I've had the letters at a couple of addresses for years. I think I opened the first one, then another one that looked exciting as it was all in red, before binning those. The other dozens go straight into the recycling. The concept of actually paying attention to them never occurred to me.

[Snoops]

Point is has anyone gone the distance with these tools?

The payment (non-payment) of this absurd, outmoded and regressive tax used to be a subject dear to my heart but I forget most of the details as I left the UK about six years ago. There were some excellent websites describing people's epic battles with the license people. I vaguely recall that if you live in a relatively respectable postcode, the threatened personal visits will never occurr - they only bother visiting poor areas as they know their hit rate will be higher. But that might have changed.

Its a scandalous tax. If given the choice I would quite happily not watch BBC and be 142 quid better off. Unfortunately we are not...

[dunnyg]

Will, in terms of are you turning into your dad, the test is this:

Do you buy me a drink then let your wife dress me up and then touch me up?   

If so then yes, if not you have a while yet   

[aLICErOBERTSfANkLUB]

There's something awfully familiar about the events of this thread.

Do you think TV Licensing might actually be genuinely retarded and incapable of understanding simple English along the lines of "I do not have a television"?

[remus]

Do you think TV Licensing might actually be genuinely retarded and incapable of understanding simple English along the lines of "I do not have a television"?

I think its more a case of the public being incapable of not being lying bastards.

[Jim]

"There's only one thing for it, Vyvyan, you're going to have to eat the tv!"

[Jaspersharpe]

Any excuse.......

[tomtom]

Superb Jasper Did the toilet end up eating the TV inspector (the clip didnt go on that long but I have hazy memories of that)

[BB]

Didn't he fall through a hole in the floor and the leave at the end of the episode?

[DaveC]

I remember him falling through the hole (where a bomb had fallen through IIRC). I think he just looked around then headed back upstairs.

Have you noticed the "slight" drop in standard from UK TV & radio since you got here? The mrs & I reckon Australian TV & radio are the best advert for the TV license & the BBC you could possibly find - except maybe Brazilian TV!

[SA Chris]

Brazilian TV!

Sminkly Pinky Bang Bang.