Confused about tv licensing!?

GM.

It's a interesting story .I had nerer heard
A hammer to be needed

No hammering on me

Derke N

You need a licence to use.
You own a TV. You can receive programmes. But you choose not to use. That is confusing for them.
Get rid of the TV. Problem solved.

steffi

I have a property in which there is no TV set. Have replied to reminders telling licensing people this, but they still continue to send me demands every month. Actually they send me two, as they are also using a very similar address, which does not exist.
I refuse to incur the expense of postage or a telephone call every month to tell them that I still don't have a set. Currently, I'm ignoring them. It's been going on for years. They did call once, but I wasn't home, and of course, there was no signal.
Another property I own was empty for a while, we got a license refund when my Father died. Reminders started a month later. House was empty for about two years, and then daughter moved in, and bought a licence. Reminders still continue to come 8 years on.
Am just waiting to see what will happen in both cases.
Reminders are worded in an extremely threatening way. Can imagine an elderly person would buy a license, even if no TV, just to get the authorities off their backs. Meanwhile, I continue to feel harassed, and postage and printing costs must mount up for the licensing authorities.

Robin Darkmere

TV licence inspectors do NOT have the rite to enter your home UNLESS you invite them in, or they are accompanied by a Police Officer with a warrant.
The TV licence is for owning a TV or any other electrical equipment that is capable of receiving a broadcasted signal. Whether you have a watchable picture or not, you have to have a licence if your equipment is capable of receiving and displaying broadcasted images.

Charmed

I pay the tv licence,but to me it is a waste of money.....paying the Government to watch tv .......Just another tax....to rip off people.

Little 'ole Me

Assume you are in the UK - Looks like you do not need one according to TV licencing site, but you must put it in writting
and enforcement officer may come to check.

"You need to notify us in writing that this is the case and one of our Enforcement Officers may need to visit you to confirm that you do not need a licence.

Please write to us including your name, address and the reason you believe that you don't need a licence at:

TV Licensing
Bristol
BS98 1TL
"

http://tvlicensing.metafaq.com/templates/tvlicensing/main/answerPage?_mftvst:answerRef=%24http%3a%2f%2fapi.transversal.com%2fmfapi%2fobjectref%2fEntryStore%2fEntry%2fhttp%3a%2f%2fwww.metafaq.com%2fmfapi%2fMetafaq%2fClients%2ftvlicensing%2fModules%2flicensingInfo%2fTopics%2fgeneral%3a134832%3a3&_mftvst:moduleID=%24licensingInfo&_mftvst:topicID=%24&id=QP7DR86VEA008P054L1OSTSBJ0

makepumpstwo

that's a tricky one, you have a tv that can receive pictures and you have an aerial so you could put them together and watch tv.
Best get rid of one of them !! Either that or buy a license.

Tony A

To the best of my knowledge you must have a licence, in the U.K, if you have equipment that is capable of receiving and demodulating a television signal. Many years ago people tried to get round this by recording the TV programs on a video recorder and playing them back later. This also proved against the law as the VCR has an RF unit which can receive and demodulate the TV signal. Sorry, I think you are going to have to pay.

kjb2b

you need a TV license if you have a TV that can receive pictures,even if you only watch DVDs on it,it is still capable of receiving.I'd buy a license or get rid of your TV if I was you.

dlwelnel

All the previous posters are wrong. The TV licencing website clearly states:
__________________________________

You do not require to purchase a TV licence if you use your TV solely for:

Watching pre-recorded video (however, if you watch video recorded from a TV by someone else you may need a licence)

Computer gaming or as a computer monitor
Monitoring a closed circuit TV or CCTV network

If the TV used for the above purposes is ever used to watch a TV programme or if there is another TV in the household on which you watch programmes or with which you record them, then you will need a licence.
__________________________________

If you do not watch or record TV broadcasts then you do not need a licence, regardless of whether the TV is capable of receiving them. The best thing to do is to detune all of the channels (i.e. set them all to the minimum in the frequency range) and don't plug it in to the aerial.

Send a letter recorded post to the TV licence people saying that you have a television which is only used for watching non-recorded films on DVD and/or videos. They will say that an inspector will call, but none will. If they do call then you don't have to let them in, but if you have nothing to hide then just show them the TV and let them be on their way.

12 months later you'll get another letter from them saying you need to buy a licence or pay a fine, and you have to repeat the whole process!

TV licencing is the only time where you are assumed guilty until proven innocent. I have no TV and they just can't figure it out! They assume I must be telling lies and keep saying inspectors will call, but in 6 years I have never had a visit from an inspector. To be honest, I would welcome such a visit!

maca

sorry but if you have a t.v. in your home then you need a licence for it

northy

Tv license is a total con anyway !!!!!!!!!!!!

RobisaLone

It happend to me i had my tv in the cornner, they treid it thay said it was able to receve, i got a fine, Hope that helps

mistymiss

Remove the TV from the property

It's good to hear of a parent that reads and plays with their child, rather than plonking them in front of the telly

sick of extremists

TV licensing are heavy handed in their policing. They use blunt descriptions to frighten people into paying.

My wife moved out of her house prior to selling up and cancelled the license. The house had repeated thretening letters, even though TV licensing knew what was going on.

You need a TV license if you watch broadcast TV through an aerial, satellite dish or cable, or films taped off the TV. You do not need one to watch legal pre-recorded tapes and DVDs.

The problem is that it's difficult to prove that if you have a TV hooked up to a DVD player you are only using it to watch pre-recorded DVDs. Detuning your TV is technically enough to render it incapable under the law, but inspectors will not take no for an answer easily. Do you live in your own property? Can you cut the aerial cable in a way that is obvious.

The heavy handed methods of TV licensing agents may be difficult to stand up to. We certainly felt intimidated by the letters sent to a house we don't even live in!

Marc S

Technically you only need to have equipment "capable of receiving a TV signal" to require a license. So if your TV has a tuner in it you do technically require a license, even if you never watch TV, you have no way to prove this. If you are worried, you can get rid of the TV and get a PC monitor to use for watching DVDs, as then there is no way you could watch TV and you would be exempt from the license.
They regularly send those threatening letters to every address on their books without a license, hoping to scare non-payers into paying, but if you just phone them and tell them you have no TV, they will most likely not contact you again.

M T

When I was in halls of residence we needed a TV Licence if we had TV's in our individual rooms. However, we were told that we didn't need one if there wasn't an aerial attached and we only watched videos and dvds on it.

Keith

You do need a license, but avoid paying by Direct Debit monthly, unless you're happy paying for 18 months worth of license in the first year. The fee structure does this as a matter of course, unless you pay quarterly (which incurs an additional £5 per year) or annually. You can claim the additional six months back if you cancel your license, but then you need to not have a TV as described above! Its a bit unfair, methinks.

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