[Doofy]

Just been to the mail box:

Important: Please respond to this letter by 26th February to avoid your details being passed on to our Enforcement Division for investigation.

Dear Occupier,
Our database lists this address as unlicensed. It is important you realise that it is now illegal to use television receiving equipment to watch or record programmes at this property, and this will remain the situation until it is adequately licensed.

Please respond by 26th February to avoid an investigation into your case by TV Licensing's Enforcement Division. The consequences of such an investigation can be serious.

What if you do not use TV equipment at this address?

Please call us on 0844 800 5888 and let us know. We will schedule a visit to confirm the situation, following which we will update our records.

What will the procedure be if you do not respond by the above date?

Your details will be prepared for transfer to our Enforcement Division for investigation. Regional Officers will be scheduled to visit your address. If they find evidence that TV receiving equipment is being used on the property without a valid licence, you may be cautioned and your statement will be taken in accordance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Acts 1984. You may face prosecution and risk the maximum penalty of a £1,000 fine.

In order to avoid first steps in the investigation stage, please ensure your home is properly licensed urgently.

Yours faithfully,
blah blah blah
Customer Service
TV Licensing

Interesting. The only way to let them know that I haven't got a TV is to call a premium rate number and then let them into my house to check that I'm telling the truth.

Since I'm going to do neither (TV Licensing does *not* vet its enforcement staff for criminal records), this should be a fun ride.

(Yes, my colonial cousins - you require a TV licence to watch TV in this fetid sinkhole of a country. And since *everyone* must *obviously* have a TV, everyone must have a licence, right?)

[voodoo]

Good luck with that. In one island nation in the Atlantic they've done away with hunting people and now are just going to tax every person with an annual TV tax.

You only have to exist, who cares if you own a TV or not. Count your blessings.

[Peter]

I've had about four of those letters. We have a tv and only use it for xbox 360.

[Sherman Homan]

Police and Criminal Evidence Acts 1984

The act was passed in 1984?!
That is a neat little bit of irony.

[d4nth3m4n]

wait, that's a legit letter? at first glance i thought that was a scam where they got you to call a premium number (like a 900 number here in the states) and then stalled, keeping you on the phone and jacking up their profit.

heh, that'd be a pretty good scam actually.

e: for the sake of curiosity, how much is the tv license?

[Jawbone54]

This is crazy. Poop on that.

That's it...I'm becoming a libertarian.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n 

wait, that's a legit letter? at first glance i thought that was a scam where they got you to call a premium number (like a 900 number here in the states) and then stalled, keeping you on the phone and jacking up their profit.

Yup, legit. From TV Licensing - a department of the BBC.

More stories of fun and games at Abolish the TV Licence [ www.tvlicensing.biz ] - I've spent the afternoon there getting myself armed.

Originally Posted by d4nth3m4n 

e: for the sake of curiosity, how much is the tv license?

About $280 a year.

[turtle777]

Only in Amaraca Germany, UK and other European countries

This is one of the reasons I left the old world. Darn communists.

-t

[Buckaroo]

Is this a government license or a BBC scam? If it was the government, couldn't they determine who owns TV's when the TV's are purchased?

Do they also have a license for VCR's and iPods?

[osiris]

My deepest sympathies Doofy, that is totally outrageous.

[Chongo]

Is that per TV or for the entire home?

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

Is this a government license or a BBC scam? If it was the government, couldn't they determine who owns TV's when the TV's are purchased?

It's a government backed licence. And it's a scam.

They have a database of every property in the country and run matches against their database of people with a TV licence. And then automatically assume that everyone without a licence is watching TV illegally.

Also, when you buy a TV the retailer must, by law, hand your details over to TVL. Much fun can be had by paying first and then refusing to give details.

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

Do they also have a license for VCR's and iPods?

VCRs, yes (has a built in tuner). iPods, no. Not yet anyway.

Originally Posted by osiris 

My deepest sympathies Doofy, that is totally outrageous.

No worries, no need for sympathy. Since I don't own a TV (and thus am totally in the clear) I'm gonna play around with them a little.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

Is that per TV or for the entire home?

Per property. Unless it's subdivided (as it would be in student residence halls) and then it's per room.

[turtle777]

Doofy, you shouldn't complain.

In Germany, those fsckers make you pay for the license even if you don't own a TV, but just a computer.

They say that you can receive some of the public broadcast material via the internet, streaming, so you technically own a "TV capable" device.

-t

[Buckaroo]

I see that it isn't going to get any better for you over there.

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | '�10 licence to smoke' proposed

[Dork.]

If you see one of these at your door, it's all over....



TV Detection vans!

If you can't beat them, though, why not join them?

[Peter]

£28k is pretty good

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Peter 

£28k is pretty good

Don't forget the "generous uncapped incentive scheme" - i.e. the more people you harass the more bonus you get.

[seanc]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

I see that it isn't going to get any better for you over there.

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | '�10 licence to smoke' proposed

I wish someone would give these people something constructive to do so they'd stop inventing new laws and other rubbish all the time.

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by turtle777 

Doofy, you shouldn't complain.

In Germany, those fsckers make you pay for the license even if you don't own a TV, but just a computer.

They say that you can receive some of the public broadcast material via the internet, streaming, so you technically own a "TV capable" device.

-t

They officially changed it here, so it’s no longer a television license, but a ‘media’ license.

That means you’re obliged to pay if you have any kind of device that can pick up any kind of multimedia broadcasting (including Internet access), including—but not limited to—televisions, radios, computers, mobile phones, iPods, and even clocks that automatically fetch the correct time from an Internet server.

The licence is about $450 per year.

Bloodsuckers.

[Buckaroo]

I take it that means $450 for all your devices? It's like a tax? It sucks bad enough, but it would really suck if you had to pay it for each device.

Originally Posted by Oisín 

They officially changed it here, so it’s no longer a television license, but a ‘media’ license.

That means you’re obliged to pay if you have any kind of device that can pick up any kind of multimedia broadcasting (including Internet access), including—but not limited to—televisions, radios, computers, mobile phones, iPods, and even clocks that automatically fetch the correct time from an Internet server.

The licence is about $450 per year.

Bloodsuckers.

[Love Calm Quiet]

The *real* tax on TV is having to suffer through 300+ channels of ::yawn:: & ::gross::

I weep to be out of reception range.

[ On the other hand: what the OP describes is no more a TV tax than a lung tax: "Someone live there. That'll be $xxx.xx, thank you very much." [ Flat tax ]

[Big Mac]

So this is the latest tax fad sweeping western Europe, huh? Quick, someone cover Congress's ears before our Congress critters find out their cousins across the pond have an amazing new racket going!

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

So this is the latest tax fad sweeping western Europe, huh?

Apparently, some 70% of Brits want it gone.

For me, the main problem is to do with the enforcement procedures (they can break down your door while you're out to check that you're not telling porkies about not having a TV).

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Apparently, some 70% of Brits want it gone.

For me, the main problem is to do with the enforcement procedures (they can break down your door while you're out to check that you're not telling porkies about not having a TV).

They can break in without a search warrant?

[Big Mac]

Sure they can. You didn't think the Constitution's Bill of Rights were enacted just for show, did you?

[Buckaroo]

Originally Posted by Big Mac 

Sure they can. You didn't think the Constitution's Bill of Rights were enacted just for show, did you?

I was not aware that England had the Constitution's Bill of Rights.

[Big Mac]

Very funny.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

They can break in without a search warrant?

Well, they need to get a warrant, but they've been known to lie to the judge in order to acquire one. And then the law says they can enter whenever they feel like it, either on their own or with a copper.

Bear in mind that the company involved does no vetting of its staff for criminal records. So effectively, the law is giving your house keys to someone who might have been to prison for burglary in the past year and hoping that they won't take their own TV in there with them to "fit you up".

It's crazy.

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by Doofy 

Bear in mind that the company involved does no vetting of its staff for criminal records. So effectively, the law is giving your house keys to someone who might have been to prison for burglary in the past year and hoping that they won't take their own TV in there with them to "fit you up".

Well, that would do you just well, right ?

-t

[kelso]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

They officially changed it here, so it’s no longer a television license, but a ‘media’ license.

That means you’re obliged to pay if you have any kind of device that can pick up any kind of multimedia broadcasting (including Internet access), including—but not limited to—televisions, radios, computers, mobile phones, iPods, and even clocks that automatically fetch the correct time from an Internet server.

The licence is about $450 per year.

Bloodsuckers.

450$ a year? Sorry for the language, but that is ****ed up ****.

Might as well have a toilet license too! Pay 400 bucks to take a ****!

[turtle777]

Originally Posted by kelso 

450$ a year? Sorry for the language, but that is ****ed up ****.

Might as well have a toilet license too! Pay 400 bucks to take a ****!

Don't forget, the $ is weak.

In Europa, you can hardly get a Happy Meal for $ 450

-t

[Oisín]

Originally Posted by Buckaroo 

I take it that means $450 for all your devices? It's like a tax? It sucks bad enough, but it would really suck if you had to pay it for each device.

Yes, it’s a per-household fee, not a per-unit fee. That would be impossible to pay, since nearly everyone has at least six or seven different units that qualify.

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by kelso 

Might as well have a toilet license too! Pay 400 bucks to take a ****!

Oh shut up - don't be giving them ideas!

Heh. "Phoning the government" is sort of a standing euphemism around here - meaning "I've got to go phone the government to ask them if I can take a dump".

[Oisín]

What’s that a euphemism for?

I thought, at first glance, you meant that ‘phoning the government’ was a slang euphemism for taking a dump. “Excuse me, I need to go phone the government”.

[Sherman Homan]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

I thought, at first glance, you meant that ‘phoning the government’ was a slang euphemism for taking a dump. “Excuse me, I need to go phone the government”.

And thus are slang phrases created!

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Oisín 

I thought, at first glance, you meant that ‘phoning the government’ was a slang euphemism for taking a dump.

Yep. I just over-explained it, that's all.

[Laminar]

I phoned the government this just a few minutes ago.

[Atomic Rooster]

Un****ingbelievable!!!1!

I'd emigrate to Russia. What a reversal of sh!t.

No wonder guns are illegal on that little island.

Can't wait to see how sharia works out.

[JoshuaZ]

Its the same in Japan. Theres a TV 'tax' for the national TV channel called NHK. They send little old ladies around to collect money from people, which is like $30 a month. The upside for me is that I play the dumb foreigner, ignore the letters, and realize that there is no enforcement behind any of it.

Which may explain why the channel is losing so much money these days. Japanese people are wising up to it.

I also don't watch Japanese TV and feel no guilt. I am dead on the inside.

[Kerrigan]

I have also received about 4 or 5 of those letters threatening an "embarrassing trial" and a potential fine of several thousand grand. For the record, we had no TV in our flat. We're students, we use computers.

[Chongo]

70s Public Information Film - TV Detector Van

I seem to remember Monty Python doing a skit on the BBC TV vans.

[moonmonkey]

What's funny is those vans were completely fake, they just called at houses without registered licenses and TV aerials on the roof.

Don't get me started on those fake buttons they put there for pedestrians on road crossings.

[Andy8]

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ 

Its the same in Japan. Theres a TV 'tax' for the national TV channel called NHK. They send little old ladies around to collect money from people, which is like $30 a month. The upside for me is that I play the dumb foreigner, ignore the letters, and realize that there is no enforcement behind any of it.

Which may explain why the channel is losing so much money these days. Japanese people are wising up to it.

I also don't watch Japanese TV and feel no guilt. I am dead on the inside.

Domokun is NHK's Mascot

[Chongo]

would you need a license for something like Sky Angel?
Sky Angel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by Chongo 

would you need a license for something like Sky Angel?
Sky Angel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Yup. We need a licence to watch any TV show from anywhere on the planet using any means - as long as we're watching as it's being broadcast. Video-on-demand and torrents are therefore exempt.

[Jawbone54]

I've looked at this thread several times, but I'm no less astounded at how ridiculous this is. No wonder you love ranting against the modern UK.

[osiris]

Originally Posted by JoshuaZ 

Its the same in Japan. Theres a TV 'tax' for the national TV channel called NHK. They send little old ladies around to collect money from people, which is like $30 a month. The upside for me is that I play the dumb foreigner, ignore the letters, and realize that there is no enforcement behind any of it.

Which may explain why the channel is losing so much money these days. Japanese people are wising up to it.

I also don't watch Japanese TV and feel no guilt. I am dead on the inside.

TimeWarner in NYC wants $60 a month just for NHK, and I recently lost Fujisankei $30 sounds appealing under these circumstances.

Here in the states there is no TV tax per se, but rather you pay through the nose for services and taxes, which at the moment is nearing 150 a month for a decent channel package and an internet hookup that is claimed to be 10mb (but is really 2-8 on a good day)

[Doofy]

Originally Posted by osiris 

Here in the states there is no TV tax per se, but rather you pay through the nose for services and taxes, which at the moment is nearing 150 a month for a decent channel package and an internet hookup that is claimed to be 10mb (but is really 2-8 on a good day)

Pay through the nose? Don't be deluding yourself.

A decent channel package and a decent internet hookup that's claimed to be 8 mb (but is really 2.5 on a good day) would set me back about $260 a month. On top of the licence fee.

If it wasn't for the controlled foreign corporation legislation currently going through I'd be so there.

[osiris]

$260? Yikes. But how many channels on cheese manufacturing does that include?