TV license warning

Just now there was a TV license agent at our door asking for to see our license. I went to the filling cabinet and showed it to him...turns out the address on the license is incorrect it's missing the "A" from our paperwork (IE it should say 123A but it says 123) because of that he was alledging that it's not ours and was going to fine us It's got my name and details on it so he phones the office and checks and yep *shock ,Horror* the license bureau made a mistake on the paperwork...he apologized and fixed the details at the main office so we'll get a new license in a few days...nearly got charge a £1000 for not having a freacking "A"

So make sure the details are spot on

My dad was right..."Having A's is important"...

omg!!!!!!!!!!  I'M gonna check ours tonight!

Don't get it though...we've had our license direct debit for 5 years at this address...did they not check that there is not such address  . there isn't a 123  there's only A , B or C...

he kept asking 123 isn't that next door ?

no , that 123 B ...and next door it's C this whole block is A


We've got your number...do they shite

They've been like this for years.   They're about as reliable as DVLA!   

Back in the early 1980s my parents owned a small store in a village.  Their shop was number 34, they also owned number 33  which was rented out to somebody else.  Our accommodation extended above both shops, although originally it had been two separate flats, 33A and 34A.   Our TV license was listed as 33A, but the living room with TV was located in the part which used to be 34A.   

One day we had one of these TV licensing storm-troopers start throwing his weight around.   Trying to get the address changed on the license proved to be darned-near impossible.  So in the end we just ignored all the constant letters and threats and never heard any more about it.   Looking at it now, it was most likely just their regular "Get a license or else!" letters which go out to any address which shows no license rather than the set being detected in 34A.

Don't let yourself be intimidated by these bozos.  They tend to behave as though they have far greater powers than they actually do.   Yes, they can initiate a prosecution for viewing TV without a license, but they need to have some pretty clear evidence. 

Have a look at this site to see the way they try to threaten and intimidate people who do not watch TV and have no license.   They work on the assumption that you're guilty until proven innocent:

www.tvlicensing.biz

We've got your number...do they sh*te

Apparently they've got your number, just not your letter. Or half a brain, it seems.

He was stern in the begining but when he figured out that it was an error on their side he changed mood and apologised. I tell ya that was slightly nerve wracking though...because when he first knocked I kept thinking "I know I have a license why is he knocking on my door... have they no record of it ?? who have I been paying "

I'm just glad I changed the name from my maiden to married name years back otherwise the cheeky b*gger could have started asking for passports or something....


TV license storm troopers ...*snicker* I like that

   



Don't let yourself be intimidated by these bozos.  They tend to behave as though they have far greater powers than they actually do....

  Sounds like a perfect description of the "bailiff's"......WTF is THAT all about, tacking an exhorbadent collection fee onto a court ordered seizure?.........slightly off-track but.......

I don't even know where our tv license is  

I can't believe they did that, I mean come on, you name was on it. 

 Sounds like a perfect description of the "bailiff's"......WTF is THAT all about, tacking an exhorbadent collection fee onto a court ordered seizure?.........slightly off-track but.......

I wondered that, too.  The former tenant of our house, one Mr. Thomas Macdonald, has CCJs, etc.  He must have skipped a long time ago, b/c this place was empty when I first saw it in May, 2004. 

I've had bailiffs buzzing to get in.  I always tell them, 'Do I sound like Mr. Thomas f***ing Macdonald?  Look pal, you've been conned, I've been renting this place for a year now.  If you want to find him, call . . . (and I give them the landlord's name and number).'  The hell I'm gonna let those rent-a-cops in my home to paw over my stuff.

Find it put it somewhere safe...I'm so glad I did.

Phil's forever chucking that thing in a drawer..I tell him off and put it in the filling cabinet.

Then he cleans out the filling cabinet and again the blasted thing I find it in another drawer...grr..If it wasn't there I would have for sure gotten a fine.


He's now going to cook dinner tonight because of my save...

I'm just glad I changed the name from my maiden to married name years back otherwise the cheeky b*gger could have started asking for passports or something....

Nope, he certainly has no authority to demand to see passports.   As a license covers use of TV within the specified address, they're really not too worried about what name is on the license anyway.  The only time the name would really become of any significance is if they try to prosecute.

..If it wasn't there I would have for sure gotten a fine.

No.  You have a license; the fact that you can't produce it immediately is no grounds for a fine.

Let's get a few points across here:

1.  TV license inspectors have no authority to enter your home unless they have a search warrant.   They can get a warrant only if they show "reasonable cause"  to believe that you are breaking the law.

2.  You are under no obligation to even talk to these clowns, whether you have a license or not.

3.  If you don't have a license (because you don't watch TV, of course!), you are under no obligation to reply to the threatening letters you will receive every few weeks from TVL at Bristol.     It makes no difference if you tell them you don't watch TV, because they won't believe you anyway and will tell you they'll send somebody around to check.    (You don;t have to talk to him, of course!)

Just wanted to add that you can do a lot online with the TV license:

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/index.jsp

ah ..cheers Paul....he was starting to get arsy and I said that's me on the address and showed him some ID ..it was when on my ID it said 123A is when he started asking is there a 123 . Luckily they put the flat no on this BT used to leave it out..that's I switched to online billing.

come to think of it I think I remember telling them that they had missed the A sometime back...argh...

The best approach to adopt with any TV licensing guy who comes knocking on your door is to treat him with the contempt he deserves and tell him you're not interested and to go away (you can be more or less polite than that depending upon his attitude ).      By the way, they can be devious, as some of the examples on the BBC Resstance website demonstrate, i.e. they'll try to avoid telling you who they actually are for as long as possible.

The TV Licensing propaganda (excuse me, I mean "information" ) is often guilty of gross distortion of the facts.    They'll issue dire warnings such as "If you use a TV, you need a license," which is not, strictly speaking true. 

You need a license to install and use TV equipment capable of receiving any broadcast originating or controlled from within the U.K.     Anything else isn't covered, so you don't need a license to use a TV just to watch pre-recorded tapes or DVDs, for example.   

They've also sneaked in some changes in the rules over the years, presumably in the hope of catching somebody out.   Check the section on the link Dawn provided about second homes as an example.    There's a ridiculous part about being covered by your main license only if the TV is powered by its own internal batteries.    That's relatively new.     Parts are also just about unenforcable too, such as being covered in a holiday home only if the TV at your main house isn't in use simultaneously. 

By far the majority of prosecutions for no license come from people who have allowed one of these TVL rats into their home voluntarily or have admitted to breaking the law when "interviewed" by one.     That's why they're so pushy and will try any tactic to get someone to actually talk with them (e.g. sending letters which seem to imply that you are legally obliged to undergo an "interview" with said rat when he comes banging on your door).

The whole tone of TVL in this is really not far removed from "Get a license or we'll send the boys round!"        

In short:  Don't be intimidated by them;   even if you're perfectly legal don't allow them into your house without a warrant;   and don't even talk to them other than to tell them to leave your property.   

I wondered that, too.  The former tenant of our house, one Mr. Thomas Macdonald, has CCJs, etc.  He must have skipped a long time ago, b/c this place was empty when I first saw it in May, 2004. 

I've had bailiffs buzzing to get in.  I always tell them, 'Do I sound like Mr. Thomas f***ing Macdonald?  Look pal, you've been conned, I've been renting this place for a year now.  If you want to find him, call . . . (and I give them the landlord's name and number).'  The hell I'm gonna let those rent-a-cops in my home to paw over my stuff.

 Good for you.....one of my daughters was in arrears with her council tax and the council put the bailiffs onto her. She phoned me and her mum in a panic because she got a phone call from these jackboots that they were coming round the next morning to take anything and everything of value in compensation.....she screwed up and she knew it, but hey people fall on hard times in this life so I asked her how much she owed and how many months was she in arrears?  Long story short, 4 months and 360 quid...OK I tell her, we'll pay it , you pay us back each month and I'll be there in the morning when this "hardman" shows up. Like clockwork he shows up at the appointed time and demands 600 quid .....whats the extra 240 quid for I asked? "My fee" he says.....alright pal, I was born on Monday, but not last Monday......here's your 360 quid and get on yer bike, you wanna be compensated EXTRA for intimidating a young mother with two kids by telling her that your'e gonna take her washer, fridge, telly, etc thats one thing, you wanna strongarm her for extra dosh bring the cops back with ya or go back to whoever sent ya in the first place and ask them for yer money, .....never heard from him or the council again. It's all a bit too "Robin Hoodish" for me. I'm sure the tosspots that work for the T.V licensing bureau work on commission too which is why they come across so heavy....hardmen me ars*.