tamaneko Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Ok, I am having a very hard time understanding this...how the hell does this work, and why should you have to pay a fine for this?! Link to post Share on other sites
sandstorm Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 It's an European idea. Some TV service is provided by Public Television Service, like BBC. Said service is funded by license fee for watching TV. You may OWN a TV set without that license, but it might get a bit difficult to prove you don't watch TV programming on it. Link to post Share on other sites
mattmanic Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 As all the BBC chanels have no advertising they're paid for through TV licenses. Do the BBC chanels you get in the US have advertising? Link to post Share on other sites
Hop2 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 It's an European idea. Some TV service is provided by Public Television Service, like BBC. Said service is funded by license fee for watching TV. You may OWN a TV set without that license, but it might get a bit difficult to prove you don't watch TV programming on it. Even if you don't actually own a TV it's difficult to get these people off your back. Moved into a place years back and I didn't have a TV and I found it didn't bother me, so I just didn't bother buying one. Most of the time I was either out working or out socialising... Figured I didn't actually need one. What followed was every month they wrote demanding I buy a TV licence for the TV I "clearly wasn't telling them about" and they even sent an inspector round, who had a cup of tea and a chat and realised that if I couldn't possibly hide a TV in a pokey Studio flat... Game over? Nope.... Every month the demands kept coming... I seem to remember buying a TV because Babylon 5 was being released on VHS (yes VHS) and then I bought one. If you buy a TV from a shop, they have to notify the Licence people that you have bought a TV, if you buy it second hand, you are safe so long as they don't catch you. In my local town they get about 10 people per month. It's usualy a 500 odd pound fine... They were even talking about issuing licences for PC's that had TV cards in them, or USB freeview boxes attached... So much for Freeview eh! Link to post Share on other sites
Anteater Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 yeah BBCamerica has ADs. Pretty soon we won't be able to use the old bunny ears/tv ariels without buying a special digital box due to some no free airwave thingy Sucks for people with those little portable TVs eh? Link to post Share on other sites
Skarclaw Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 It would almost be bearable if the bbc was worth it, there are only so many times I can watch a strictly come dancing spin off, and thats zero times. Link to post Share on other sites
FallenGuard Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Those ADs are disturbing tough. "We're watching you"? Makes me want to fruitkage the Poster up, with some nice Colours. Never heard about anything similar here, but then again we never had a TV....which I'm not sad about in the least. Link to post Share on other sites
chris u'5 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 The BBC claim you are paying in order for them to produce excellent quality television...have a look at BBCs Saturday night schedule and see if you agree? Once in a blue moon you will get something special but it is become quite rare. The BBC have very little in the way of decent sport and documentaries anymore which may be considered 'quality programming' and I can no longer stand to watch news on BBC which is terrible, I tune in to watch proper news not two twats who think they are comedians! (see BBC News 24) The BBC make millions from selling their programmes overseas and corporate advertising is slowly creaping in but they constantly plead poverty. Im not really anti-licence fee but I genuinely feel the BBC are abusing it and not using the money for what it is intended for. Link to post Share on other sites
rancidrambo Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 The constant threats and harrassing letters from both the TV licence people and the car tax adverts have always struck me as Government endorsed attempts to 'demand money with menaces' which, I'm pretty sure, is a criminal offence! Link to post Share on other sites
Treadhead Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 You may OWN a TV set without that license, but it might get a bit difficult to prove you don't watch TV programming on it. In the UK if you own a device capable of receiving a TV signal (regardless of whether or not it's used to do so)you need a licence. This includes certain computers and phones too... It's getting bloody ridiculous here... I don't mind paying a moderate licence fee to contribute towards the running of a public service broadcaster, BUT I see no reason why they can be at least partially self funding through advertising... Link to post Share on other sites
chris u'5 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I read somewhere a list of excuses the TV licencing people had been given for not having a TV licence, some brilliant reasons. The best one was probably the person who said the don't watch the TV that they owned it was purely for the cat to lie on! Oh and did you know that blind people still have to pay the licence fee? They get a slight discount though...lucky them. Link to post Share on other sites
Carrion Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 the liscence is based on the broadcast rights basicaly the bbc and the idependant chanels pay lots more to broadcast the signal and your paying for the right to have the reciver in your home. its a hold over from the old days when even radios were liscned thus Link to post Share on other sites
Boltrig Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I will forgive the Beeb their liscence fee; they make Top Gear. Link to post Share on other sites
joeking27 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I had lots of fun with the TV licensing people when I was a student, I think I got as far as threatening to sue them for harassment and a few other things, and I think maybe my hall of residence for letting them anywhere near my room. Then it was the end of year. In a different room it all starts again. I would recommend writing on the envelope "Return to Sender, I don't have a TV. Leave me alone." Link to post Share on other sites
Melonfish Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 to be honest i'd quite happily remove all the bbc channels from my home and stop paying for my licence. HOWEVER if you have a tv you have to pay so that isn't an option. sucks really. pete Link to post Share on other sites
BaggyPants Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 As all the BBC chanels have no advertising they're paid for through TV licenses. Do the BBC chanels you get in the US have advertising? The BBC actually have adverts in the UK too. All the "UK" chanels, like "UK Gold", "UK History" etc. are owned by the BBC and they have adverts on them. They cost them very little to run too, because they show mostly old repeats from BBC chanels, so there are no production costs (which is the biggy), just repeat fees to those in them. Link to post Share on other sites
sturgis Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 I will forgive the Beeb their liscence fee; they make Top Gear. lol, when the hell is that starting again?? they been running reruns for the past two weeks... i'v had to resort to watching old episodes on my computer... we had a similar scheme down here in the form of a tax, but a couple of years back they stopped inning those taxes Link to post Share on other sites
Robot 2000 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 The licensing folk sent round letters to everyone at my college saying that we had to ring up and tell them that we DIDN'T have a TV. Needless to say, no-one bothered, and we haven't heard owt about it since. All the same I really hate their "We are watching you" style adverts, it's bad enough living in this bloody country as it is without being reminded about how bloody Orwellian it is. Link to post Share on other sites
Downtown_two Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 As far as I'm aware for them to gain entry to your residence they need to produce a warrant. I get to play Phil Mitchell when they turn up....UH OH thats BBC viewing, abort, ABORT. Its a massive con, lets face it, NOBODY watches BBC but we have to pay for them. I have a serious problem paying for "Dancing on Ice" and the spin offs where Z listers dance on various surfaces in various styles. Link to post Share on other sites
Kraut Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Now I don't feel so bad when PBS comes on every five minutes begging for money. Link to post Share on other sites
MDK_Marshal Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 One of my flatmates had fun and games with them last year.... they ended up sending him envelopes full of stuff saying ###### like "You will need this information for when we sue you" - Regardless of the fact that he didn't have a TV. TV licensing is on of the most retarded Ideas england has ever had, IMHO. And the execution is terrible. Link to post Share on other sites
kevshin21 Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Wow I had no idea that the brits had to get a license to watch tv, this sounds like a monopoly almost. (assuming there are independents competing) Link to post Share on other sites
MDK_Marshal Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 Nope. Just the government squeezing us dry.... Link to post Share on other sites
screamin_weasel Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 i agree on the sacraficing bbc channels to not pay the fee. unfortunately, they're probably aware of just how many people would take that up as an option, and hence it wont happen. Link to post Share on other sites
scorch Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 When you only watch one or two shows on the BBC, your liscence effectively gets more expensive, ie. if you watch loads of BBC shows, the price per show is less. And since a lot of people buy thier favourite shows on DVD you effectively pay the BBC twice for them. So how can they still plead poverty? My household has paid for Doctor Who 3 times, since both myself and my mother has the DVD sets! Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.