TV detector vans and laptops

[emicen]

GregE240 said:

zac510 said:

Wow, how did they know you were 'the occupier' ? Their power and much touted database must know no bounds

This really ticks me off about them. I bought a tv last year, but the address I gave ommitted my house name. Stupid basterds couldn't put 2 and 2 together and work out we actually had a licence.

Nothing addressed to me or my missus, just "The Occupier", all sorts of threats, you're up for a big fine, we'll come round and prove you don't have a licence, all thinly veiled threat stuff.

I was prepared to see it through but my missus told me to ring or email them. I emailed my licence and told them to eff off. Got an email saying they acknowledged I had a licence, no apology. Tossers.

From student times I seem to recall they had a cycle.

- We think you dont have a licence
- We still think you dont have a licence
- We still think you dont have a licence and may investigate you
- We still think you dont have a licence and have actioned someone to investigate you
- Our agents may have called trying to investigate you

...and repeat

Never mind the contradiction in their own extortion demands literature.

"we caught 6,135 people last week"
"last year we caught 36,853 licence evaders"

So you only work a month and a half a year?

[Famous Graham]

TEKNOPUG said:

If the TV has a tv tuner...then yes, you should have a TV licence.

Wrong.

(don't we do this about once every six months?)

[Rusty Arches]

People still pay the TV licence?

[43034]

Haven't read all the thread, but for any further questions, this is a good website: http://www.tvlicensing.biz/phpBB3/index.php

[ShadownINja]

From the website. I don't know why none of you have bothered.

A TV Licence is not just for TV sets

Watching TV on the internet
You need to be covered by a licence if you watch TV online at the same time as it's being broadcast on conventional TV in the UK or the Channel Islands.

Video recorders and digital recorders like Sky+
You need a licence if you record TV as it's broadcast, whether that's on a conventional video recorder or digital box.

Mobile phones
A licence covers you to watch TV as it's broadcast on a mobile phone, whether you're at home or out and about.

http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one...

Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 10th June 17:42

[ShadownINja]

trooperiziz said:

ShadownINja said:

Pretty much. According to the website and the helpful woman on the phone, I only need a licence if I am watching

True.

ShadownINja said:

or capable of watching live broadcasts.

Lie.

Don't make the mistake of believing the TV licensing employees, they either don't know the law themselves, or are actively told to lie about it.

Sure, but the problem is that if you have a complete TV set up that is capable of receiving live TV broadcasts, if they knock at 7pm in the middle of dinner, you vehemently deny watching TV but as they exit, they casually ask "That looks nice... what are you eating tonight, Sir?" to which you reply, "I'm having chicken tonight, chicken tonight" while flapping your arms, you're in trouble. The only way of proving you don't watch live TV is by making sure the TV, when switched on, shows grey fuzz, or goes immediately to the Playstation.

Edited by ShadownINja on Thursday 10th June 17:49

[trooperiziz]

ShadownINja said:

The only way of proving you don't watch live TV is by making sure the TV, when switched on, shows grey fuzz, or goes immediately to the Playstation.

Good job you don't need to prove that you don't watch TV then They have to prove that you do...

[Jakg]

Doofus said:

If you use a laptop at work to watch TV, the law assumes that it's your own laptop (even if it isn't), and your own TV license covers its use (if you don't have one, then you're breaking the law). A desktop PC, however, needs a TV license covering the premises in which it's installed.

If you use any equipment of any kind to watch football, you're a neanderthal and you need to get a grip.

Not quite... a portable TV (i.e. a battery TV) is covered by your own TV license... a mains powered one in another house isn't.

A laptop plugged in needs a seperate TV license used somewhere else, a laptop running on batteries doesn't need an extra one as it's a portable TV (in the eyes of the law).

allegro said:

escargot said:

Detector vans don't exist.

I have seem them! Escort van sized things with a white satelite type dish on the roof.

...chances are they are empty.

Whenever they've been asked to provide calibration certificates (to show the detectors are accurate) they have never supplied any, making the evidence inadmissible - it's totally useless (and probably doesn't exist).

You need a TV license to watch *LIVE* tv *AS ITS BEING SHOWN*. iPlayer / Catchup services dont need them. You can own a TV, plugged into a laptop running iPlayer and not need a license.

TEKNOPUG said:

If the TV has a tv tuner (and is not just a monitor on the wall for power point presentation etc) then yes, you should have a TV licence.

Wrong - if you watch live tv as it's being shown, you need one - just possessing equipment to do this does not mean you need one, only if you use it.

[Marquis_Rex]

The detector van thing is strategic posturing for fear. I have no doubt that the technology exists.

I had an empty house- in the UK, no one was living there for a while- while it was being refurbished- there was no TV in that house and yet I still got letters threattening and saying that 'they KNEW that I was watching TV there etc etc'.

[TEKNOPUG]

Jakg said:

Doofus said:

If you use a laptop at work to watch TV, the law assumes that it's your own laptop (even if it isn't), and your own TV license covers its use (if you don't have one, then you're breaking the law). A desktop PC, however, needs a TV license covering the premises in which it's installed.

If you use any equipment of any kind to watch football, you're a neanderthal and you need to get a grip.

Not quite... a portable TV (i.e. a battery TV) is covered by your own TV license... a mains powered one in another house isn't.

A laptop plugged in needs a seperate TV license used somewhere else, a laptop running on batteries doesn't need an extra one as it's a portable TV (in the eyes of the law).

allegro said:

escargot said:

Detector vans don't exist.

I have seem them! Escort van sized things with a white satelite type dish on the roof.

...chances are they are empty.

Whenever they've been asked to provide calibration certificates (to show the detectors are accurate) they have never supplied any, making the evidence inadmissible - it's totally useless (and probably doesn't exist).

You need a TV license to watch *LIVE* tv *AS ITS BEING SHOWN*. iPlayer / Catchup services dont need them. You can own a TV, plugged into a laptop running iPlayer and not need a license.

TEKNOPUG said:

If the TV has a tv tuner (and is not just a monitor on the wall for power point presentation etc) then yes, you should have a TV licence.

Wrong - if you watch live tv as it's being shown, you need one - just possessing equipment to do this does not mean you need one, only if you use it.

And how do they prove that you use it? Unless they actually catch you sitting down watching 'enders it would be impossible to prove that you use it. That begs the question therefore, has anyone ever been successfully prosecuted for not having a TV licence?

Edited by TEKNOPUG on Thursday 10th June 18:10

[ShadownINja]

trooperiziz said:

ShadownINja said:

The only way of proving you don't watch live TV is by making sure the TV, when switched on, shows grey fuzz, or goes immediately to the Playstation.

Good job you don't need to prove that you don't watch TV then They have to prove that you do...

Quite easy. They ask you to turn on the TV. Oh, look, TV shows. I suppose at that point even if you never watched it but left it tuned in, you're watching it there and then.

[aclivity]

Marquis_Rex said:

The detector van thing is strategic posturing for fear. I have no doubt that the technology exists.

I had an empty house- in the UK, no one was living there for a while- while it was being refurbished- there was no TV in that house and yet I still got letters threattening and saying that 'they KNEW that I was watching TV there etc etc'.

I had an empty house for a while, got the same letters, finally one said "please let us know why you do not have a license for this address".

I wrote back as follows:

No television license is required for the property at <address> because NO TELEVISION LICENSE IS REQUIRED FOR THE PROPERTY AT <ADDRESS>

and the letters stopped.

[trooperiziz]

TEKNOPUG said:

And how do they prove that you use it? Unless they actually catch you sitting down watching 'enders it would be impossible to prove that you use it. That begs the question therefore, has anyone ever been successfully prosecuted for not having a TV licence?

They don't prove, people admit when threatened, because they don't understand the law and believe the licencing authority have more authority than they do. A perception that they are more than happy to carry on.

[V8mate]

V8mate said:

www.tvcatchup.com

Barely seconds behind live TV.

To add... there's a mobile.tvcatchup.com too which works perfectly on my iPhone.

[chrisg_s2k]

So after reading this thread:

Knowing that I live behind 3 locked doors in my building And given that I have a LCD TV AND I object to paying the licence fee on top of my sky subscription...

If I wasn't to pay any more and ignored all their letters there's f-all they can do about it?

Disclaimer. I'm a law abiding citizen and this is a theoretical question.

[Stu R]

http://www.bbctvlicence.com

Loads of stuff about them there from a guy who's devoted far too much time to disliking them. The TV Licencing and BBC are one and the same. Detector vans do not exist as stated. Vans do, even then they're in limited numbers, but they do sweet FA other than transport jobsworths.

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/TVL-BBC%20hiding%20of%...

This bit says it all really

[Cheese Mechanic]

Basically, the "License" is a TV broadcast signal receiving license. NOT a TV license in the true sense. Its a license to receive the signal. not a license for the equipment to receive it.

Therefore, unless things have been changed radically, you do not need a license to view iplayer etc, just in the same way you don't need a license to watch a DVD ( of something thats been on telly)

However, if you go to a shop and by a TV card for the PC , or a TV itself, the retailer will pass your details on to the BBC . So, if buying such, all you do is pay by cash. They will ask for your details then , "For your Guarantee" they say. You then tell them false details.

I don't know how sky affects this. I do not know if they pass on your details to the license people, or assume its none of their business and keep your details to themselves.

Anyhow, I don't have a TV at the moment, so its irrelevant to me. Having said that, I have never had a TV license, and I never will have , irrespective of whether I have a telly or not. Why should I pay for the BBC when I don't watch it?

Sod 'em!

[simonrockman]

Whatever you do. don't post your intent on the internet.

oh dear

[darth_pies]

Some interesting research into the existence - or not - of detector vans.

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/Detector%20vans.htm

Seems like pure propaganda worthy of any third world dictatorship....why has nobody ever called them out on it?

[chrisg_s2k]

RE Sky subscription.

That would be a fairly concrete suggestion that you are watching live tv on your 'viewing box' I would assume.

Whether details would be passed on in contrivance of the data protection act or not I have no idea.