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TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
http://www.x404.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14786		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 1:48 pm ]
Post subject:  TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14975564

Quote:
Affairs, naughty children and sun allergies have all been offered as excuses for not paying a TV licence.

TV Licensing has also been told that a parakeet was the only one to watch TV in the house, and that wedding plans took priority over paying the licence.

The agency said it had caught more than 256,000 people watching TV without a licence so far in 2011.

A colour TV licence costs £145.50, and a fine of up to £1,000 is possible for non-payment.

The top 10 excuses as defined by TV Licensing were:

"Since I had a bit of a fling with the postman I haven't been receiving my mail so I didn't get my TV licence reminder."
"No-one watches TV apart from the parakeet. It calms him down and stops him ripping out his feathers."
"I went to the PayPoint to pay for my licence, but I had to leave before I could pay as my kids were stealing sweets and I had to get them out fast."
"My Payment Card fell in the toaster so I had to iron it and now the PayPoint machine won't accept it."
"I can't afford a TV licence now as the repayments on my brand new car are cleaning me out!"
"I never got the reminders because my two-year-old hides all my post in her toy box".
"I would have to sell my TV to pay for a licence so I can't do that."
"I don't need a TV licence, I already pay for my electricity bill."
"I'm getting married and am too busy picking flowers, colours and things to buy a TV licence."
"I cannot go out to buy a licence because I am allergic to the sun."
The excuses were given to TV Licensing's inquiry officers and call centres by people who should have a TV licence.

Okay who has used one of these? ;)
Author:  james016 [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:10 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
When I moved into my flat I went to the Post Office to get my licence and to set up the Direct Debit. Turns out you can't set up the DD at the Post Office so they gave me a leaflet with the number to ring to set up the DD payments. The guy who answered the phone very angrily asked me where I had got the number I was calling. I told him it's on the TV Licence leaflet that they put in Post Office. After a bit more grumbling he finally set up the Direct Debit.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
Years ago they visited me and asked if I had a TV license. Yes I thought and went to get it. It was out of date. I did say I had amnesia and forget things. They still cautioned me, and I had to get one the next day.
Author:  jonlumb [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 2:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
My parents get the reverse problem, in that they don't have a television. About once a year they get a phone call asking why they don't have a television license and the people on the phone seem completely unable to comprehend the concept that they might not actually own a television.
Author:  l3v1ck [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 3:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
The only time I never had one was in halls at uni.
I though it was a rip off that you had to have one per room rather than one per flat.
They sent inspectors round a few times. The first time there was uproar when management let them in as they had no right of entry. After that they just had to ask people to let them in.... Few ever did.
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 5:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
jonlumb wrote:
My parents get the reverse problem, in that they don't have a television. About once a year they get a phone call asking why they don't have a television license and the people on the phone seem completely unable to comprehend the concept that they might not actually own a television.

My cousin had a black and white portable for years, and they could not believe he only had a black and white TV.
Author:  belchingmatt [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 6:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
Amnesia10 wrote:
jonlumb wrote:
My parents get the reverse problem, in that they don't have a television. About once a year they get a phone call asking why they don't have a television license and the people on the phone seem completely unable to comprehend the concept that they might not actually own a television.

My cousin had a black and white portable for years, and they could not believe he only had a black and white TV.


Within a week after cancelling my licence I was getting reminders, warnings and then threats. With the first two reminders I called and said I didn't own a TV (which I didn't) but they weren't having any of it. :roll:
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Tue Sep 20, 2011 8:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
belchingmatt wrote:
Within a week after cancelling my licence I was getting reminders, warnings and then threats. With the first two reminders I called and said I didn't own a TV (which I didn't) but they weren't having any of it. :roll:

I doubt that they come across many who genuinely do not have a colour TV. Hence their skepticism.
Author:  paulzolo [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 8:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
Thing is, if you watch live TV streamed onto a computer, you have to have a TV license. Just owning a computer opens up that potential (despite you never using it for such things).
Author:  HeatherKay [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:02 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
Okay, I think the telly tax is worth the money. You only need to dig deeper into the schedules to see the quality of programming the Beeb coughs up when it tries.

It's £2.79 a week. That funds most of eight television channels and eight national radio stations, a mahoosive online presence, and probably lots of other stuff I can't think of right now. I think that's remarkable value.

What alternative payment methods are there? The subscription model, perhaps? Currently, the only working examples of that are for commercial television, such as Sky, where you also pay to watch commercials.

Seriously, we moan and whinge about the BBC. We ought to be proud of it. It's way better than an awful lot of other national broadcasters around the world.
Author:  jonbwfc [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
paulzolo wrote:
Thing is, if you watch live TV streamed onto a computer, you have to have a TV license. Just owning a computer opens up that potential (despite you never using it for such things).

I'd love to see that tried in court. That's the same logic whereby if I have a credit card I should have a TV licence, because I could potentially go into Dixons and buy a television.

Jon
Author:  paulzolo [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
jonbwfc wrote:
paulzolo wrote:
Thing is, if you watch live TV streamed onto a computer, you have to have a TV license. Just owning a computer opens up that potential (despite you never using it for such things).

I'd love to see that tried in court. That's the same logic whereby if I have a credit card I should have a TV licence, because I could potentially go into Dixons and buy a television.


It is a ridiculous assertion, but it’s one that can be made. I suspect that if it was tried in court, it would be thrown out. The other alternative would be for every computer, tablet, iPad, mobile phone that can stream live TV would require some kind of licensing. Can you see that being popular?
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:27 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
HeatherKay wrote:
Okay, I think the telly tax is worth the money. You only need to dig deeper into the schedules to see the quality of programming the Beeb coughs up when it tries.

It's £2.79 a week. That funds most of eight television channels and eight national radio stations, a mahoosive online presence, and probably lots of other stuff I can't think of right now. I think that's remarkable value.

What alternative payment methods are there? The subscription model, perhaps? Currently, the only working examples of that are for commercial television, such as Sky, where you also pay to watch commercials.

Seriously, we moan and whinge about the BBC. We ought to be proud of it. It's way better than an awful lot of other national broadcasters around the world.

As it is a tax and nearly everyone benefits from it why not just scrap it and roll the costs into the tax system. So reduce everyones personal allowance by £100 or so. That would mean we still give free TV licences for pensioners unless they were very rich and paid tax still and would mean no fines and clogging up courts with non payment etc. It would also mean that a family with 5 tellies and multiple earners would pay more but not so much that they suffered excessively. It also costs some £700 million to collect and by scrapping it you can save that sum. That would mean that the BBC could still get the same money from the government without the extra expense. For the government if they picked the right amount to reduce allowances which meant it was revenue neutral for the BBC then it could either keep the £700 million savings or pass them on to tax payers.
Author:  HeatherKay [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
It would also mean the Government could decide to siphon off the money to strangle the BBC...
Author:  Amnesia10 [ Wed Sep 21, 2011 9:30 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TV licence excuses include postman affairs and sunlight
HeatherKay wrote:
It would also mean the Government could decide to siphon off the money to strangle the BBC...

I would have longer rolling contracts that the government could not change. Though if there was a rule that if the government changed its budget by more than 10% it no longer had to comply with political balance rules and could stop them getting their fair share of coverage.
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