TV licence, help me to understand

Cristobal said:
The TV licence system does not bother me (in fact I could not care less, the BBC player is not installed on my PC and there's no TV in the house), my main concern is just to let a stranger enter in my home and access to sensitive data on my computer (e.g. bank statements or other personal data)
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They have no right of entry. If you don't want them in - then you don't let them in.
 
We ditched the TV back in January and forgot to tell TV licensing (just stopped paying!) 6 weeks later there was a knock at the door with a debt collector looking chap standing there... It was the Licensing inspector come to ask why we had stopped paying.

I invited him in & offered him a cup of tea which he refused. After showing him both lounge & kitchen were devoid of any TV's he said not to worry about upstairs and then asked if we ever used the BBC iPlayer? To which the answer was "no, definitely not" (which is true - I dont watch any BBC, its all either soaps and popularity contests or propaganda... But lets not get into politics ;) ) and with that he signed us off the list and went on his merry way. Not heard a peep from them since.

I appreciate its not nice having an uninvited stranger entering your house asking questions but its the only way otherwise they'll plague you for years.
 
I've refused entry to a TV licence inspector. Many years ago I'd moved into a flat and neglected to sort out the TV licence, a detector van picked up the TV and the chap knocked on the door and asked if I had one. I admitted that I had but had just not gotten around to the licence and he asked if he could come in and have a look. I just politely said no, and that there was no need as I'd already told him that I had a TV. He just accepted it, and gave me a form to apply for a licence.
 
Cristobal said:
Question:
Are they really allowed to access your computer/data without any kind of warrant? If so I would be very surprised and the TV Licence letter is rather vague...
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hunnymonster said:
They have no right of entry. If you don't want them in - then you don't let them in.
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Exactly this. They cannot enter your property without your consent. Only the police can enter your property and only with a search warrant. However if they can see that you have a TV through the window (or open door) then they can send you a fine and it's up to you to prove your innocence.
 
Mr_Smartepants said:
Exactly this. They cannot enter your property without your consent. Only the police can enter your property and only with a search warrant. However if they can see that you have a TV through the window (or open door) then they can send you a fine and it's up to you to prove your innocence.
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I've yet to pay a TV license in the five years that I've been living in my apartment and given that I'm ten stories up, they'd have to be able to levitate to see in my windows ;)
 
Yep, HMRC enforcement officers have right of entry... and probably more powers than the rozzers when it comes to investigation.

My TV Licencing story: about 15 years ago, I moved house... did the proper thing and filled in a change of address on the TV Licencing website, got the confirmation that the record had been updated and thought no more about it.

Few months after we'd moved in, the "you don't have a licence" letters started coming - ramping up in tone from "we don't think you have one, if you need one get one please" to "you're going to court for a £1000 fine". On the basis that there was no cost free way to say "I have a licence, please sod off", I ignored the letters, but kept a record of everything.

Six months later a summons to the local magistrates court for non-payment of TV licence... so I turned up, with 14 years of licences and the confirmation of the change of address on the last one. Listened to the charge and then when asked how I pleaded "not guilty".

"What evidence do you offer in your defence?"
"TV licences going back 13½ years with 6 months to run on the current one"
"Why did you not do this before?"
"Nobody has actually directly asked to see it, only threatened action and I assumed this database that TVL adverts make a song and dance about was actually something close to correct"
<Strangled silence from TVL legal man>

:D
 
hunnymonster said:
Yep, HMRC enforcement officers have right of entry... and probably more powers than the rozzers when it comes to investigation.

My TV Licencing story: about 15 years ago, I moved house... did the proper thing and filled in a change of address on the TV Licencing website, got the confirmation that the record had been updated and thought no more about it.

Few months after we'd moved in, the "you don't have a licence" letters started coming - ramping up in tone from "we don't think you have one, if you need one get one please" to "you're going to court for a £1000 fine". On the basis that there was no cost free way to say "I have a licence, please sod off", I ignored the letters, but kept a record of everything.

Six months later a summons to the local magistrates court for non-payment of TV licence... so I turned up, with 14 years of licences and the confirmation of the change of address on the last one. Listened to the charge and then when asked how I pleaded "not guilty".

"What evidence do you offer in your defence?"
"TV licences going back 13½ years with 6 months to run on the current one"
"Why did you not do this before?"
"Nobody has actually directly asked to see it, only threatened action and I assumed this database that TVL adverts make a song and dance about was actually something close to correct"
<Strangled silence from TVL legal man>

:D
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ROFL :):),

Saying that, what Andreas was saying is interesting, I see riots if they try doing it here but defo not unthinkable.
 
Bechet said:
Apparently, HMRC Customs men can walk right in with a legal right to do so, whether you open the door or not.
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I was once working at an aircraft maintenance company that got raided by HMRC. Police were 'in attendance' but it was clear who was in charge. Anyway, upshot was that four techs were found to be running their cars on JET-A1 and had their collars felt.
 
i understand that BBC online content will be behind a paywall soon, something linked to having a valid license to grant access so i don't think they would bother looking into computers or phones. as for inspector/debt collector, if you've got nothing to hide, let them in, it's not going to go away untill they're satisfied, if you mess them about it will end up costing you more money, bear in mind that, rightly or wrongly, TV license evasion is a CRIMINAL offence. mess them about and end up with a criminal record.
 
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