television licensing abuse

[MarcusCardiff]

I am not a television viewer.

 

But any independant compamy doesnt know this falacy.

They are called TV licensing a trademark of a limited company also known as Capita

 

This private company is contracted by the British Broadcasting Company "BBC" another private company.

 

They have written to me, they say i haven't purchaced a iicense to recieve television signals,

which i dont do,

 

But here is why I am insulted and posting this,

They say that I have to phone them to tell them i am not watching television, why, I dont tell O2 if i stop using them/

they also say that they will arrange a visit to confirm this,

Confirm WHAT, am i a liar in advance then, who the fk are Capita anyway to presume to enter, search and question me in my own home.

 

Thats what they want to do.

 

Then the next paragraph actually threatened me, told me I could be fined and if i didnt tell them i was an ex customer i would be investigated, how deranged.

 

I have never heard of a company thinking they can do this, btw they are wrong,

 

the one thing these bullies dont realise is, I know the law, I understand Harassment and the implied right of access,

so send your lil mafia around to me Capita I am waiting and will physically throw you off my property if needed.

 

Park your detector vans anywhere you like but never , ever come onto my property

 

P.S. I am prety sure I wouldn't get physcal with some numpty but the threats make me wonder why not/

[Neuri]

You're quite right Marcus.

I also am not a TV viewer.

 

You are not under any obligation to contact the Liciencing authority if you are not viewing LIVE transmissions.

If you are thick-skinned enough, just ignore their repeated purile attempts to contact them. Don't telephone them as this records your telephone number and they will try to contact you this way too.

If you find their behaviour offensive, write to them, explain that you find their behavious theatening, explain that you are withdrawing their assumed right of access. Sign your letter 'The Resident'. An assumed right of access is given to people that need access to your door, ie postmen.

This forces them into a position that they need to prove that you are using a TV incorrectly and they have to obtain a warrant to enter any part of your property.

 

Their detector vans are a myth. Their are approx 12 of them for the whole UK, and they only provide a comfortable base for surveillance of front windows.

 

I hope this helps.

[Skotte]

As an American TV viewer, this behavior sounds utterly ridiculous that a company can go after people who chose not to use a service.

[UncleRoe]

I'm pretty sure you have the right to not watch television.. and the right to not disclose personal information to random mailed letters.. that's a big thing where i live too.. mostly because i live in the southern US and we get mail all the time about inspectors coming over to our houses to see if we still have hurricane damage.. most of them are fakes cleverly trying to get in your doorstep to sell you items, or even worse.. retarded theives that throw a sales pitch to get into your house then steal everything you have.. all of them are con-artist and from the information you've given this thread.. that letter sounds like a con-mans worst idea ever... and to come over to your house to discuss your television habits is just plain retarded.. what you should do is contact the return address.. tell them that when they do come over, the cops will be sitting on the porch to oversee the situation.. bet they never call back.

[MajKrAzAm]

Blind people must also pay the license fee – at half price of course...

 

You are quite right, the onus of proof should be on them to prove that you are watching TV rather than assume that everyone watches it and must prove otherwise. As the previous poster mentions and from what I’ve heard, they rarely enforce these contracts. I have a friend who has received these letters for several years and no action has been taken against him.

I'm pretty sure you have the right to not watch television.. and the right to not disclose personal information to random mailed letters.

In Britain rights do not exist unless specifically legislated by Parliament or adjudicated on by the courts. The government can give itself authority to act legally - notwithstanding whether or not that power is contrary to citizen rights - by simply passing a bill ( We don't have a constitution).

[JimboUK]

You don't have to contact them or give them any details, you can also tell their hired goons to get lost (or words to that affect) if they knock on your door. The BBC have no more rights than a double glazing salesman and have to rely on lies and threats to enforce this appalling tax. As for detection equipment someone at the BBC has been watching too much Star Trek, while it is possible to do as they say the detector would need to be within inches of the TV to work, needless to say there have never been any convictions based on detector van evidence.

 

http://www.tvlicensing.biz/ excellent site. I've not paid for years, I don't see why I should fund left wing propaganda and overpaid talentless nonentities.

[jaysus]

lol come to krautland and see the real might of tv enforcers :D

 

you got to pay for anything that receives live signals including your pc by now...

i answered them twice telling them that i dont own a tv... well, that doesnt seem to be enough... after i stopped answering their threat letters these bloody bastards started writing to my parents if i had a tv! wtf...

they even have some kind of right to do so and they are known to sneak around houses to see if someone is watchng tv... lol... i wish id meet one of them one day in a dark night in a dark corner behind my home... "they came running towards me! i was threatened and that thing in his hand looked like a gun, i thought they were out to murder me, i just had to defend myself and my family with that pitchfork!"

or maybe one should just get a lawyer and demand money for answering their letters... its a service afterall and the time you spend on that kind of service could be used to make money...

 

i think their method of threatening people with a lawsuit to get em to pay money should generally be outlawed, its similiar to these lawyers who spy on p2p networks and then write letters to the people who downloaded somin to pay a fine to them or get sued... well one of them got sued himself now for fraud and coercion over here rescenty... might be a good example to fight off these mob wannabes in the future...

[JimboUK]

I was reading about Germany, the BBC want a similar thing over here. They want to add £20 to the TV tax and that Tax to be payable by everyone with a Broadband connection. What other company could put a product out and then threaten people with legal action is they don't pay for it regardless of whether they use it or not. It's legalised banditry. There's no excuse for this robbery anyway, within a few years the analogue signals will be switched off so they can then encrypt the thing and leave those of us who don't want their rubbish service alone.

[Neuri]

For those of us in the UK, have a read of the following link, you may have already read it, if not you may find it interesting.

 

www.marmalade.net/lime/

 

enjoy.

[Vagrant0]

As an American TV viewer, this behavior sounds utterly ridiculous that a company can go after people who chose not to use a service.

For some reason I'm reminded of an old 80's program, Max Headrom. One of the underlying elements in much of the series was that the world was reduced to ownership by TV corporations and their sponsors. One of the stipulations was that every person was required to watch TV constantly on a government provided set which lacked an off switch. I believe it was an Australian series which was picked up in America, atleast going from the pilot episode (which is really quite dark, even by todays standards). Pretty sure that you won't find this series anywhere for sale or to even watch. If I remember correctly, I had to download it from the DAP archive. I'm not entirely sure where the legalities are in relation to DAP, but as it deals primarily with shows which are no longer in syndication or print, and it's goal is to keep a digital archive of these old shows so that they can be appreciated, is one of the few semi-legal torrenting uses I believe in.

 

Anyway, back on topic, I believe the NHK has a similar thing in Japan too. I hear that many don't like paying it over there either. But yeah, it's pretty much extortion.