tv lisencing in the uk - lets abolish it!

1. 81

   Happyontheinsideposted 15 years ago

   If anyone else is as poverty stricken as I am then this may be of general interest to you. If not, I hope that some of you are as annoyed about this as I am.
   
   In the UK we need to pay £142.50 per year to get a TV lisence...why? So that we can pay for the fact that we may occasionally watch BBC(thats british broadcasting corporation) channels. On terrestrial telly there are only two of these channels - but we need to pay for them. By 'need' I mean this morning I got a letter saying my property was currently under investigation and if they found I was watching tv illegally then they would prosecute and charge me £1000's worth of fine.
   
   Don't know about anyone else here - but if I want to watch tv I do it online...I only use the tv for special programs that really can't be missed. add to that the fact that we lost the remote a week ago and can't switch it on - but really, i still need to pay? apparently so.
   
   I live in rented accomodation. I would get rid of the tv completely but i pay for a fully furnished flat and the tv came with...tying me to the inevitable tv tax. You know what they do if you don't pay it? They come to your house, knock your door and scare you. Then they sit outside in little vans that detect the electro-magnetic waves your tv gives off and fine you if they find one...Invasion of your privacy anyone? Not only that but there are five channels on british terrestrial telly - do we pay for the other three? Do we heck! They're sensible enough to run adverts and fund themselves!
   
   Ideally the government should (if they feel the need for the BBC to be privately funded) incorporate its payment into the hefty taxes we already pay. My second idea is that this is a democracy - at least let us vote on wether we want to pay for it or not. Third idea - give us the ability to opt out of bbc channels so that we don't pay for it if we don't watch it.
   
   If anyone feels moved (or enraged) enough to get on the bandwagon about this please visit
   http://www.tvlicensing.biz/index.php
   and sign the petition. If you are really annoyed like me you may want to petition the prime minister directly here;
   http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Diol1/DoItOnline/DG_066327
   and if you are really, really, really annoyed (also like me) then get on to ofcom and the bbc websites directly and complain.
   
   Noticeably the PM has already responded to an online petition to say that the BBC is a 'vital' corporation and they have no plans to abolish it...my theory is that it is only 'vital' to a few very rich people who- like every other rich capitalist in our country - are living off the backs of our poverty...My goodness but it makes me mad.

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2. 66

   FranyaBlueposted 15 years ago

   I just got my letter too, and I agree with you. I plan on telling them that i'm moving out, what do they do then?

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3. 60

   Drwibbleposted 15 years ago

   I have got rid of my TV last August when my TV license ran out. No point in having a TV, found I was watching it less and less. Not interested in X-factor, 24 hours 7 days a week ballroom dancing and getting fed up with the government propaganda the BBC news.
   I now get most of my entertainment from online or in live form, such as theatre, local bands, comedy clubs.
   
   I keep getting those "threatening" letters through the post. I just ignore them as they are trying to use scare tactics.
   
   
   Oh yeah, those tv license vans don't exist, in theory they can detect the electronic oscillators given off by the tuner but in reality the BBC just rely on a big database of UK household with/without a tv license and people confessing.
   
   The detector van cannot use its "evidence" in court, and never has done. it is electronic ease dropping and would require a warrant to use it legally. The vans are just a scare tactic to get you to admit under caution that you have a tv and no license.
   
   
   
   The people who come to the door have no right into your property (the inspectors are contracted out from Capita). To legally enter they need to have a warrant from the courts but they can only get that if they have proof that you are watching TV without a license. So, just shut the door on them and admit nothing.
   
   It is not illegal to own and use a television without a licence. The onus is on them to prove you are watching "live" tv. It is only illegal to use a television for the purpose of receiving tv programs as they are screened on schedule. It is not illegal to watch a dvd or play your home movies on a television

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4. 73

   Richieb799posted 15 years ago

   When I get my own place I was thinking I won't bother with a TV, just watch stuff on my PC lol

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