The impatient tv license people

We used to get *loads* of letters from them when living in student accommodation. I phoned to inform them we didn't own a TV so they could stop sending us 'reminders'.

To say I was treated like a criminal by the person on the other end was an understatement. They went into every small detail about how I could be fined if I had one, they can gain access to the house...blah blah, the usual scare tactics. Oh, and to make matters worse she explained that we would probably need 3 licences as there were 3 people living in the house. Apparently if you have separate living areas they can get away with this, although I don't know the exact details.

More letters arrived, some of them getting almost threatening. Envelopes with huge red letting which said something along the lines of "You can be fined". Being typical students we sent the biggest envelope back we could find, and ran it through the printer with "You are retards" in huge red letters across it. I'll see if I can find the pic out one of the days :)

About a month later we had a TV licence inspector arrive. The conversation went something like this:

>Hi, I see you don't have a TV licence
Thats correct
>I need to come in to check that you don't have a TV
No chance
>I can get access via court / police....more intimidation.

Up until this point I was extremely polite. I have no problem with the guy really, he's just doing his job, But then he started to get rather rude due to not gaining access. I explained to him, rather abruptly that with anything less than a police escort he was not coming in and shut the door on him.

Didn't hear anything else after it, although we are fairly sure he was snooping around the house on a night. We couldn't be 100% certain though as we never saw his face :(

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Originally Posted by Agent

We used to get *loads* of letters from them when living in student accommodation. I phoned to inform them we didn't own a TV so they could stop sending us 'reminders'.

To say I was treated like a criminal by the person on the other end was an understatement. They went into every small detail about how I could be fined if I had one, they can gain access to the house...blah blah, the usual scare tactics. Oh, and to make matters worse she explained that we would probably need 3 licences as there were 3 people living in the house. Apparently if you have separate living areas they can get away with this, although I don't know the exact details.

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Ah I remember all this, it's along the lines of a licence covering the idividual who is named on the licence's living space (i.e. your room) and and common areas, but if you have multiple individuals (like a shared house with seperately billed rooms) you need a licence for each person to have TVs in your rooms. They also don't stop sending the letters if only one person in your house gets a licence, even if it's the only one you actually need.

I can also sympathise with the payment, the business of claiming a refund only after moving somewhere it isn't needed when you've paid bulk upfront is rather stupid when you know you're only going to be in a house for say 9 months due to tenancy agreement. It smells of an attitude of "if we make getting money back slow and complicated they won't bother." Even BT are better than that.

I am currently in a 4-man room, and apparently they reckoned we needed a TV licence each even there was only 1 TV in the room itself! However, they came to an "agreement" with the base that only one was needed per room; probably because it was a load of crap anyway.

I have the joy of trying to get some money back from them later this year when I move out due to that 6-month thing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Main

Ah I remember all this, it's along the lines of a licence covering the idividual who is named on the licence's living space (i.e. your room) and and common areas, but if you have multiple individuals (like a shared house with seperately billed rooms) you need a licence for each person to have TVs in your rooms. They also don't stop sending the letters if only one person in your house gets a licence, even if it's the only one you actually need.

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More or less, yes. It's dependent on the nature of the tenancy agreement, and on where the TV or TVs are, as I understand it.

If you're sharing a rented property, you might have one of two types of tenancy agreement :-

1) You ALL sign a single agreement, but share common areas and probably have your own room

2) You each sign a separate agreement, which gives you access to certain common areas, but you and you alone have access to your room.

In the first case, you need ONE TV licence if there's a TV (that's being used as a TV, or if there's any other TV receiving equipment in use) in the house. But you could have a TV in the common area, and each have a TV in your own rooms.

In the second case, you'd need a licence to cover the one in the common area, but if multiple occupants have TVs in their own rooms, they'd need licences to cover them.

Essentially, if you have a private room that you pay for separately, and the agreement for that room is between you and the landlord, then you and you alone are the resident of that room, so if there's a TV in it, you need a licence. Of course, that's the general case, and there are exceptions, like battery operated TVs which might be covered by your parent's home licence if you're a student.

The crunch point is that each legally separate accommodation needs a separate TV licence if there's a TV operating that requires a licence in that room. If you're legally separate in your room, you aren't covered by a licence on of your housemates might have for his/her room.

There are, of course, other very significant legal implications of having joint tenancy agreements, not least of which is that you can be held liable, and pursued to court if need be, for ALL the rent if your housemates default on paying their share, and that doesn't apply if you each have a separate tenancy agreement. Personally, I think being liable for a TV licence is a smasl price to pay to avoid that joint liability, but that's a separate issue.

Sorry for the resurrection, but I have just cancelled my TV License as I get posted at the end of next month. As I mentioned above, I have made 5 months worth of "over payments". I asked whether I would need to use the refund form to get my money back, which she said yes. She then said I need to send prove that I've moved out of the address. A utility bill or end of tenancy agreement.

Now, this is bit of a problem. I don't pay utility bills, nor have a tenancy agreement. The best I can hope for some letter bodged together by a bloke down at accommodation cell. Might be enough, might not be.

But the thing that really gets me is, the license runs out at 30/11/2008. I move out on the 28th, so no big deal about 2 days. Why do I need to prove I have moved out to get my money they have effectively "stolen"? :angst:

Either way, next time I'm just paying in one go. I don't have the luxury of knowing 6 months ahead when I move, although I'll still have the same problem if I move out half way through. :rolleyes:

If i were you I would simply not pay it for the next 6 months in whatever place you live in.

Fair enough, technically it's not the 'right thing to do' but from a practical point of view there isn't a thing they can/will do about it.

I will admit I have avoided paying it in the past when I was so poor I lived on toast. I had an inspector round one day, I just told him to pish off and that was the end of it.

Never payed for a TV license myself.
When I was young, I lived in places where I didn't need one.
Then a few flats that as I was not in them long didn't bother.

Then one day I decided to get Satalight TV (SKY) after 2weeks of all those channels (all rubbish) I stopped watching completely.
Not even seen a TV for over 8years (any media I watch I get via the Web)

Occasionally get letters asking for money for a license they come in waves several normal ones then some with red writing, then they stop.
I did tell them I no longer have a TV but for some reason they find it either hard to believe or just like sending the letters anyway, in case I want to give them some money

I pay my TV licence and i think it is a rip off. A complete joke.

More money for the government. Get advertising on the BBC etc. No chance of that with the government creaming money from the licence!!