No tv licence.

[Guest sandpipper]

Hi dave, i look in our local paper often and see lots of people who have been taken to court over not having a tv liecence normaly they get fined £250 + costs then they got to the liecence.

From what i can make out they dont use detector vans now as they know who has a liecence and who hasnt, i think because its govenment run office their a bit like the tax office (you cant get away from them)?

[UK-Fishing-Tackle.co.uk]

Sorry but I think the claim that you 'NEED A TV LICENCE' for all devices capable of receiving a signal is wrong (including video recorders).

 

We looked into this as we have had a television at our shop in the past used entirely for DVD playback (i.e. not connected to an ariel) and we checked this in some detail. There are many conflicting reports (even within the TV licensing authority itself), but the gist of it we got was that a TV or Video which was NOT connected to an aeriel didn't require a license.

 

If absolutely necessary you could 'permanently' damage the aerial in connector - snap the bstad off - which then makes the device 'incapable' of receiving such signal.

[chesters1]

PART 3

 

Definitions for the purposes of the Communications Act 2003 and the Wireless Telegraphy Act 1967

 

Interpretation of Part 3

8. In this Part -

 

"members of the public" means members of the public in the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man;

 

"programme" has the same meaning as in the Act; and

 

"television programme service" has the same meaning as in Part 3 of the Act.

 

Meaning of "television receiver"

9. - (1) In Part 4 of the Act (licensing of TV reception), "television receiver" means any apparatus installed or used for the purpose of receiving (whether by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise) any television programme service, whether or not it is installed or used for any other purpose.

 

(2) In this regulation, any reference to receiving a television programme service includes a reference to receiving by any means any programme included in that service, where that programme is received at the same time (or virtually the same time) as it is received by members of the public by virtue of its being broadcast or distributed as part of that service.

 

 

 

heres another grey area ,you can install a tv in a caravan or mobile home and it will be covered by your residence licence ,except if you leave the kids at home and they watch the telly then you will need another licence ,very hard to regulate but still the law

( to install and use television receivers in any vehicle, vessel or caravan being used or occupied by the licensee or by a person normally living at one of the specified locations, being installation or use not covered by a licence described in Schedule 5, provided that a receiver may not be used in a caravan, other than a touring caravan, at the same time as a receiver is being used at the specified location at which the person using the receiver normally lives.

 

 

there is another act in 2004 which could turn all this on its head and prove me to be wrong ,i cant be bothered to read the gobbly gook but retract anything i wrote earlier if someone is bored enough to read through it and it contradicts what i have written.

all these acts to fund an ordinary company well able to raise funds through advertising on another of its channels

its also completely different to most offences where you have to prove you havent broken the law rather than them prove you have

Edited October 15, 2006 by chesters1

[UK-Fishing-Tackle.co.uk]

However a scan of a letter (found by typing - 'when do I not need a tv license' into google), bought up this which clarifies what we were lead to believe.

 

http://www.jifvik.org/tv/clp.gif

 

Furthermore, on the TV licensing website the first FAQ is as follows:

 

Do I need a licence?

============

If you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one.

 

i.e. the implication being that if you do not receive and do not record then you don't need one - possesion or alternative uses for the same equipment is perfectly legal without one.

[chesters1]

even a tv without an arial is a reciever as a high majority of tvs etc will get some sort of signal ,even a crappy picture covered with snow if it can be seen as a transmission is a transmission ,theres no mention of quality in the act probably the reason they can get away with the crap reception we get

pull out you arial and retune if you can get anything identyfiable its a reciever

 

EERRRR i'm not sure if your disagreeing with my posts Mr UKetc but your posts strangely look the same as mine? errr help

 

you could use a video player (as i mentioned above) and a monitor type screen perfectly legally as both wont have a tuner but either with a tuner becomes a reciever ,a video recorder (hence having a tuner) plugged into a monitor turns the monitor into a tv ,you could watch tv transmissions via the recorders tuner.

it could get greyer and you get your friends to record the tv for you then you watch it on your closed system ,not recieving but viewing still ,not live but what is !

Edited October 15, 2006 by chesters1

[Dan]

Chesters you quote "Meaning of "television receiver"

9. - (1) In Part 4 of the Act (licensing of TV reception), "television receiver" means any apparatus installed or used for the purpose of receiving (whether by means of wireless telegraphy or otherwise) any television programme service, whether or not it is installed or used for any other purpose" tHe key here is installed or used for the purpose of....... therefore if it is installed or used for the purpose of something else you may not need a licence, I'm no expert but do read acts for a living, that one, or at least that quote doesnt mean you need a licence if you have a tele in the loft!! Has anyone spoken to the TV lic authority, all you need is a leter saying its ok and the Magistrate will throw out any prosecution, if they dont off you go to the PCA!!

 

Dan

Edited October 15, 2006 by Dan

[Mat Hillman]

Not had a tv licence since March and told the TV folk I wasn't getting one after loads of reminders.

They kept saying they would sent a person out to check up on me but no one has shown.

 

Do they actually carry out thier threats or is it just to put the frighteners on folk?

 

 

I forgot to renew mine a few years back, it took them over a year, but we did eventually get a knock on the door, at which point I filled in the direct debit form the guy stuck under my nose, and never heard anymore about it!

 

Mat

[mr motorola]

look guys , just to clarify something.....

if you buy any televisual equipment capable of recieving broadcasts (whether or not you have an aerial) you are eligible for a licence.

anything fitted with a tuner or modulator is deemed by the government as capable of receving terrestrial broadcasts (whether you can or cannot) receive them is a different matter

 

for instance , a portable telly can and will pick up AND work better than a 32 inch CRT because that is what the things were designed to do (AGC's and AFT) AND IF YOU WERE TO PURCHASE ONE OF THESE AND PLUG IT IN , it would work with or without an aerial (please don't misunderstand me , it would work to an extent ) it may not be a perfect picture but it would give you a picture!!

 

looking further afield :: the government are , if you have heard are in the process of the DIGITAL SWITCHOVER starting in 2008 and should be done by 2012 (hopefully!!) they are not doing everybody together but doing region by region

 

YES I HEAR YOU CRY (WE KNOW!!!!!!!)

 

ok , there are 3 reasons for this , and i bet you don't know them all?!?

 

 

1. the obvious one is that digital information can be compressed into much a smaller space on the band and hence more channels

 

2. the reason that this is happening is firstly , the mobile phone companies have bought the (tuning band) that you and me use to watch analogue and digital terrestrial channels 1/2/3/4/5 for an exorbitant amount of money and when the switchover occurs the mobile phone technology while go through the roof and be up there along with japan

 

3. and last but by no means least the real reason (and why we need to buy a television licence).......

the simple fact is and the general public don't know is that if the country or the world were to go to war, (OUR GOVERNMENT NEED TO TALK TO OUR PEOPLE) that came from the big boss at our recent meeting at the IBA

basically they are keeping a track of the people in the country .

well why don't we put our numbers in ??

 

basically they go on the turn out of general election polls and consider the poll turnouts (not very many) the gornment need a more accurate reading of how many people there are and who has access to the media

 

in a way i can see their point (if there's a missile on our way with our name on it) i want to try my best and our lads in the forces will know about it and maybe do something about it

 

i know it sounds UTTERLY PATHETIC and i entirely agree with you all , it is PATHETIC but that was the info that came from a top man at the IBA

 

these people will not rely on SKY because it is run by a satellite in space and targetting all five of their satellites would wipe out the coverage of the country and various others

 

running it through Terrestrial , is a lot better way because there are numerous transmitters around the country and destroying all of them would be some feat

 

plain and simply this why we have to pay a licence , whether we like it or not.

 

by the way i do this for a living (Aerial and Satellite installer)

 

take my advice and get a telly / video / dvd from a car boot or from a friend who is updating theirs

 

then there's no way of them tracking you television tracker vans are a thing of the past its all computerised nowadays

[corydoras]

I would like to add my tuppence worth about the TV Licence and BBC funding. As we all know the BBC is funded mostly by the licence fee. This charter has been extended to 2017. Often I here folks say that the wished that the BBC was not funded this way and should finance themselves via advertising or a subscription fee. These folks imagine that then they won't have to pay a license fee any more.

 

Do not believe this. If the BBC ever looses its charter we will lose out because we will have to fund the BBC through a subscription or for higher priced goods and services and the Exchequer will pocket the license fee.

[Dan]

look guys , just to clarify something.....

if you buy any televisual equipment capable of recieving broadcasts (whether or not you have an aerial) you are eligible for a licence.

 

I dont mean to be picky but being eligible for a licence is very different from being required to have one.

 

The TV Lic site says: If you use a TV or any other device to receive or record TV programmes (for example, a VCR, set-top box, DVD recorder or PC with a broadcast card) - you need a TV Licence. You are required by law to have one.

 

Mind you it doesnt say if you need one if your using it for other purposes ............ still looking!!

 

Some good uns here! http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/information/excuses.jsp#top

 

Dan

Edited October 16, 2006 by Dan