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Giving up the TV

Discussion in 'off topic' started by Joe Hutch, Jan 5, 2009.

  1. Joe Hutch

    Joe Hutch Mate of the bloke

    We are seriously thinking about getting rid of our television(s) once the current licence expires.

    Has anyone else done this and, if so, have they had much grief from the TV Licensing bods?
  2. stugeek

    stugeek Slow-editing Nutjob

    I gave up having a TV about 3 years ago and received a series of very threatening letters followed by some threatening phone calls. I insisted I didn't own a TV and they insisted they would send someone round to check. I told them there was "...no way on God's Earth I am letting some officious **** into my children's home to have a snoop."

    Haven't heard a thing since.
  3. Alex N

    Alex N pfm Member

    We've not had a tv for about eighteen months, and received a couple of letters at our new address asking if we had one. One phone call sorted it though, and that was about a year ago.

    Still watch some telly though on my widescreen 20" Vaio on iPlayer - Shooting Stars was great!
  4. Bob McC

    Bob McC Living the life of Riley

    Since when has merely owning a TV required a TV licence?
  5. Tony L

    Tony L Administrator

    The TV license folk have zero right of access to your house. Just tell them to go away. They have no more right of access than your postman or dentist.

  6. Joe Hutch

    Joe Hutch Mate of the bloke

    Since 2003, apparently:

    'Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003 makes it an offence to install or use a television receiver to watch or record any television programmes as they're being shown on television without a valid TV Licence'.

    Note the word 'or' rather than 'and' after 'install'
  7. zener

    zener fluff

    I didnt have a TV for 4 years in the mid 80's , didnt stop them knocking on my door and asking why I didnt have aTV license. I actually invited a guy in , showed him around , no TV , but that didnt stop them, still got letters . Just proves TV detector vans dont actually work , they (TV license folk) rely on the assupmtion everyone has a TV and assume those that dont have a TV license , have a TV.
  8. markt

    markt hello

    I've not come across a single person who has been prosecuted for not having a TV license.

    I've never seen a TV detector van.

    Has anyone?
  9. Mr Cat

    Mr Cat Owner

  10. Simon

    Simon Only here due to Special Circumstances

    Is the concept of a TV licence limited to the UK? It sounds absurd. Do you have a toaster licence? How about one for the dishwasher. It sounds like a thinly veiled form of taxation or perhaps job creation.

  11. Tony L

    Tony L Administrator

    It is is a specific taxation to pay for the state owned British Broadcasting Corporation. It once made sense as the quality was so good, I didn't resent it at all, but recently the BBC has been hugely dumbed down and appears far less impartial these days, as such it is of much less use both at home and abroad. Time for it to go I suspect.

  12. sideshowbob

    sideshowbob 47 Lab Rat

    Without the license fee Radio 4 wouldn't exist, which would mean I wouldn't have any radio to listen to, which would be A Bad Thing.
  13. Tony L

    Tony L Administrator

    Radio 4 will no doubt get the dumbing down treatment soon, I bet it isn't 'cost effective' as it stands. It's the TV news that irritates me the most though, the 6:00 & 10:00 news seems aimed at children these days, either that or I've miraculously gained 50 IQ points over the past year - it's spectacularly dumb and about half of it is a blatant ad for whatever they are running later that night. It's just pathetic, and it annoys me far more than it should!

  14. auric

    auric pfm Member

    R4 good but World Service better.
  15. sideshowbob

    sideshowbob 47 Lab Rat

    No way. R4 is the best reason for not emigrating. Although I suppose that's less of an issue now it's broadcast over teh internetz.
  16. hacker

    hacker Delicious and nutritious

    Unfortunately streaming R4 is unavailable outside of Her Majesty's kingdom. The BBC use geolocation technology to detect if you're not in the UK and block you from listening if so. That's not to say there aren't ways around it, of course ;)

    As for the TV thing: nice one. I got rid of my TV in the UK months before I left and can honestly say I didn't miss it one jot. Now that I live in the USA I can just as honestly say that the quality of the TV in the UK is light years ahead of the drivel that's served up across here. Unwatchable rubbish punctuated by commercials so long that you forget what you were watching in the first place... not only that, but the advert breaks become longer and more frequent the further into the program you are! A 90 minute film usually takes about 3 to 3 1/2 hours to watch.

  17. Rowan

    Rowan I could sleep for England

    I gave up my TV at the end of October. I wrote the license people and got a polite letter back thanking me for letting them know that I don't need a license. They said one of their inspectors may call round to ensure I don't need one. Seems reasonable to me.

    I have to admit though that I do occasionally miss it. But then I go to the Gym where they have 4 screens showing Sky Sports, Sky News, BBC and usually ITV. Then I realise why I got rid!
  18. MattC

    MattC member

    my understanding was that the wma/mp3 streams were unavailable outside the UK, but that the (admittedly lower quality) RA streams were available?

  19. MattC

    MattC member

    we got rid of our TV about 3.5 years ago. get the occasional letter saying they might send someone around to look around our house, but this hasn't materialised yet. having said that I put a sign up at the end of the drive when we're expecting a delivery from anyone other than the postie, as we can be quite hard to find otherwise ;-)

  20. laverda

    laverda pfm Member

    My TV went 6 years ago.........I do miss it, 'sometimes' but listening to work mates about the shite they watched the night before..I'll stay away.

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