More than 400 people across the county caught dodging TV licence (From Ledbury Reporter)
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More than 400 people across the county caught dodging TV licence
9:00am Tuesday 26th February 2013 in News
MORE than 340 people in Hereford were caught watching TV without a licence during 2012, according to figures from TV Licensing reveal.
In Leominster more than 90 people were found not to have paid the licence, in results recorded from January 2012 until last month.
Mark Whitehouse, TV licensing spokesman for the West Midlands, said: “In order to be fair to the law-abiding majority who do pay for their licence, we’ll continue to pursue the small minority of people who do not pay.”
Failure to pay for a licence could result in prosecution and fines of up to £1,000.
For more information on licensing requirements and ways to pay, visit tvlicensing.co.uk.
Comments(29)
TwoWheelsGood
says...
9:52am Tue 26 Feb 13
silentbull
says...
10:41am Tue 26 Feb 13
-it all goes to the BBC
And it doesn't 'just' go towards tv programmes and their ever incresing channels oh no
it also goes towards local BBC radio(ALL OF THEM theres loads of em)
World service
And loads loads more
They 'we' employ thousands opon thousands of staff around the world
And they say SKY is expensive(at least you can stop paying if you dont like what you see)
Roger J
says...
10:49am Tue 26 Feb 13
Seventh
says...
11:50am Tue 26 Feb 13
My husband and I are mid-20s and we get everything we want to see legally online via 'catch-up' or Netflix, or we buy films and TV series on DVD.
There really isn't any need to watch TV as it's broadcast any more, much more convenient to watch what you like, when you like online!
littlewhitebull
says...
1:22pm Tue 26 Feb 13
The BBC obviously spends money wisely! Stars are paid fortunes. Even the huge number of executives still get paid enormous salaries.
A couple of years ago, I remember reading that over 30 staff received packages of over £250,000 a year.
Perhaps, in these difficult economic times, things have changed? I wonder.
mizza21
says...
3:24pm Tue 26 Feb 13
TWG you may be right about buffering but they'd have a hard time proving it.
I also don't believe they have kit which can detect you watching telly off of the internet even if it's "live".
We get those nasty threatening letters from Capita or their agents telling us the bailiffs will be popping round. They can't send registered bailiffs as there has been no court action, so the mugs they send round will be plain old nasty debt collectors.
If I get them then old and/or vulnerable people get them. Aunty Beeb can be rather nasty it would seem if you choose not to take part.
Anyone read 1984?
megilleland
says...
3:24pm Tue 26 Feb 13
megilleland
says...
3:27pm Tue 26 Feb 13
http://www.youtube.c
om/watch?v=m1mjTjL6k
1Q
Gillian1961
says...
4:52pm Tue 26 Feb 13
ad47uk
says...
6:21pm Tue 26 Feb 13
I don't have a TV licence, i use Netflix and DVDS/blu-ray for my video entertainment and have been doing so for nearly a year. so if Mark Whitehouse and his cronies want to come for a visit, do so, but I will not let you in.
By the way, what I am doing is 100% legal, i can even watch Iplayer if I wanted to as long as it is not live, but I don't
One of the better things I have done I get rid of the TV tax, just a shame the TVL think they are the law and act like little Hitlers.
In reply to mizza21, if you are buffering then that needs a licence as your equipment is still picking up live Tv to buffer.
Yep, as you know doubt guess, i hate the TVL.
ad47uk
says...
6:23pm Tue 26 Feb 13
Seventh wrote:That is what I do, but you bet your bottom dollar, if too manh people start doing it and the BBC starts losing too much money, their will get the government to bring out a media license all something stupid.
I have no idea why anyone would buy the TV licence these days. I stopped mine 2 years ago and have barely noticed.
My husband and I are mid-20s and we get everything we want to see legally online via 'catch-up' or Netflix, or we buy films and TV series on DVD.
There really isn't any need to watch TV as it's broadcast any more, much more convenient to watch what you like, when you like online!
Biomech
says...
11:44pm Tue 26 Feb 13
The TV enforces were in the Hereford area last month.
You should be paying for a licence if RECEIVING any LIVE transmission on ANY device. This means phones, computers, recording equipment.
You do NOT need a licence for watching video on demand - such as BBC iPlayer.
Failure to supply a licence when required puts you in contradiction of the Communications Act.
Acts of parliaments are not laws - watching a live broadcast without a licence is not a criminal offence. Acts of parliament require both parties to consent in order to become enforceable.
Whilst there is a very small fleet of "detector vans", they aren't equipped with anything - some people have reported them to be empty of full of cardboard boxes - and of course, in order to catch you out, they put a nice big sticker on the side telling you what it's about ;) ;)
Further, to detect a signal, it would have to detect an output signal, ie, your TV would have to be broadcasting - TV's don't broadcast. The BBC would also require (for all intents and purposes) a wiretap court order to snoop on you.
What they DO do, is look through the window. They will ask you enticing questions to get info out of you.
You can write to the BBC telling them that you are withdrawing their Implied Right to Access. If they then come to the door, they are in breach of this and considered tresspassing.
I'm sure you would all like to give this a look over;
http://www.bbctvlice
nce.com/ and this
http://tv-licensing.
blogspot.co.uk/
Biomech
says...
11:51pm Tue 26 Feb 13
So to revist my HMV thoughts...
There is nothing but JUNK on TV now. Junk and repeats. When freeview was first released, it was designed to support 30 channels. Continually, the TV peoples have increased compression and dropped quality to stuff in more channels. Analogue would actual be a better quality image now. Even the HD service has had the bitrate reduced*
So the economics;
TV is crap, less people are watching TV, enforcing TV licences is archaic, expensive and uncontrollable.
More people are watch iPlayer (by March 2012 40% of adults were using iPlayer)
Here's my simple 3 step solution.
1. Scrap the TV licence.
2. Charge a monthly subscription for Video on Demand (iPlayer)
3. Look at that, it's so simple, there's not even a step three.
WYSIATI
says...
9:44am Wed 27 Feb 13
I personally would not want to be without the BBC.
I can't remember Sky doing much on the phone hacking scandal.
I don't like everything I hear on the BBC but it's universally seen around the world as the best informed, highest quality broadcaster and it's very good value compared to almost any other option.
If you don't watch any of it or listen to BBC on the radio or watch any channel 4 then no need to pay the licence fee.....
Biomech
says...
10:55am Wed 27 Feb 13
Imagine if..... Hereford Audi decided that , as a car owner, you had to pay them a yearly fee, whether you had an Audi or not. It's EXACTLY the same.
As a private company providing a paid for service, I feel they should be subject to the same rules and governed by Trading Standards. There is now a distinct lack of quality, and incorrectly biased opinion on the BBC. As well as product placement.
And even worse, you have pay the *BBC* if you watch ANY live TV - the other channels don't get a cut. So in the BBC are actually charging people for someone elses service/business - and that's just insanely wrong.
littlewhitebull
says...
11:21am Wed 27 Feb 13
Does anybody know if any of those caught without a licence have been fined? I can't recall any reports in the media about huge fines being imposed.
ad47uk
says...
1:03pm Wed 27 Feb 13
WYSIATI wrote:i don't pay a licence, but i still listen to BBc world service now and again, something that is legal, in fact I can listen to any radio station I like including the BBc ones without paying, that is not a crime that is the way things are. I think I could live without the BBC and most of the time I do, time to do away with this TV tax that.
Taking something without paying used to be described as theft, evading tax is a crime, aggressive tax avoidance with put up schemes gets a load of grief from nearly everyone.
I personally would not want to be without the BBC.
I can't remember Sky doing much on the phone hacking scandal.
I don't like everything I hear on the BBC but it's universally seen around the world as the best informed, highest quality broadcaster and it's very good value compared to almost any other option.
If you don't watch any of it or listen to BBC on the radio or watch any channel 4 then no need to pay the licence fee.....
bloated broadcasting company
Biomech
says...
1:24pm Wed 27 Feb 13
Yes! They do indeed take people to court. However, they do so by tricknig people into confessing. Once in court they generally fine you the licence plus court costs, so around £300-400. I don't believe anyone has been hit with the £1,000 - ever.
To pick up on Ad47uk's post there; the BBC broadcasts reach abroad to the continent - where you don't need a licence to receive it.
wyesider
says...
5:10pm Wed 27 Feb 13
To get the car back, offenders had to pay the original fine and an extra charge of about £150.
If you didn't pay the car was taken to a pound, and the charges built up!
I should stress that not all cars clamped were for TV Licence evasion.
phuppetty
says...
12:42am Thu 28 Feb 13
mizza21
says...
9:52am Thu 28 Feb 13
Sky is optional, however if I want SKY or Channel4 or ITV, I must buy a license to fund the BBC whether I choose to or not.
The BBC is the UK State Broadcaster.
The quality of the BBCs journalism is not particularly good. Phone hacking harms it's competitors, that's why they spent so much effort on it.
The BBC is not immune. From Dr David Kelly to Sir Jimmy Saville, the BBC has it's share of scandals.
The most digraceful of which was the failure to listen to the good old British Pubic about the name of the Blue Peter cat, when in an online poll the name Cookie was chosen, but they named it Socks anyway, causing another bout of hand-wringing and an on air apology.
That was when I changed my car presets from BBC stations to local Radio Stations, and I'll never change them back.
littlewhitebull
says...
11:45am Thu 28 Feb 13
I voted for Cookie and I had no idea the vote was 'fixed'. Your news has left me in a state of complete and utter shock.
Who can you trust these days?
I wish I had become a banker - although my wife says I am one - wonder what she means?
WYSIATI
says...
7:53am Fri 1 Mar 13
And it may be that the way the BBC is funded needs to be updated - but at the moment the licence is the way that our elected Govt has decided to do it (I know representative democracy has its faults too but there we go) so finding schemes and scams to take things without paying is grubby in the main.
Political bias - I'd rather have the BBC being attacked for bias by whoever happens to be in power than the alternatives.
As far as I know it's not a private company and at least it has a charter to measure output against as opposed to either a simple profit first or do as the owner says motive.
It may be flawed as most things are but in my opinion we would be much the worse for losing it and many politicians would be delighted.
Biomech
says...
12:42pm Fri 1 Mar 13
No one is particularly suggesting taking something without paying. The issue is that when people don't need a licence, they don't watch live TV or, in some cases, don't even own a TV, the BBC are persistent in harrassing and bullying people into paying.
Then, of course, there are the people that enjoy the other channels but don't subscribe to the "BBC Propaganda" - they are being forced to pay for a service they don't use and an opinion they don't want to hear.
It's akin to you being forced to pay an annual fee to listen to the Jesus preachers in town or, maybe, those pestering charity workers that stalk people in the high street - even if you are not interested and avoid contact with them.
And that, my friend, is simply just not right.
WYSIATI
says...
9:20pm Fri 1 Mar 13
It's not a normal company - far from it - and importantly so. There are lots of things that I pay towards that I may not use directly but am glad they are there - University research, most health services, historical monuments, I could go on
I think they'll have to find a new way to fund it - but I think we would be significantly poorer without it.
I don't want to listen to and watch just those things I agree with - I know it's good for me to have other opinions to see and hear.
dippyhippy
says...
8:40pm Sat 2 Mar 13
WYSIATI wrote:Wysiati wrote-"I don't want to listen to and watch just those things I agree with-I know its good for me to have other opinions to see and hear"
Biomech - I don't agree with harassment of people who don't need a licence - but suspect there are more that should have a licence who choose not to pay - a tough balance to get right as everyone else pays extra for them (around 5% of all due are not paid I think).
It's not a normal company - far from it - and importantly so. There are lots of things that I pay towards that I may not use directly but am glad they are there - University research, most health services, historical monuments, I could go on
I think they'll have to find a new way to fund it - but I think we would be significantly poorer without it.
I don't want to listen to and watch just those things I agree with - I know it's good for me to have other opinions to see and hear.
Strongly agree with this.Its no bad thing to have pre-conceptions challenged,and to question our own closely held beliefs. Open your minds - it will amaze you!! Realise this has gone "off messege" a bit, but hey......
Biomech
says...
12:41am Sun 3 Mar 13
dippyhippy
says...
1:02pm Sun 3 Mar 13
!
mizza21 says...
9:29am Tue 26 Feb 13
I do not own a TV and I am not registered with them as not having a TV and have not had a visit from their enforcers.
Yet more scaremongering from the BBC's bully boys at Crapita.
It's a queer law, because you can own a telly but you only come under the communications act 2003 if you watch telly as it's broadcast.
So I could buffer it and watch it 2 minutes delayed and not come under the act.
TV Licensing is a Trading Psudonym of the BBC, which is a private company. We should not have to pay them because they are, whatever they say, political. Just look at their website.
I prefer not to have the cultural sewer of television in my house so let them come. They'll leave with flea in their well formed ears.