UK TV Licensing : know the Law - don`t pay

TV Licensing enforcement in the UK relies on the public not knowing the law. The fact that the real Law is so un-enforcable is why letters from TV Licensing are so threatening and assumptive. They KNOW they are on shaky ground, so like a tiny bully they try to compensate by shouting loudly. As soon as anyone understands the law, and how hard it is to enforce/ prove, he will never need to pay for a TV license again.
I recall as a child the TV adverts about the dreaded `detector van` .. it could SEE if you were watching TV as it passed. Or, so they said. Nowadays the dreaded `detector van` is not mentioned, because it never existed. You can`t be prosecuted on `detector van` evidence, so even if in some parallel universe they DO exist, our friends in that universe need not worry about them !

POINT 1: You don’t need a TV Licence to own or possess a television set

Under the law, simply owning a TV without a licence isn`t criminal. It`s only criminal when it`s proven you WATCHED that TV, and INTENDED to watch it without a licence.
That word `intended` may seem `crazy` .. it`s not. Under the UK law you can even be watching your OWN TV as the enforcers metaphorically “crash in”..but unless they can prove YOU turned it on and intended to watch an unlicensed TV you CAN NOT be prosecuted. A `friend` may have turned it on, and then you walked into the room un-awares. What `friend` they may ask ? Well, how do YOU know.. you walked in AFTER it was turned on ! You`d told your friends NOT to turn it on. Why? Because you dont have a TV license !
BUT, IT SHOULDNT COME TO THAT IF YOU READ THIS:

When you recieve a letter from TV Licensing asking if you have a TV IGNORE IT. They will send you more letters: red letters to make it look urgent.. strongly worded letters containing veiled threats.. IGNORE THEM. The reason is as soon as you reply, for example that you do not own a TV when you actually do, you have lied. And there is NO reason to have to lie. Also, by replying you flag yourself up for investigation and as there is no legal duty on you to reply it is best not to.

POINT 2: TV Licensing Enforcement Officers have no real power.

Next you will recieve a visit from an `Enforcement Officer`. These men have NO power to do anything but knock your door. You are not obliged to answer their questions so DO NOT answer their questions. They CAN NOT enter your property. To do that they need to be accompanied by the police, and the police have better things to do. If they didnt have better things to do they`d have been at MY door years ago.
In my time, I HAVE mistakenly answered the door to an Enforcement Officer a couple of times. The first time I simply shut the door behind me as I went out and ignored him. The second time I said my girlfriend was in bed so NO he couldnt come in to see if I had a TV. But in truth I didnt need excuses: its MY house, they CANT enter it and I no more have to answer their questions than I do the drunk in the street who asks if I have a pound to spare.
Anything you say to an enforcement officer can/ will be recorded and used against you. Do not fall into the trap of explaining yourself to them. Politely explain you are too busy to talk, and shut the door.

POINT 3: You can only be prosecuted by them using the evidence YOU supply them.

As they have no right to enter your home, as you do not have to answer their questions and as you can not be prosecuted using the urban myth of `detector-van` evidence, you have nothing to fear. Don`t give in to their bullying.

“A TV Licence is a legal permission to install or use television receiving equipment to watch or record television programmes, as they are being shown. The law applies to all viewing and recording devices, including TVs, computers, mobile phones, games consoles, digital boxes and DVD/VHS recorders. The licence fee is not a payment for BBC services (or any other television service), although licence fee revenue is used to fund the BBC.”

The `rub` is that they have to PROVE you were watching/ recording TV `as it was being shown`. It is, in effect, impossible to prove unless YOU provide them with the evidence.

[ For legal reasons I feel I must state that this blog does not condone breaking the law ]

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