We ended up getting a TV because it was too much hassle trying to prove we didn't have one. Nasty letters every week, vans loitering in the street outside, Enquiry Officers wanting to come in at odd times, stupid phone conversations ("99% of the UK population has a TV licence and the rest are avoiders") etc, etc.Thurston Garden wrote:It's a TV free house here.
It did take some convincing with the licencing people though. I expect them to be on our case again soon because I bought a new digital TV for my gran 2 weeks ago from Lewis's in Edinburgh - paid for with my card....registered at my address.... Honest guv it's for my gran!
We thought it would be less hassle to have a licence and, if we had a licence, we might as well have a TV.
We were wrong. Even when we got the licence, we had hassle every time we moved as they kept losing track of us. Officers have even tried to tell us the licence we have and the direct debits on our bank statements were forgeries.
BTW, you don't have to answer the Enquiry Officers' questions, they have to interview you under caution if they want to use anything you say as evidence, and they can't enter your premises without a warrant from a magistrate. However, they will try to get around these.
The most common one is "If I/we can come in and you co-operate with our enquiries, we can confirm you do not need a TV licence and can therefore minimise future contact with you". Followed by, "after our brief inspection of the premises you won't get any further follow-up letters, phone calls or inspections for three years".
B******s to that. If they want to come in, they can get a warrant. Since when does the law require someone to prove they don't require a TV Licence?
We've been battling them for 10 years or so — and we even have a licence and TV these days.
