The BBC's new license sting...

As a person on benefits because of serious illness and having a daughter who has anorexia our family life is hectic and poor but we try and muddle our way through, I've never been a person to ignore debt or deliberately create it but we have had times when the choice was to go and see my daughter in hospital or eat and we went to the hospital as she needed us. The consequence was that we built up small debts that we settle asap, one of those was with the TV licensing people, the year previously we had been taken to court for no license, I didn't try all the nonsense freeman law stuff nor denied I had a TV, I simply told them my daughter was in a secure hospital and we spent what we had on getting to see her as she was in an awful way, this was simply brushed aside by the guy at the court and he demanded we pay now or go through the court process, being that I was already chronically depressed I begged my mother in law to help and she kindly took some money from her pension savings and paid the bill.

Now fast forward to recently, we took out a payment plan and did our best to keep up, we managed to at the worst point be 21.00 in arrears but resolved that to 0 arrears as they have been since but in between that the TV people issued a court summons called a Single Justice Procedure Notice where we have to plead guilty or not guilty, if we plead not guilty the Judge will look at the circumstances and decide if we should be fined. So I rang up TV licensing and said "we owe you nothing" to which I was told that we had fallen behind with the plan and as we were taken to court last year they want to fine us. I explained the circumstances but he said it was another department and can't be stopped, I obviously said that I was talking to the TV people now so they COULD sort it if they wanted, the end result is that I've got to decide my plea which will be not guilty and HOPE that my serious circumstances and the fact I owe them nothing will count for something.

Now to me this all p*sses me off that they can try and fine people who ARE paying their plan just to rake in MORE money, personally I rarely watch the TV as depression and illness has made me a bit of a recluse at times, my wife watches it when we are in but that's about it but as we have a TV I pay the license but struggle. Now the government have the power to outlaw cheap shots like this but they refuse to, we do have a genuine hard time of it, we never go out for entertainment, neither of us smoke, we have a rare bottle of wine on a weekend on a week where every thing is paid up and my only indulgence is the Internet which helps my depression and gives me a world that my disabilities can't deprive me of using.

We eat cheaply by getting the reduced stuff at the end of the day, any spare money goes towards my daughters getting better, I don't ask them to ignore my debt, simply to understand we really do have a hard time and if I miss a week or two its down to getting money every two weeks, its not some grand scheme to do them out of license money.

The sad thing is they simply don't give a stuff and look to increase your debt by fining you when you might owe a week or two or in our case NOTHING. Bloody outrage, the BBC is funded by the government yet the BBC fritter away money on £2,000 sofa's that are in storage and pay bloated amounts of money to so called stars while from what my wife says, offering a shoddy set of TV programmes.

Lifes a HUGE p*ss take.....

The payment plan is a con, in actual fact you're are 6 months in advance credit yet capita will still take you to court for a missed payment, the behaviour of this company is disgusting. I haven't switched my TV on in years and the aerial is removed, I watch all my programmes online, Via netflix, Youtube and streaming sites, you can find any programme or series online for free, or a small fee, so there is no need for a TV to watch programmes.

My advice to you is go to this page for legal advice and what to do with the fine (Capita usually drop charges when contested)

TV licence advise

They arnt "freemans" or anything like that but they do know the ins and out of the licensing fee and what to do in each circumstance

Capita are big on threatening letters ect but in fact most of them have no legal standing and are worded to instill fear. When a fine is contested they usually drop the charge for fear of their fear mongering tactics being exposed, they rely mainly on threats and intimidation to get you to pay up.

NEVER EVER SIGN ANYTHING, The form is a disguised admission of guilt and Never let them into your house if they call, They have no more power than the milkman and their code of conduct states that they must leave your property when asked. You do not have to let them in, And it is strongly advised to never let them in even if you do not have a TV, These people earn commission and are extremely untrustworthy, mainly preying on the elderly and sick or vulnerable people.

Always film any encounter with them, No matter how pleasant they seem, They fill in false forms after they leave. and it is common to receive a fine for false charges 6 months after they leave (remember they earn commission)

And most importantly, Do not leet them worry you, Being in arrears on £20 is no big deal, they make it seem like the biggest crime ever committed by a human, but just remember its £20, And not the end of the world...

a reply to: Mclaneinc

The biggest mistake you've made is acknowledge that the TV license debt is yours. You will receive letters asking you to pay and each letter is different than the last, some more threatening than others and the letters will always, ALWAYS be addressed to your address with the header The Legal Occupier. If you phone up TV licensing and say 'I've got a letter saying i haven't paid my license my address is blah blah my name is John Smith.' Well John, you just admitted liability for a debt and if you are liable then you will have to go through the motions. You should have crumpled the letters up the instant they land on your doorstep. TV license agent visits? Close the door on them. Their biggest weapon for claiming 'TV License dodgers' is fear and intimidation and an admittance of debt.

a reply to: Mclaneinc

All the advice you've been given is pretty dead on but I wanna add that you should NEVER remove their right to come to your door. It is a mistake people often make and it is almost always the lead reason why they start taking people to court. My sister was given this advice a little to late and was taken to court, thankfully she hadn't been in the UK for more than a few months (she lived in the US with our Aunt for almost ten years and was a teenager when she left) and in court her reason was that she didn't know she needed one and she luckily had a kind judge who agreed and she was ordered to pay ten pounds to the BBC licensing people (they weren't happy lol) and given information on the rules, although she only had it for two years before letting it drop.

The BBC or the TV licensing people get annoyed when they have that right removed, and while yes YOU have that right it's best not to poke the bear. I've never had a license as I use internet streaming (as others) and a streaming box like apple tv but not apple tv which is by far better than what we get. I have had two visits from the BBC people and have told them those occasions that YES I have a television but it is used for mainly gaming, they tried to argue that I could have access to bbc products through the games console and I laughed and said 'That's true but I also have access to other things but don't use them' he stared at me and asked to come in but said no, I have a legal right to refuse them entry but I said "You're welcome to waste your time and come by any time you like" the second time they showed up was on a cold rainy afternoon (London, England here) and after a rough go I was nice and offered him an umbrella and he took it and said 'Thanks?' with a question which I didn't understand lol but I will never remove their right to come and bother me at the door simply because it seems that on MOST occasions when you do that it leaves them little choice but to take you to court.



Although, I did speak to a lawyer and asked him about the license fee and he said it was 'One of the most confusing laws of the land.' he said 'I don't understand how someone can be put into a contract with anyone or company without signing their name or agreeing to the terms. That's how lucky the bbc are' but then said 'Don't ask me to challenge it though because judges will side with them on that law'.