Protection money.... er... I mean, TV licensing in the UK

Click on the picture on the right if you want to read it.

Just for the record, I don't have anything connected to any equipment in my house that enables me to watch any TV broadcasting, apart from what I can see on the internet. The TV license doesn't cover the internet, nor does it need to due to the way the internet works. On the internet they can stop anybody from watching their programs and charge per view if they wish. The problem with using the airways is that the signal is pumped out into the air & they have no idea or control over who is watching it. They assume every house without a TV license is guilty before they even bother to find out if anybody actually lives at the address, let alone watches, or even owns, a TV!

I have been fined in the past when the rules were different. In the past the licensing authorities weren't interested in whether or not you used their services. Just owning a TV or other device that was capable of receiving TV signals was enough for them to issue a fine. You didn't even need to have an aerial. I have always used a TV to help with my video editing because it never looks the same on a computer screen as it does on TV. There are monitors about without the receiving equipment built into them, but they are professional devices and way out of my budget range.

The current law states that a device actually needs to be used for receiving a TV signal to qualify for a license. I put this to the test once & waited for the day their "inspector" came knocking at the door. My wife let the inspector in to examine our equipment. The inspector asked my wife to change channels on the TV remote control to see if we could pick up any TV channels. No channels showed up & the inspector told us that we would not be bothered for six years. Six years? I wonder why six years. Maybe that's how long it will take them to create something on TV that I will think is actually worth paying for! Ha ha!

The "inspector" did not take any interest in the VCR, DVD recorder, DVD player or Freeview box that were on the shelves next to the TV. The "inspector" didn't even ask if we had any other equipment connected to the TV! How many people actually change channels on their TV these days? Most change channels on their digital boxes, whether they be Sky, Freeview, TopupTV, or whatever. Even before digital TV a lot of people changed channels on the VCR instead of the TV. Some inspector! Just for the record, we had disconnected the aerial once the TV license expired. We had tried to pay the TV licensing for a day's worth of TV so that my wife could watch South Africa playing rugby against the Brits, but couldn't get through to them on the phone, so they lost out and we got free TV for a day. I don't know, you try to do the right thing, and... Oh, what's the point. Outlaws seem to have a much easier life sometimes.

Here's a question. Why is Freeview so named if it isn't free? Surely Trading Standards should be looking into that one.

It makes a change to receive a letter from TV licensing that isn't threatening to take my car away or threatening to send me to prison. Up to now they haven't even had my name, but thanks to the anti-privacy laws of United Stalingrad...er...Kingdom, it seems that these parasites are able to get information about me from places where I choose to do business! In a free society I could just take my business elsewhere, but this isn't a free society. Actually, I felt more free living under Apartheid, but that's another discussion for another time. I believe all retailers of TV receiving equipment are bound by law to ignore the little box that I always make a point of ticking in the contract, the one that says, "Please tick here if you do not want to receive offers from third parties". Unfortunately the privacy laws don't apply to government departments, and their offers often aren't very reasonable!

Well, now that TV licensing have my name they are being a bit nicer to me. At the moment, at least. Really, though, what business is it of theirs if I buy a VCR/DVD/HDD unit to use to play the twenty pence charity shop videos I buy for my daughter? Another reason for buying that particular model is to convert my videos to DVD, plus copy my daughters videos & DVD's to the built-in hard drive to save having to keep changing tapes & DVD's, but can I do that? Oh, no! More rules and regulations, this time for copy protection. It's not like I'm making any money out of this, or even doing the over rich media companys' fat cats out of any money. I just want a little convenience in my life, using the technology that is available today, but the fat cats are only interested in the contents of my wallet. I'm wandering off the topic again!



I'm sure the TV license story is going to continue, so watch this space. I could always phone them on their high rate phone number to tell them that I'm not interested in receiving the constant stream of crap they spew out into our atmosphere, but why should I line their pockets with a premium phone call when I'm not interested in using their service? I also have a high rate number, which I give out to any company that gives me a high rate number. They earn off me then I'm going to earn off them! Maybe I could write to them, but that's a stamp, envelope and paper I'll have to pay for, plus a trip to the Post Office. Not to mention the time spent on creating a formal letter when I could be rambling on in my blog. No, they will have to come to the door with a warrant and a couple of Police officers before I will let them in, and what a disappointment it will be for them to find out that I don't have an aerial connected to anything! All that wasted money and time they spent on harassing me, and all for nothing! Who is paying for their £20k+ salaries? Well, if you pay your TV license then you are. They would need to successfully prosecute and receive full payment from at least 40 people per year per staff member to cover their salaries with money from the non license payers. Yes, the fine is up to £1000, but from my own experience they only fine under £400 the first time, then just over £500 the second time. I would be happy to opt out of watching BBC channels, but they don't allow for that, so I can't watch anything until the laws change.

If you are on Facebook there is a group you can join who are petitioning against the TV license. Just click here to join the group. Signing the petition is optional, but has an amusing video about TV licensing, just be warned that it contains a lot of foul language. If you aren't on facebook then you can see the video and/or sign the petition by clicking here. There are many more websites campaigning against TV licensing. Just click here to see a list. Some also make the laws a lot clearer.

If you want to check up on any facts, you'll find the TV Licensing website at www.tvlicensing.co.uk.

You will find a lot of TV related products at Carl's Emporium. just put what you are looking for in the search box and do your shopping at famous name stores.

I've managed to get some professional help with the design & logo of ShopperRama, so keep an eye on the shop for some major changes, soon! ShopperRama is fully functional, so go ahead & make a purchase if you wish.