The real crime is the fact that the TV tax exists at all. The government should have made the BBC a commercial network at the same time that ITV began broadcasting in the early 1950s.
They probably worked out that if people could legally watch live broadcasts on other channels without a licence then even more people would ditch the TV licence.
Years ago, when I got a threatening letter, I would phone them up to explain I don't have a TV (or want one). But the last time I called the young woman on the other end said "The thing is, sir, if you got a license it would give you peace of mind ..." And I thought "Enough ! I'm not doing this again". Cupid stunts !
That's a disgusting tactic and bullying. So what she was saying is even though you don't need a licence, it will be easier fit you to buy one so we won't keep hassling you. That's harassment and illegal. Dodgy cowboy selling tactics. The problem is, they are power drunk on the millions they generate through licencing fees and they don't want to give it up. They will try and extort many out of us at all costs.
Ha,yourself,see that it can be very upsetting,right?Makes you heinous,uh?At least,they didn't tried to assasinate,or internate yet,i dare to hope?!(🤬).No mailbox foray yet,at least?
@@StormhavenGaming Didn't you know anything we don't like is marxism/communism/socialism now? Be it the BBC trying to make tons of money, or the billionaires at the WEF, they're all commies.
I have delivered hundreds of these letters on my delivery, I'm a postman and I'm delivering at least 50 TV licence letters every day just like the one on this video and the other types in brown envelopes as well. It's absolutely unbelievable the amount of threatening TV licence letters I'm delivering and it's not just me all my colleagues at our office are getting fed up with delivering them.
Could you not possibly get your union to boycott delivery? You could use the argument that you and your colleagues do not want to be party to demanding money with menaces. Get your union's legal bods on it.
@@SpeccyMan We can't because the BBC are paying for each letter to be delivered just like any other business that sends letters out, as far as I know Royal Mail can't get involved unless the government steps in with reasons just like you have stated or Royal Mail have some kind of legal grounds that fraud may be involved. Also Royal Mail is now privatised so there also a very likely possibility that some of our directors of the business have friends that are also high up in the BBC chain of command. What I'm trying to say is business and financial corrupt crooks tend to be all friends because it's in there best interest as there all circulating around all the major companies.
@@Martin-88 I seriously wish I could because it absolutely goes through me delivering them. But what I normally do is if I see a customer at a residential house, shop or business as I'm delivering these letters I then give them advice about these letters and let them know there rights and law or rules about TV licensing because there still quite a lot of people out there terrified that they might get a visit because they believe they are probably only a few people like themselves not paying it when in reality millions are now not paying it.
I've been waiting twenty five years for a visit, despite them promising to come dozens of times, they never have, such a waste of time and taxpayer money, it's about time that they were self financing.
Anyone that gets a letter don’t even open it throw it straight in the bin. If they come around just say No thanks and shut the door. These are salesmen
Harassment is a criminal act - yet they do it every day as part of their 'funding' - why are these scumbags not being charged ??? I seem to remember that continuing for 4-times, after being ordered to stop, is the point it becomes 'Harassment' (Or is it the 'Power-of-Three' ?)
The letters are written to the edge of harassment and extortion rules so good luck in a court plus big big company they can spend hundred thousands defending them selves draining your finances with ease 😊
They still seem to take the same, devious approach but, hopefully, all businesses are more clued up about how to deal with TV licence inspectors than some of their domestic victims.
If the Goon lies they are trespassing on the deceptive entry. It's important to role play that the girl or boy on reception is able to snarl and use the eff-word in politely telling them to remove their ass
Oh THAT letter ! Another firelighter Jon. Tell 'em to "do one", nicely obvs. Keep their enforcement team busy driving around the country wasting their time and fuel.
It really is a joke, they send a letter to an address, they don't know who resides there, they have no way of knowing if the letters are ever delivered. Send the letters back with no info,no postage, they have to pay the return postage.
That was hilarious Jon. There is no end to the deviousness that TV Licensing and the BBC will stoop to. Makes you sick to the teeth!!! Many thanks for sharing with us. Take care 👍👍👍
As an American, I've always been dumbfounded by the notion of "TV licenses." I dated a Scottish girl for a while some time back and I remember being completely confused and dismayed when she first told me about it. I love that you guys are fighting back. With the Online Privacy Bill it seems the TV license situation may well be the least of your worries, I'm afraid. Hang in there, keep on doing what you're doing!
The thing with the online privacy bill is our UK govt is at least dumb enough to tell us they are doing it. Unlike in the US and the rest of the (ahem) 'free world' where they just do it anyway.
Honestly, the TV license thing is a complete nothing-burger. It's just like a cable TV subscription, but it's operated on an honour system: Rather than opting in by paying, you opt out by not paying. Rather than getting leaflets through your door advertising their services, you get asked why you don't have a license. When you tell them you don't need a license, they genuinely do stop bothering you entirely; I haven't heard from them in well over a decade at this point, for example - and I don't get any leaflest through the door asking me if I'd like to subscribe to their services. The license isn't for owning a display device, it's for watching, recording, or streaming the content that BBC legally owns the broadcast rights for.
@@rossstewart9475 all very well but this nonsense is so outdated And I genuinely told them I didn't need the licence anymore and more and I still get letters Unbelievable!!! I've literally 99% have stopped watching tv
I received a licence request and it was incredibly threatening. I have a disability and can't afford many things because of that. I have a laptop and watch one streaming site and that's it. The absolute cheek of them to send threatening letters to people
At my village shop, the postmaster thought he needed a license because any customer walking in with a smartphone would make him liable. I advised him otherwise.
Everyone has a smartphone, there's no need for MOST businesses to have live broadcasts. Only businesses I can think of are Hotels ( *this is the Brendan Chase in Windermere, you're calling me* ) and Pubs. Nice to see you kicking in the right parts.
If you put that return envelope into the post empty and without a stamp do you think that Royal Mail would charge the BBC the unpaid postage for nothing?
I don’t own a tv but had so many annoying requests for a TV licence. I told them I don’t require one. Then two years later I had to do it all over again. It’s annoying but more than that I think having to be licensed is theft. I choose not to watch BBC and they still tell me they will visit to prove I don’t watch. Why this hasn’t been stopped and no longer needed is beyond me.
@@arneanka4633yeah well Sweden is a better place to live in my view, well it was great when I stayed there over many years ago but England depresses me sooooooooooooo much
I don't have a driving license but DVLA don't constantly hound me as to why, same with I don't have a firearms license. I don't regularly contact the local police station to tell them I don't need a firearms license.
They have been investigating me for over 5 years,visited a couple of times but was out at work like normal people,what a bunch of Tossers,try calling when I’m in but I wouldn’t recommend it.
I'd love to see TV Licensing start hounding a huge, international company and then get taken to court for harassment. Surely that's got to happen at some point. They can't keep getting away with this, can they?
I get at least one letter every 2 weeks now and have since I moved in last november,still no visit even after the not so scary RED letters lol,If they want to cut costs they could save a fortune by not sending out so many pointless letters :/
Crapita literally could stop sending the letters, save MILLIONS, then the BBC not have to pay those MILLIONS to Crapita, then the BBC could put the licence fee DOWN due to this cost saving exercise. Just like that. But no. The threatening bullshit is worth literally millions to them apparently.
If they do enter a business (say a coffee shop), how will they know if the people watching TV on their personal, unplugged phones, have a licence at home? Likewise, if they spot someone on a bus, train, sitting on a park bench etc., watching on their phone. Come to think of it, do these buses, coaches, trains etc. that provide free USB charging, have a TV Licence for each vehicle?
Great thoughts. Yes, they probably have to. Let's brief Capita about all the new addresses they have to send letters to. Can you compile a list of all bus stops and stations in UK?
Welcome to the Jungle 🐒 Did the TV License department send you that bottle of bubbly and that cheeky little bear too. How kind of them. Jon posts that envelope back with a few bits of paper inside'' the heavier the better'' with no stamp, they will have to pay for the postage.😃
The millions of pounds that the BBC are wasting on these letters, the infrastructure of the departments to send them out and they complain that someone is watching a TV without a licence is mindblowing
If the licensing agency send you more than one letter of this type then it would constitute harassment according to U.K. law and then you just write to them reminding them of the law of harassment? They’ll soon get off your back or face being fined themselves.
Just say to them when they come on site your implied rights of access has been revoked and they have to go or they're trespassing and if someone is trespassing and refusing to go you can use reasonable force under common law to remove them. But I don't think they'll put themselves in that position
I've heard that this can be a bad idea, as removing their implied right of access can be seen as suspicious and grounds for a judge to issue a warrant. The best thing to do is just say "no thanks" and close the door.
@@Martin-88that depends whether you've got something to hide truthfully if you haven't then you haven't got anything to worry about as they won't find anything anyway. I suppose it's a way of showing them that you won't be pressured or intimidated etc
@@tomalex4806 I just don't see the point in going to the effort of withdrawing their implied right of access when a quick no thanks will suffice. It's not worth having a load of people coming into your house with a warrant.
Everybody should send 5 empty unstamped envelopes to the licencing place in Darlington, DL98 1TL Imagine the postage bill they would get !! . They love sending letters..im sure they would enjoy receiving some.
Hi Jon, what surprises me is why do ITV and all the other broadcasters put up with the BBC blocking people from watching there content? and wouldn't it be great if they were to get on board to stop this from going no. Thanks for all your advice, keep powering on with all that your doing it's a big help.
For as long as the BBC own the over-the-air-broadcast infrastructure and people continue to use it, that's not in ITV or anyone else's benefit. As more and more content moves from broadcast to multicast (streaming), and as more and more consumers accept this as the status quo (read: As the older generations pass the torch to the younger) the relevance of the TV license will dwindle; We've already seen that in how the revised TV license legislation - changed to cover catch-up services and iPlayer some time back - doesn't explicitly cover streaming services from other UK content providers, only their *catch-up* services. It's just a matter of time; Fighting against the TV license as broadcast television dies is frankly flogging a dead horse.
In the past I maintained two way radio systems for the emergency services, many of the remote radio sites (unmanned) used to receive letters from TV licencing. It always struck me as comical but very wasteful, not to mention a challenge for the postmen to deliver when you have a cabin and a tower in a locked compound.
I am now in my 14th year without a tv licence, say nothing tell them nothing, they have no evidence, the only evidence they can get is from you, so tell them nothing, they are only there to sell you a tv licence, and if you don't want or need one then tell to get on their bike an go ride. And that is being polite.
good vid as always. Just 1 thing telling them you don't need a license doesn't slow down the threatening letters. I'm into year 4 unlicensed now and I get a bluff letter every month. Still no visit though.
So you can take a powerbank into work, charge it up at work, unplug it from the mains and connect it to your phone, tablet or laptop and use it legally if you have a home tv licence. What is the point of the "not having it plugged into the mains" clause? They are a joke!
Had to laugh after watching this. TV licensing is so archaic, here in New Zealand, TV licenses were scrapped years ago. You either watch Free To Air TV, or you watch Sky TV or like me you stream everything, including TV on Demand. The last time I got a bill for a TV license was 1977, and I can't remember if I even paid it, we always viewed it as a taxation rort by the government, as we paid a TV license fee whenever we bought a new TV ( nowdays we call it GST). For an advanced country the UK still has the ability to astonish me with some of the craziest outdated laws.
The license was scrapped in 1999. I bought my 1st TV in 1990 and shortly afterwards a received a letter to my PO Box stating that if I had a TV at this address I needed a license. Did I have a TV in my PO Box? No, therefore I ignored the letter.
well done your boss!!!! i let the goon see my dangeling areal wire and lack of internal connection, made the goon feel like a wally for asking. i still ignore the letter evry 2yrs, but they have never done more than that
Not plugged into the mains..... So I can watch BBC iPlayer on my laptop as long as I take it off charge and use battery power for the time I am watching BBC iPlayer lol This is getting really silly now! lol
Im sick to the back teeth of their threatening letters...I refuse to contact them in any way,why should i bother when they say if lisence not required it will follow with a visit. No point whatsoever speaking to these weirdos who want to sell me a lisence...Not a chance and couldnt care if they send a goon...Enough!!
I keep getting these letters. Their threatening tone just make me more determined to let them carry on wasting their time and money on me. Unfortunately I won't be home when they visit to check if I'm breaking the law.
Slightly different thing, but several years ago - the mechanics at our local garage used to listen to the radio whilst they work. A goon appeared one day and threatened the gaffer because the radio could be heard in reception. A public entertainment licence was required, and he was going to report/summons them for the offence. The radios were obviously banned pronto. I dunno if they were prosecuted or not, but the guys weren't as happy afterwards. Obviously. They have to be really sick in the head or absolutely desperate to do that job.
The first time I ever got a letter from TV licensing I was slightly concerned. Nowadays I treat the letters like any other junk mail. Unopened and straight in the bin.
It is like saying that you need a different licence to drive a different car that you own, so if you opt to drive a different car each day you would need a licence for that car.
It feels to me they are on a massive power trip all the way from the top to the goons at the bottom, Wen the goons are being trained I'm sure they are told to always remember when you knock at a house...you are far more superior to the householder, I'm pretty sure they are taught this from the top
I've had business ones sent to my personal address on alternate years to the residential ones. I have never owned a business! My address is directly above a business and I think the previous resident may have had their own business too. I think last time I ended up finding a different way to contact them to inform them that my address is not a business address so I guess I'll see whether or not they've updated that in another 15 months or so!
Good one Chilli! But there's no obligation for any business to have a sign, or to brief staff, telling people that the premises are not licenced for watching TV. Just as they have no obligation to have a sign saying that the premises are not licenced for the sale of alcohol, gambling, medical operations, nuclear bomb testing, etc etc.
Jon very clearly said that cafe customers CAN watch live TV on their own personal mobile devices, just as long as it wasn't plugged into a wall socket.
@@arneanka4633 no, the instructions were very specific (3:00) about it not being plugged in to the mains supply. Nothing was said about it being charged, because you can charge a mobile device with your own portable power bank which is still not plugged in to the mains supply.
The onus would be on the accuser to prove guilt so if the BBC want to accuse a business of x number of instances of watching live tv, the BBC needs to prove every single one of those instances.
just the line of "watching TV illegally" makes me want to facepalm, next up, it illegal to look into a shop window without paying some sort of tax/licence :D TV licence days are numbered!
Will someone please start a "scap the licence fee" petition, but give it a 6 months lifespan. This was done in wales with the scrap the 20mph law. I just seen a petition to scrap the licence tax close with only 2*,000 signatures. Clearly poorly publicised and a short lifespan as so few people digned up for it. With that level of alleged support, its doomed to be ignored. We need a much more public aware petition with a long lifespan. The wording had to be a carefully crafted statement listing the many logicsl reasons to scrap the bbc public funding in any format or it won't be accepted.
Instead of telling them you don't need a license, send a cease and desist instead. That way, if they keep sending letters, you can start sending back notices of infringement & fines.
I fill a plastic bag with rice, pop it in their envelope without a stamp and drop it in the post box. The recipient ( capita) then has to pay the excess postage.
I couldn't believe the threatening BBC letter, well email, to me after I cancelled! In this day & age? How many people still think they HAVE to pay when they don't even use it? I haven't had a TV for many years - but admit I did watch Queenie's funeral, then stopped it - enough of the scandals too! Luckily don't have a business anymore either.
my fave thing to do is to respond to them with "hi this is 'the occupant' of the address, I do not need a TV license." When they ask for my name, i reply. Mr. Occupant. First name, The." You can almost hear them have a brain fart when they realise what I said. When they push further for my name, I say to them "Well you've been investigating me for ten years now and thats what you call me. The Occupant. Why change it now? If you lot want to keep wasting resources in finding out my name, be my guest. Bin day is on X at 6AM, feel free to rummage through the crap then." Another thing I like to do is send their letters back to them in unstamped brown envelopes. The Royal Mail will send them a fee to collect the letter since it was not stamped, meaning they end up paying for basically their own threatening letter, with all the personal details tipexed out or cut out entirely. I do this with junk mail all the time.
It's almost like they can't fathom the concept that someone wouldn't want to watch television. Some of us have more interesting recreational activities than watching broadcast television.
I've been ignoring these letters for over 20 years. I still be ignoring them in another 20 years ... unless the government comes to its senses and scraps the license.
Interesting, 🤔 My company’s main offices all have TV in various places that they broadcast company messages, if you go into the kitchenettes where people eat their lunch the TV on the wall often has live daytime TV and news showing. All of the TVs are plugged into the same network so presumable all of them have the potential to show live television. [so if the TV on the wall in the office is on while I am working at my computer, am I watching live TV even though I’m not looking at the TV screen ?] There are 90 desks in my office alone let alone all of the other rooms in the building. [interestingly though we are a company that holds our customer’s personal details so we have pac access to all areas for data protection laws] So there is no way are coming in without a warrant.
they asked me ,would i be inn on a sertain date .as they will call, but then said it could be a day before that date our after ......and off corse i got cctv 7 camers all around my home ....gess wat /?they never called...lol wat if i asked for day off
If they say that you need a tv licences because someone is watch ing a live broadcast at your permises, so if that person pays for a tv licence then they do not need you to have one because they already have one, so that like a hotel only need one licence holder to be within the law.
Jon thank you for the laughs, Who has the brain cell at TV licensing today. Jon how about making a freedom request on how much money is wasted per year on this guff?.
That return addressed envelope. Put the empty form in the envelope and send it back without a stamp. They'll get charged the cost of a first class stamp plus a handling fee.
Ive done the i dont need a tv license a 2 times never had a letter in 6 years i think never had a letter and only did it the second time because i moved house.
After years of threats and hundreds of letters I'm eagerly waiting for a nice TV licencing 'officer' to visit me. So far, sadly, it's a futile wait. During the Covid lockdowns the letters stopped... That broke my heart... Were they all dead? After many sleepless nights worrying about them it was a great relief when the letters started coming again. But, sadly no visit. What have I done to deserve this unbearable disappointment? Anyway if they ever send me an addressed envelope with no stamp it would be a pleasure to return it. Empty and still with no stamp. It would be the least I could do for those wonderful people.
If any other company sent out these emotionally distressing and threatening letters they would be closed down. I cannot believe that not one of the political parties has the balls to take this on. I have a TV licence but because of an address error I get loads of these letters -not my job to tell them they have mixed my address up.
What does it matter if I watch on a battery powered TV or one plugged into the mains? What if I charge my batteries from the mains first then watch it?? make no sense at all
I'm rural and have had 2 goon visits this week, for the first time ever. The first time, I was upstairs tending to my disabled wife, the 2nd time we were out visiting family. The first visit, they did not knock on the door, just put a card through the letterbox and there was another card on the floor by the door for the 2nd one. I hope they come back when I'm near the front door and can tell them, that their 'Implied right of access' is denied thanks BBB) and goodbye (thanks CJC), on video, if possible.
You should write back to them with a list of other things that are criminal offences if you do it without an appropriate licence since we're tossing around hypothetical crimes
So, let me get this right. If I go to a cafe with my laptop and use their free WiFi to watch something that needs a licence then that's okay, but if I then plug my laptop into the mains at the cafe, then that isn't allowed 🙄 what the actual feck
Providing the owner had a personal TV licence for his home , or that's what I thought Jon said,but how would you know? 1. The owner may not be present at the time and 2. If they were they may not want to divulge that information, so you would be left guessing. Or 3. The owner might say he has a personal TV licence for his home, but lie, and that would leave the customer in the cafe/pub etc liable for a fine. Very dangerous territory for all 3 if you ask me.
@@user-of4sd1rm8r tyre blow out on a motorway is dangerous. These are just speculations of who/where maybe/perhaps so many words and a blank outcome of nothing happening.
I downloaded the PDF for the Act and The screen on the laptop is classifiable in the Act as a TV. And the laptop has to be professionally installed on the premises too. Not only does it amount to extortion it's outdated too.
They had one here in Australia, and I think that due to the staff required to enforce it they found that it was unenforceable with out the "tv inspectors" and that it cost more to run than it earn't. I wonder if the same is true for your TV licensing system.
