Lbm Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 From yahoo news...http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20090921/tuk-tv-licence-evaders-bizarre-excuses-r-45dbed5.html More than 280,000 fee evaders were caught in the first eight months of the year. A TV Licensing spokesman said the range of reasons given by people when inquiry officers called ranged from the "sublime to the ridiculous". The organisation has published 10 of the most bizarre explanations given by people as reasons for not paying. Top of the list was "a pigeon fell down the chimney and broke the aerial so I have bad reception". Another excuse was: "I've not been making payments as a baby magpie flew into my house and I had to stay in and feed it until it was ok." And one telly addict suggested the pet dog was the only viewer and so should not have to pay. The spokesman said: "It's been a top year for tall tales. "Family members and the animal kingdom are among those that make an appearance in this year's list, as heard by TV Licensing's inquiry officers. "From the sublime to the ridiculous, licence dodgers from all across the UK have been particularly inventive in their attempts to avoid paying their TV Licence." He warned those watching television without a licence were breaking the law and faced a fine of up to £1,000. TV Licensing's top 10 excuses: 1. "A pigeon fell down the chimney and broke the aerial so I have bad reception." 2. "My 11-year-old son must have bought the TV during the night. It wasn't there when I went to bed." 3. "My payment card's been stuck in the washing machine so I can't pay." 4. "I've not paid due to my shop only accepting £5 and £10 notes and I haven't got any of those." 5. "I've not been making payments as a baby magpie flew into my house and I had to stay in and feed it until it was ok." 6. "I only use the TV to keep the horses company and one of them is blind so I should only pay half if I have to pay at all." 7. "I can't get the TV out of the box - can you help me?" 8. "My dog watches it when I'm at work to keep him company - not me." 9. "My mum told me to tell you she's not in." 10. "I've not bought a licence as I dreamt I didn't have to and the saying is you've to follow your dreams." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ivan Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 My daughter does have a TV licence. She never watched it so figured she could happily do without. She even wrote to them to tell them she didn't want to watch TV any more and asked what she should do to comply with their requirements. They told her to ditch the aerial cable from the wall socket but it was OK to still watch videos and DVDs. And no, she doesn't have broadband either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmaw Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Some of those excuses are probably true! I have a TV at work that I never use. It's our old one, and I just have it stored there as a spare in case the one at home goes on the blink. Does that mean I have to pay? As far as the law goes, yes! But they can fook off Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 23, 2009 Share Posted September 23, 2009 Thats the thing, the guys that track it check for aeriels don't they? I don't have an aerial as i have cable. Does that mean i can stop paying? They could shove all the BBC channels right up their arse and i really couldn't care less. I wish they would make it optional. I bet if they did the standard of programming would go up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinitom Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 you guys may think I’m joking but I’m not! i have received a letter from those mother f**** telling me if i had any of this: tv mobile phone laptop/pc video/dvd recorder or any tv receiving equipment i have to pay the license! this is complete absurd!! F.T.A Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Animal Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 If you have ANY means of watching tv shows AS THEY ARE BROADCAST, then you need a license. I have a TV with no aerial connected, no digibox, etc and on the rare occasion I want to watch something, I use the catch-up services on-line. As it stands, I don't need a license to do that, but the BBC are thinking of charging maybe a couple of quid to watch programmes on iPlayer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJI Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I like that list of excuses.....as obsurd and unbelievable as they are...they are right on par with the government's own excuse as to why we have to own a license to be able to watch TV in the first place ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 They could shove all the BBC channels right up their arse and i really couldn't care less. I wish they would make it optional. I bet if they did the standard of programming would go up. I think if the license fee were optional, broadcasting standards woul go down (on the BBC, probably wouldn't make much difference to the other channels). As they'd get less income, they'd have to make more cheap-to-make moron-fodder programmes (reality shows etc) and less quality broadcasting such as (IMO) "Wounded" last night. Did anyone see that? I missed it, but I read a review of it this morning and it sounds like a hard-hitting watch. "Britain's-got-a-soapstar-superstar-strictly-come-X-factor-ice", it ain't. you guys may think I’m joking but I’m not! i have received a letter from those mother f**** telling me if i had any of this: tv mobile phone laptop/pc video/dvd recorder or any tv receiving equipment i have to pay the license! this is complete absurd!! F.T.A I think you may have mis-understood what they sent you. Not all mobiles or PCs are capable of receiving TV signals: mine aren't. What they meant was if you have any of those devices you *may* have to buy a license. What makes me chuckle though are the adverts on TV from the TV licensing agency insinuating that they have a database with all the offenders (I mean ones that haven't been caught yet) on it: I very much doubt that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Havard Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I hope they do away with the licence. £12 a month just to watch the BBC is scandalous..... H. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I'm happy to pay for no adverts and the odd 'Blue Planet', 'Planet Earth', 'Coast' series appearing as well as all the Festival/arts coverage we get with BBC3/BBC4 The BBC is pure quality and we should be very proud of it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogmaw Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 I hope they do away with the licence. £12 a month just to watch the BBC is scandalous..... H. Scandalous is a bit strong. The BBC is a public service that is the envy of the world. Take a look at public service broadcasting from ANY other country if you think I'm wrong! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Charging anything at all to watch what is often political propaganda served up in a dumbed down and condescending manner is wrong, IMO I'd like nothing better than to see the corporation killed off, together with its scandalous waste of tax payers money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trinitom Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Charging anything at all to watch what is often political propaganda served up in a dumbed down and condescending manner is wrong, IMO I'd like nothing better than to see the corporation killed off, together with its scandalous waste of tax payers money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 There used to be the argument that as the TV license was just funding the BBC, if you didn't want to watch BBC you shouldn't have to pay. Unfortunately now the BBC are being forced to share the revenue with the other channels (who already get their own revenue through advertising). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewOW Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Abolish the tv licence and have commercials on every channel, or pay a monthly fee for the privilege to keep 'some' channels advert free. I, for one, thank goodness I have Sky+, as I don't have to watch any of them. Excuse no 10. is especially amusing though! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevie_b Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Scandalous is a bit strong. The BBC is a public service that is the envy of the world. Take a look at public service broadcasting from ANY other country if you think I'm wrong! Agreed. Charging anything at all to watch what is often political propaganda served up in a dumbed down and condescending manner is wrong, IMO I'd like nothing better than to see the corporation killed off, together with its scandalous waste of tax payers money. Do they waste much? I suspect there's a few people in the corporation who put expenses in that would raise a few eyebrows, but if that's the extent of it, then it's like saying that RBS should be broken up because Fred Goodwin got a massive pension. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abz Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Its only £12 a month guys....its good to see this gets the BBC Bosses £800,000 each for yearly wages. What do they do, go out hunting with the crew when they do safari or hold down the lion while the crew film? Maybe on Top Gear they actually build the cars & setup all the filming working 23hrs a day. Though more than likely they are sitting at their desk sipping chaa with some posh biscuits. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Scandalous is a bit strong. The BBC is a public service that is the envy of the world. Take a look at public service broadcasting from ANY other country if you think I'm wrong! Do any other countries in the world have to pay the scandalous tv license that we do? Its a public service that is very well funded. They always cite the amount of people who don't pay. What about the people that do? £144 x so many millions adds up to a fair budget. Its a joke. Topgear is about all i watch. The wife likes easties & river city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lbm Posted September 24, 2009 Author Share Posted September 24, 2009 I don't mind the £12 per month - if I could be arsed to use freeview, I'd probably ditch Sky+ - it's just I do like my Sky+ I don't even have the film or sports channels, but I occassionaly make use of their Box office movie channels. So £12 per month verses Mr Murdock's offerings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Could any of you lot actually survive without TV? I hardly watch it at all, and could happily live without a set in the house. In fact ours is so old and flakey it's touch and go if it works anyway I should probably bin it, the odd times I settle down and actually watch it I usually get enraged by the junk on it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Could any of you lot actually survive without TV? I hardly watch it at all, and could happily live without a set in the house. In fact ours is so old and flakey it's touch and go if it works anyway I should probably bin it, the odd times I settle down and actually watch it I usually get enraged by the junk on it! I know for a fact i couldn't live without a TV. Live broadcasts etc i could live with no problem. I mostly watch downloaded content. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Do any other countries in the world have to pay the scandalous tv license that we do? Lots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedM Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Formula One with no adverts. Well worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thorin Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Formula One with no adverts. Well worth it. ...here's hoping it's on BBC HD next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott Posted September 24, 2009 Share Posted September 24, 2009 Lots. They have to pay a tv license to the amount of £12 squids per month? Every argument i have read against tv licensing in the UK says other country's pay pennies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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