What can / do TV License inspectors actually do?

[QuimReaper]

I moved into a new flat in December and had 'get TV license' on my epic To Do list for ages, but when I got round to it I realised that between Now TV, Amazon Prime and Netflix subscriptions I basically never use the BBC except to catch up on Graham Norton or Have I Got News For You, and half the time I do that at my partner's house anyway. I used to be a 10 o'clock News and Newsnight devotee but haven't watched either since moving out of my home last summer.

I've just had a threatening letter from them about sending inspectors round and I'm just curious what they can actually do if they get into your property. I guess they can request to check if you have the ability to watch live TV, but there's no proving that you actually do. And I suppose they could ask to check Smart TVs for the iPlayer app, but again that's native on most TVs. They presumably can't insist on checking devices or internet browser history, so are they just there to intimidate?

They sent around an officer to my first flat away from home about 15 years ago, who managed to be at once stupid, slimy and a total thug, and he completely cornered and bullied me (when we DID have a TV license). I still get angry thinking about it to this day, and am quite keen for another go in the ring with them now I'm much older, scarier and less vulnerable

(I meant to add, I have live TV available via my Virgin subscription, but haven't watched it once since moving in over 10 weeks ago.)

Do not open the door to them. They do not have access rights to your home. Its bullying and intimidation really. Just tell them officially via website/their form that you do not require a licence. Its utter madness when you really think about the tv licence

There’s a few videos on YouTube about the legalities of not having a TV license and how to deal legally with any license inspection.

As @Janelle7 says they have no legal right of entry so never open the door.

Just inform the BBC you no longer require a license.

You don't need to open the door. You can go to the TV licence site to declare you don't need a licence. They'll write to you every 2 years to ask you to make a new declaration.

They’re basically just pushy salespeople, you don’t have to let them in unless they have a warrant (very rare)
ive been legally license free for years, the one time I had one knock on the door, I said no thank you and just shut the door

That's what I thought, thanks - I was just curious as to what they can / do do if they do get in. There's really nothing conclusive they can prove is there, in the smart TV era? So it really is just a strong-arm.

Oh! I've just actually gone to my Virgin Media package, since as I was typing my last post I thought I might as well cancel the TV service, and as it turns out I actually don't have TV, just broadband! The fact that I was able to make that mistake seals the deal for me on paying for a license

You live in a flat - is it a block of flats or a house split into 2 flats ?
i could guess if in a block that there may be a communal aerial ( even if you use it or not ) so how can they prove it is you that a) has a tv and b) is watching a tv

It's a house split into two flats: but isn't that business about how they can tell what the aerial picks up total myth anyway?

My friend got caught using Iplayer because they monitor IP addresses. She had to get a licence or be fined. If you genuinely don't need one you can register as exempt. Do not let them in. These letters are awful, my DS gets them at uni.

"I basically never use the BBC except to catch up on Graham Norton or Have I Got News For You, and half the time I do that at my partner's house anyway. "

So you are watching it. Unlicensed.

Make sure you stick to the rules. No live tv. No bbc programmes, no iplayer and you will be fine. Remove the aerial from the back of the telly!

No live TV includes eg watching live sport on streaming services like Amazon Prime.

Surely that’s covered by your Amazon Prime subscription?

Don't open the door.

You're supposed to have a license to watch BBC iPlayer or any live TV. But just say you don't watch them and close the door.

you need a licence for any live tv (even foreign channels or things showing live on prime) which is ridiculous but it is what it is.

Just don't answer the door to them and if you do inadvertently, just don't sign anything. I'm sure I read somewhere that they can't take you to Court if you don't sign the declaration thing. I haven't had a TV licence for years. I watch the odd BBC thing occasionally and just tick the box saying "yes I have a tv licence". Been doing that for a good few years and nothing ever happens. The odd letter. If they ever did visit I imagine they've given up by now!

This is an interesting thread! I've never considered it before tbh as we do have a license, but I've always wondered what we bother for. I think the live sport one would be a clincher in our house anyway as we do watch that

No, she did not.

The BBC has absolutely no way to link IP addresses to physical addresses, let alone individual people. That's if they even monitor traffic on the iPlayer site in the first place, which there is nothing whatsoever to suggest they actually do.

Even assuming your ISP broke the law and divulged that information to Capita, it is wholly insufficient in evidential terms for them to secure a prosecution, as simply proving an IP address was accessing a site does not prove where the access was taking place, or who was responsible. It's common for the exact same IP to be issued to several physical addresses at once.

She may well have been fined, but it was not because Capita "traced" her IP address on the iPlayer website.

No - your Prime subscription pays Prime to provide the programmes. It doesn't cover any other areas.
Any live TV requires a TV licence

They don't track by IP addresses. They do now monitor the email address you use to log in to iplayer and if it matches an email address you have used to register not needing a TV licence or have previously used to buy a TV licence and then stop and send you a snotty email.

Wow.

So better to view it as a State TV license ( tax ) with conditions.

If you hand on heart say that you don't watch any live TV, BBC news, the World Cup, Euro's, Wimbledon, the Olympics or Commonwealth Games and you genuinely don't use iPlayer then don't get a licence and don't open the door / let them in if they come knocking.

Aside from the services above, don't forget BBC radio services. Use of these aren't monitored but are licence fee funded.

As someone who lives in a house with CBeebies on a constant loop, uses Bitesize for homework help, only listens to BBC radio as I cannot stand the commercial channels and enjoys watching major sporting events live, I have no problem with paying my licence fee and feel I get good value for money from it.

Indeed

The "I have a TV licence/I do not have a TV Licence" prompt when you go to the iPlayer site is nothing more than an automated checkbox that diverts you to the licence sign-up page if you declare that you do not own a licence.

If you are stupid enough to supply an email address to Capita in your declaration that you do not require a licence, then subsequently attempt to log in to iPlayer using the same email address, it's the familiar email that triggers a written warning to your postal address, not any sort of IP monitoring.

Look up Blackbelt Barrister on you tube he has videos on TV license/Capita and what they can and can't do,