Declared that I don't require a TV licence. What's expected if they inspect my property?

[YoGatoradeMeBitch]

I've done a declaration online to say i don't need a TV licence since we only use Netflix and Amazon Instant Video. Its says online they may come and check. Anyone had this?

I don't mind them coming to check but I'm wondering how invasive it is? Will they want to check rooms for tvs etc? Really don't want a stranger in my bedroom!

They really are scum. This is part of the reason why we stopped paying for a TV license (which we don't require as we dont watch live TV).

I had a representative turn up when I was home sick from work. He demanded to be let in, no mention that he had no right of entry. I tried telling him I was sick, and also didn't feel comfortable letting a strange man into my house. He seemed to pick on this as a sign of weakness and became very aggressive and unpleasant. This was all after me explaining that we don't watch any live tv, and do not have an Ariel.

They rely on intimidation tactics.

And stupid over here pays for both a Virgin TV package and a TV license. The actual TV hasn't been switched on for months. I just have to wait for the contract to run out then it's all being cancelled.

Gator - cancel tv licence now if not watching. It isn't a licence to own a telly or have a Virgkn sub, it's a licence to watch live telly.

Yes cancel the license if you aren't watching. I would contact virgin and see about getting out now, might be cheaper than continuing.

Now imagine the uproar if sky/virgin started banging
On people's door for money because you have some of their equipment. By this I mean lots
Of blocks now a communal dish, you just plug in your box/smart tv and get some sky. Or of previous occupant had virgin, you will have the aerial box (sorry not sure what they are called).. It wouldn't be accepted. But yet we are supposed to roll over and accept that we have to pay for a service we don't want/use.

Also (I know we are venturing into the realms of the esoteric here - I have removed all my aerial connections and detuned fwiw) it is legal to use a freeview telly to listen to radio -both my TVs allow you to turn the screen off for this but a detector would still "find" UHF

Actually, and too I realise that it's esoteric, I wonder if you can in fact legally receive the Radio 4 signal in the DTV mux without a TV licence. You obviously don't need one to receive DAB, but if you're receiving the DTV mux and pulling the Radio 4 bitstream out of it, is the fact that you're discarding the BBC1 (or whatever) bitstream sufficient? It would depend on the precise wording of the act, I guess, and I'm not interested enough to read it :-)

TVL says you can listen to live radio whatever equipment you use without needing a licence.

Listening to radio via a freeview box is a risky strategy, unless you have a cast-iron way of preventing the viewing of TV channels. If you get raided and the 'Enforcement Officer' can get a picture up, you're screwed (even if you never watch).
Of course, if you never speak to them then they won't get a warrant (unless your TV can be seen from the window and they 'mistakenly' claim they saw you watching the One Show to get the warrant).

If you watch live TV then cough up. If you don't, don't be intimidated and don't engage.

Coffee refusing to sign their paperwork isn't a crime. What evidence did they present at court ?

Special what a daft thing to say. How can I be stealing ? It's not my fault there's no opt out for the BBC. There should be.

If I provide you with a service you don't want and never asked for would you happily pay me ?

Funnily enough, after reading and contributing to this thread, I am now driving behind a TV licensing detector van on the m62! Haven't seen one in years. I should point out that when I say driving, I am not the person behind the wheel btw .

I don't have a TV licence but have a TV hooked up to a video player in upstairs office.

After I declared I didn't need one, a few weeks later, someone from licensing knocked on door around 8pm at night. I showed him around downstairs - no TV. He appeared to want to go upstairs, I said I have a TV but it isn't not connected to ariel (true) but honestly I think it's inappropriate for you to be here searching our bedrooms, as children getting into pyjamas.

He asked if I would ever start watching TV again, I said maybe when children teenagers. He left and not heard anything since. That was a year ago.

We have just bought a holiday home, and I'm not really sure where we stand.

We have a TV licence for our main home (although only watch / record / download sky programmes - can't stand soaps, no-talent shows, cash in attic, property, middle aged men in cars, reality or strictly).

We have a number of options for watching stuff at our holiday home:

1. BBC i-player which we can see on TV via apple TV
2. Our sky box, which may have programmes recorded from when we were at home
3. Our Sky box which we can download movies on
4. Downloaded movies on our PS3

Do we need a licence for any of these? None of them are watching live TV, and the only TV which will have been recorded will have been done at our main home, which has a licence.

The other thing I was thinking of doing was to make an online notification of change of address each time we go to our holiday home (which at the moment is every weekend so could be a pain in the ass).

Blimey, I'm shocked at the hassle some of you have had!

No TV and no licence here for about 12 years. Never had a visit. Every couple of years or so they write to me and ask me to confirm that I still don't need a licence. Takes a minute or two to respond. End of problem.

I had them come round. A man with a clipboard poked his head round the door of my living room, saw no TV, walked out. Less than 30 seconds.

That implied right of access thing is nonsense, you may as well put up a big sign saying "I don't pay my bills"