AIBU TV Licence

[LouBlue1507]

I don't have a TV licence and don't intend to pay for one.

I don't have access to live TV and only watch Netflix, Itv player, 4od and channel 5. Not BBC iplayer.

I have declared this to the TV licence people and now property is under investigation.

AIBU to refuse them entry if they turn up? I've read horror stories of them being bullies, intimidating and even lying!

I don't think BBC can't make us pay for the radio either. Plenty pays £10 or £15 a month for an individual or family Spotify subscription. As many says, many here pays Netflix or now tv too. BBC if they so wish could ask for a username and password to login. As others have pointed out, Netflix managed to collect revenues without resorting to scary letters and bullying tactics.

In my experience,the TV licence authority NEVER believe anyone who says that they don't own a TV! Therefore,if you actually own a TV but never watch TV programmes on it,and it has no aerial,so therefore no reception,they certainly won't believe you! A relative of mine had not owned a TV for near on 15 years in the 90s,but still had increasingly threatening letters from the TV licencing company several times a year. He eventually consulted a solicitor,who told him that it was up to the TV licence people to prove that he DID own a TV,rather than him to prove he did NOT own one. After writing and informing them of this,he didn't hear any more from them.

I actually can't imagine wanting to watch live tv anymore. I don't even like catch up tv (so I don't watch it). I don't want to watch an hour then have to wait a week until the next instalment.

I actually told the sky harassers that why would anyone record live sky instead of having it on demand and pay less! They never ring me again. You have to be stupid to pay for the sky satellite version instead of the internet one. (Friend who watch sports says it's cheaper to get the sports one via now tv too).

DH complains that now TV isn't available in 4K with 5.1 surround sound. I point out to him that he should shut up unless he wants to sell a kidney to pay for skyQ.

The sky harassers only stopped annoying me after cancelling when I turned down the entire package (including sport which no one would ever watch) for free for 6 months then £10 a month afterwards. The guy tried to offer me a year free and I said they couldn't pay me to subscribe again.

Also I unplugged my landline which helped. . I wish the regulator would stop them insisting you have a landline you don't use to get broadband. It's a total scam.

"If they offered it, I would happily subscribe to certain series to watch them. For example, Planet Earth II. I own it on BluRay, but would have been happy to pay a subscription fee for the series to watch it on iPlayer. As it is, there simply aren't enough BBC shows that catch my attention that make the full TV licence worth it."'

But they do. It's called BBC Store. You can purchase most series, and the digital version is yours to keep (forever, in theory). They even do this for series that are currently being broadcast, so the new episode is released to you each week. So if you only like a handful of BBC shows, this is much more cost effective than paying for a whole licence at £145. And you would still be helping to support the BBC- everyone's a winner! Well you are anyway by buying the DVD I guess.

It's true that a DVD may be preferable to a digital purchase though (and often include bonus features, of course). Also some BBC series can be purchased digitally on Amazon. Always compare prices.

You know, I genuinely didn't know about the BBC Store - thanks for pointing it out, it's definitely an option for future series I'd like to watch but currently don't due to the lack of licence!

I'm surprised they don't advertise it more, it would maybe claw a bit of money back from people like me who are happy to pay for what we use, but don't use enough to warrant the full fee.

I'm surprised they don't advertise it more, it would maybe claw a bit of money back from people like me who are happy to pay for what we use, but don't use enough to warrant the full fee.

There aren't many of us frugal enough to say "nope, I'll go without, even if it is 50p a day". Most people like us I know who only watch one or two series a year have all decided to buy the licenses anyway - they've been kicking themselves when I told them about BBC Store

The license fee isn't a monthly subscription, there is an upfront cost before you begin to pay monthly in arrears.

Glad to help Shark. I agree, they should advertise it more.

Sometimes it can be a little bit pricey though, so you need to keep an eye on it. For instance I wanted to catch up with series 3 of Last Tango in Halifax, it was £9.99 on BBC Store, but only £8.99 on Amazon. Why should that be? And their default price for a single episode of anything is £1.89, (I have occasionally used this when I missed an episode of something but it is no longer on IPlayer). £1.89 for an episode of an Attenborough series or some glossy costume drama is not too bad, but I would resent paying that for a 30 episode of EastEnders, for example. I think they need to look at their prices more carefully.

Also they still haven't made their content compatible with Chromecast so you can view it on a big screen, which is just ridiculous of them. So they're not altogether wonderful, but still, it's an option. They often have offers on too.

30 minute episode of EastEnders, I meant.

When I lived in the UK, I was another who never watched live tv or used iPlayer. Our tv was for Netflix, Amazon, gaming and occasionally 4OD.

I have previously used iPlayer, but for the most part I thought the content was poor compared to the subscription services.

The only things I missed from the BBC were nature docs (which seem to be subsequently released on Netflix anyway) and Match of the Day (which I probably watched less than 10 times per year so didn't really justify the license fee).

I have very little interest in watching live tv, and iPlayer just isn't very good. If I return to the UK, I don't imagine I'll get (or need) a license again.

For those disbelieving posters saying they don't watch the BBC- it is possible to survive in this world without tuning into the BBC you know!

BBC is cr@p. There is nothing on it that I would be interested in. YouTube has much more interesting stuff. It also isn't true that BBC is ad-free. It isn't. It advertises itself left, right and centre. Also, I don't want a 2-hour live film to be ad-free. I want to be able to get a coke from the fridge or go to the loo.

Furthermore, those advocating the licence-fee, can you tell me how much the BBC passes on to foreign TV companies? You know, Spain, France, Eastern Europe? Given that you are required to have a licence if you watch live tv from any country? £00.00? I thought so. Talk about morals and the BBC.

So I am going to let my tv-licence run out this spring, put both tvs on Gumtree and stick to YouTube. And no, I don't think I'll die from BBC withdrawal.

I had a man come to my door step
Saying I didn't have a licence and started giving me a police style caution!!! Turns out it had never been renewed, luckily it was a fault on their end and a recorded call proved it. When he did it I was in shock, talking to me perfectly normal one minute then launched in this caution the next. I shut the door on him and thankfully got sorted quite quickly! I have heard of ppl going to court so I think for £3 a week I'd just get one!

We don't pay for a TV licence. Don't watch live telly or iPlayer, can't see we miss it much. If we did pay for the licence we would still want Amazon prime and Nowtv anyway. I don't understand the handwringing over the BBC, either it can stand on its own two feet or it can't, I've no interest in subsidising it if I don't need it.

BC is cr@p. There is nothing on it that I would be interested in. YouTube has much more interesting stuff. It also isn't true that BBC is ad-free. It isn't. It advertises itself left, right and centre. Also, I don't want a 2-hour live film to be ad-free. I want to be able to get a coke from the fridge or go to the loo

There's such a wide variety of programmes over the various channels that it's difficult to believe that you've actually checked - if there really is nothing whatsoever at any time that you would conceivably find interesting, you must have an incredibly narrow range of interests.

Manifestly the few trailers that it has between programmes do not compare to all the ads commercial channels have between and during programmes. In some cases they take up 18 minutes of a programme that is supposedly an hour long, which is ridiculously tedious. No-one needs a 6 minute gap every 20 minutes to get drinks or go to the loo.

Megatherium - the bbc does put out some good programmes and, were iPlayer free to use, I'd probably check it from time to time.

However, iPlayer's selection is very limited compared to Netflix and alike (particularly given that many BBC shows end up on Netflix).

If its a choice between one or the other, I'd go for Netflix every time (and have already done so).

I don't think the license fee will be sustainable for that much longer, which is a shame, but I personally couldn't justify the expense any longer.

I don't suffer from BBC withdrawal. I've lived without a TV for various periods over the years, currently have a TV but no aerial and no need for a license. They've actually been to my house, my dad let them in (I was unwell in bed and wouldn't have chosen to) they looked around, left, and I haven't received a letter since.

For the disbelievers that anyone can exist without watching the BBC, is it a very difficult concept to understand that some of us non-licence holders might have watched the occasional programme on iplayer when it was permitted to do so but that since September we have not done so because 1) we don't watch enough for it to be worth buying a license and 2) as we don't have a license, we would be breaking the law if we watched, so we don't?

Is that so difficult to grasp?

I haven't had a licence since 1999.

Megatherium - I have checked. It's condescending attitudes like this that drive me insane. Have you looked at BBC 1s output for the next week?? I have: some films I can watch else where, antique road trip, escape to the country etc etc, BBC 2 is not much better, admit I haven't checked all the BBC channels, I don't have a narrow range of interests. There are a few programs I would quite like to watch, but I wouldn't miss them if I couldn't watch them. Today in our house absolutely no BBC was watched, nothing worth watching. We pay the TV licence but could easily arrange our viewing in a way where we didn't have to. The most infuriating thing about the BBC is when I want to watch some on-line content but get told I can't as it's not available in the U.K. as not covered by the licence fee. Makes my blood boil.

You don't have to let them in.

We never watched live TV so didn't bother. They turned up twice. The first time I was in the middle of getting DD1 to sleep so told them to come back another time the next time I showed them the black screen that I got because there was no signal without an areal (why can't I spell that right now) and they said they'd stop all visits. Never had bother after that.

We didn't even watch catch up. Dvds and video games only at the time.

but - to all you assuming we licence payers are somehow ignorant -

In certain areas of the country (we know where we are) there is no superfast broadband and it is not possible to watch netflix and the rest because the download speed is just not good enough. Clear enough - we have no choice.

I guess non of you non licence holders have older kids or teenagers?

Just send the TV licencing a letter withdrawing access to your property. You can find many templates online. Once this letter has been sent they can't harass you any longer or come to your front door even.

I had to do this as they kept threatening to send someone round and as I left two teens ( at the time) in the house this wasn't safe. There had been a fake boiler man rape incident in the area of a teen girl, I didn't want my DDs frightened due to this.

It's not about what's good value for money, it's like saying you must buy aunt Bessie's Yorkshire's puddings even though you don't want to eat them they might be good value but if you don't want them why should you be forced to purchase them.

Until recently you have not been required to purchase a TV licence to watch anything on catch up on BBC I Player. This is no longer the case and you need a TV lisence to view TV programmes on BBC I Player only. If youonly watch the other channels such as Demand 5 and ITV player a lisence is not needed. The thingif you have a TV is that you have access to full content of what is on TV brought your frerview or similar but you don't get full content online. The TV lisencing company have no way if you are watching through and aerial or cable to prove what you have watched hence the fact that even though you at not watch BBC you still have to pay. They can monitor through your IP address for online viewing. They have no right to access your home unless via a court order you have a right to have a laptop and a TV that you plug into for a larger screen which is what I do. The inspector may ask to access your devices such as you laptop and any tablet to look at the history but you should refuse, what is on your laptop is your business. Tell them that if they want that information they need to go through the the official channels to access your records on Tuesday IP address. Interfering little sausages!

I guess non of you non licence holders have older kids or teenagers?

My DD is 16. We've not had a TV since she was 10.