Bullying TV licence inspector

[LapdanceShoeshine]

DD2 moved into a new address with her BF on 1st December. They had no live TV until shortly before Christmas & didn’t even think about getting a licence (it’s an old TV from when her BF lived alone elsewhere)

Today a woman knocked on the door just as DD2 was about to go out & asked “are you Mrs X?” (previous resident). DD2 said no. Woman asked if they have a TV, more or less pushed her way in to see (small terraced house, front door opens straight into living room), started demanding information like DD2’s NI number, & wanted DD2 to hand over her bank details immediately. (Despite the haranguing DD2 managed to resist this & instead signed up for TV licence on her phone in front of the woman.)

Surely this isn’t how they’re supposed to behave? Having come to see a specific person, who moved out in October, she should just have requested to see some ID & then left with a warning to get a new TV licence asap?

Any advice? I’ve suggested she make a formal complaint. The woman even read her a caution!

What's the relevance of that

It's relevant because it's causing some of these nasty jobsworths to become aggressive and sometimes threatening in a bid to get some extra cash.

One of them walked into my SIL's kitchen because she was too busy to answer the door. It was just her and my baby niece in the house at the time and it understandably frightened her.

He became unpleasant when she told him to get out of her house wouldn't leave until she threatened to call the police.

There are many, many similar stories out there if you look.

If it all ends up going through the courts there is no reason for them to become aggressive if someone disagrees/makes a mistake/refuses to play ball - Except getting themselves more money.

Well if she didn't come whinging to you about it, why are you posting so passionately about it online?

@Julie8008

You’re probably right about her paying a share in some accommodations over the years, but she was never responsible, & never gave it a second thought.

The righteous indignation of so many posters at her failure to instinctively grasp her tv licensing responsibilities is literally hilarious

Why are you getting so personal Wine?

It's not a competition to see who can rip into the OP the most.

The fucking bandwagon jumping that happens on this site these days is pathetic.

Lapdance

The righteous indignation of so many posters at her failure to instinctively grasp her tv licensing responsibilities is literally hilarious

Its more your inability to grasp that your DD was in the wrong and the inspector was correctly doing their job. Cant you imagine how many times a day an inspector hears the same old excuses. If your DD was upset then its still her fault, even if ignorance was her failing.

Fizzthecat thank you. My DH cane Home and was baffled "why did you cry at the tv license?!"

If you accidentally exceed an overdraft someone from the bank doesn't force their way into your home. Leave a small item in the trolley and forget to pay for it, shop worker isn't at your doorstep pushing inside. Yes someone needed this licence thing but it doesn't excuse a person pushing into a home! Making a small mistake that affects literally no people ever doesn't mean you deserve to be bullied.

I own a tv. I received tons of letters getting more and more aggressive and did worry someone would turn up at my door, I'm disabled with some mental health issues and no way could have dealt with that. Never mind that I declared several times online, called, wrote, to say I didn't need one. It's you exist, you pay fee or big trouble. Piss-poor. Bullying and money-grabbing. And it isn't in any way like car insurance, getting in an uninsured accident can potentially ruin lives financially. Watching the news with no licence affects nothing at all and doesn't warrant bullying tactics. It should be an opt-in or opt-out system, not pay or else.

What is surprising is that there is nothing secret about the need for a TV licence, indeed it's publicised pretty thoroughly; so your daughter and her boyfriend must have been wandering around in a fairly puzzling state of oblivion if it's never occurred to them that this would be necessary. I can certainly remember sorting it out for myself at the age of 24 when I was given a second hand TV.

I suspect that if your daughter makes a formal complaint there will be two differing versions of events with no means of proving which is correct, and it will be pointed out to your daughter that the inspector wouldn't have had to visit at all if she had just complied with the law.

Thanks, fuckit & everybody else who gets the point

(I’m just baffled by everybody else )

"Watching the news with no licence affects nothing at all"
Not true, it means there is less funding available for the BBC. Enough people are doing that for enforcement to be needed.

"and doesn't warrant bullying tactics. It should be an opt-in or opt-out system, not pay or else."
I agree that the bullying tactics are horrible and some examples on this thread show why. But it really is an opt in or opt out system, like other utilities. You chose to watch TV then you are opting in. If you failed to pay your gas or electric bills then you'd also get legally threatening letters and potentially court. Of course that would be civil not criminal but still pretty frightening.

"I actually hope your daughter gets prosecuted which may still happen BTW.

Can I ask how her dd getting prosecuted with enhance your life.

it was not about getting the tv licence. It was about how her Dd was treated

That is definitely what gets many people upset. We have now become so entitled that we are not even allowed to say boo to someone breaking the law.

The inspector didn't push her way in she just, sort of maybe did, from a second hand point of view . The inspector then asserted that she was breaking the law and needed to pay her bill for a service she was using, immediately.

Exactly why should the inspector have treated a grown woman breaking the law differently?

I'm not renewing. All we've watched this year is the Apprentice and the dismal sequel to Dr Foster. Rather be on here within the warm nest of vipers. £145 to watch 2 programmes!

I've never understood the argument that we need to pay a tax to the BBC to ensure we have good TV. Netflix have award winning series i.e Black Mirror and To Make a Murderer, and they don't demand a fee from people who neither want nor watch Netflix in order for them to access Prime TV. Prime TV, has some good shows, they don't take money from Netflix's customers to fund them.

Some people say the BBC force other channels to make good TV and keep the standard high, as someone who finds the BBC stale and old, I find that laughable but each to their own I guess. However, I still don't understand the comparisons with American TV. I've never been to the US but I have watched US TV shows. They are not all bad. The Simpsons, The Walking Dead, Supernatural, CSI, Law and Order, American Horror Story are all popular shows in the UK. They were made without being held up to the BBC, were they not?

I hate that if I wanted to watch C4 Live or have Virgin Tv, I'd have to pay a fee towards a channel I do not want nor would watch.

In reply to the OP though, YANBU. Crapita are bullies. They have as much authority as the Avon lady does to read you your rights, caution you or force entry into your home. I'm another constantly harassed by them despite numerous phone calls, online forms and snail mail filled in telling them I do not watch live TV and do not require a license. I just close the door on them now and ignore them until they leave. They are another reason why I refuse to buy a license. I don't want my money funding thugs.

Only read OP post.

First they have no legal right of entry . You can invite them in if you choose to but that doesnt seem to be the case here. They also have no right to question/bully /harrass you. I would have simply shut the door in her face.

I suggest that if you feel this woman made an unlawful and uninvited entry into your home, you write to the relevant authority heading the letter COMPLAINT and express your concerns.

Even the police cannot barge into your home unless for specific reasons .

I recently had a visit from them aswell, I have paid for a tv licence since April, I don't watch live tv, if I watch tv I watch films or deride, I have a kodi box that I stream everything on, they was told to fuck off and I closed the door on there face, robbing wankers

Once, long time ago, when I was a young girl and a student, I did not want to pay for a TV licence. Sure enough, Licence lnspector came, and when I’ve opened the door, started asking same questions. I just pretended I did not live there and was merely cleaner, who did not know the surname of the flat’s owner.
By the way, your inspector unlikely have asked your daughter if she was MrsX- if they know the surname, you get threatening letters with your name on it.
P.s., you should get TV Licence as soon as you get the TV, no matter how old the TV is.

This thread is just like the alternative reality on threads about people who accidentally exceed speed limits

What, because it’s ok if you only speed accidentally for a couple of weeks? The woman shouldn’t have pushed her way inside, but every second house she goes to probably tries to slam the door in her face, so I don’t especially blame her for getting inside the door.

Getting off the doormat was out of order. But she kindly didn’t fine your daughter for her v serious error (how long til she would have thought to cough up if the tv licensing people hadn’t knocked??) so maybe let it go?

Oh FFS. I will assume that those saying that TV Licensing were completely in the right have no actual experience of how nasty TV Licensing can be.

I didn't have a licence for 3 years. Repeatedly told them I didn't have TV (because I didn't). They kept sending people to 'inspect the property'. I wouldn't let them as they have no right to do so. They would attempt to barge in, look through Windows, see if the back door was open. In the end I sent a solicitors letter advising them to stop harrasing me. It stopped.

On a side note you do have the option to backdate your licence incase you forget.

If she does get doors slammed in her face (which I agree is rude and unnecessary) then her job is to simply pass on the information and allow further action to be taken.

There is absolutely no need for her to 'get inside the door' and - by their own rules - must be invited in first.

I imagine 'officers' would stick to those rules a lot better if there wasn't extra cash to be made out of harassing people.

"I didn't have a licence for 3 years. Repeatedly told them I didn't have TV (because I didn't). They kept sending people to 'inspect the property'. I wouldn't let them as they have no right to do so. They would attempt to barge in, look through Windows, see if the back door was open. In the end I sent a solicitors letter advising them to stop harrasing me. It stopped."

I didn't have a licence for 10 years. Repeatedly told them I didn't have TV (because I didn't). They sent someone to 'inspect the property'. I let them in for about 30 seconds. It stopped.