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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Not to need a tv licence

78 replies

bestthings · 13/01/2018 11:34

My friend says she doesn't need a licence because she doesn't watch BBC. Is it really that simple, i mean do they have to believe you? It just seems very trusting of them. I don't watch BBC myself, but have always had a licence. She says i shouldn't. Does anyone know the actual facts about this? Confused

OP posts:
Original poster
bestthings · 13/01/2018 19:03

soupdragon I wasn't talking about dodging busfares, people dodging paying bus fares would be immediately apparent, so wouldn't even expect to get away with it. A daft comparison really. I suspect a lot of people who don't get a licence don't deliberately set out to break the law, circumstances and being unable to keep up with the cost of living is most likely. Perhaps if they didn't eat for a few days they'd manage it.

OP posts:
bfgdreamtree · 13/01/2018 19:12

bigdreamtree i read this on the tv licensing website

It doesn't say that, so no you did not.

ArbitraryName · 13/01/2018 19:21

OP: but watching tv as it is broadcast (or iplayer) is entirely analogous to skipping your bus fare but still getting the bus. Or taking the trousers from the shop and wearing them without paying for them.

It’s not a punishment for being poor; it’s a punishment for consuming a service you haven’t paid for. Watching live tv is not a basic human right.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 13/01/2018 19:25

Ha ha, brilliant. A punishment for the poor? If you’re serious then you’re seriously misguided, and that’s being generous.

idontknowhowtofeelaboutthis · 13/01/2018 19:25

I have spoken to the tv license people over the phone before to see if I needed one.
I don't even have an aerial plugged in to my tv (if they randomly came to check, they would see that it's not possible because my aerial is on the opposite side of the room to my tv so doesn't even reach).

Anyway - they have said if I don't watch any live tv, then I don't need a license.

We have Netflix, which is what we use daily. We don't watch any of the on demand services either.

TheGirlWithAllTheFeathers · 13/01/2018 19:27

You are not allowed to watch ANY or RECORD any live television. You cannot watch, download anything from iPlayer but yes, you can have a tv set in the house without needing a licence.

Original poster
bestthings · 13/01/2018 19:40

whattodoaboutthis if you came on MN regularly you'd see countless threads about how the poor are punished. People being sanctioned, bedroom tax, zero hours contracts, food banks, rising homelessness. Damn right the poor are punished, now the disabled are too. Airdrop beyond appalling. The elite detest the poor. Always have and always will. Don't be so naive.

OP posts:
ArbitraryName · 13/01/2018 19:49

People being sanctioned, bedroom tax, zero hours contracts, food banks, rising homelessness.

This is all very different to watching tv without a license though.

MaisyPops · 13/01/2018 20:01

People being sanctioned, bedroom tax, zero hours contracts, food banks, rising homelessness. Damn right the poor are punished, now the disabled are too. Airdrop beyond appalling. The elite detest the poor. Always have and always will. Don't be so naive
Bloody hell.
Yes poorer people are worse off because of how the system is designed. There are lots of ways it's true.

However fines for CHOOSING to watch TV without a licence isn't one of them.

Let's be serious. You're dressing up your lack of desire to pay as some sort of social justice war against 'the man'.

Original poster
bestthings · 13/01/2018 20:02

All part and parcel of being poor imo. Bills don't get paid etc, it's hardly up there with the crime of the century. And is it that different, if someone didn't have money for food because of sanctions i can imagine a scenario where food would be stolen. Another broken law but understandable?

OP posts:
ArbitraryName · 13/01/2018 20:08

Food is a basic human need. Watching tv... not so much.

bfgdreamtree · 13/01/2018 20:09

if you came on MN regularly you'd see countless threads about how the poor are punished. People being sanctioned, bedroom tax, zero hours contracts, food banks, rising homelessness. Damn right the poor are punished, now the disabled are too. Airdrop beyond appalling. The elite detest the poor. Always have and always will. Don't be so naive

all true. Doesn't mean that being poor makes it ok to break the law.

Glintysea · 13/01/2018 20:31

It used to be the case that if you watched programmes as they were broadcast via iPlayer/itvplayer, 4OD etc, you didn’t need a license. It was then changed to if you watch both live or via catchup after the programme has been broadcast, you need a license. It doesn’t matter if you watch via TV set or computer, the law is the same,

Glintysea · 13/01/2018 20:32

Sorry if you watched them as they were broadcast you DID need a license.

Original poster
bestthings · 13/01/2018 20:32

This thread has derailed. I've accepted that my friend should have a licence to stay within the law. Now we seem to be discussing why some people break the law. Of course being poor doesn't mean it's ok to break the law, my point now is, in certain circumstances it's understandable. If someone had a family to feed but had no money to feed them because of inhumane government policies i wouldn't blame that parent for doing it, even if it meant breaking the law. Violent crime gets committed every day in Britain and offenders repeatedly get away with it, because no one gives a damn. The law gets broken and nothing gets done about it. Wheres the law to protect victims of violent crime? We need to worry about that.

OP posts:
Finalpaoa · 13/01/2018 20:43

. It was then changed to if you watch both live or via catchup after the programme has been broadcast, you need a license. It doesn’t matter if you watch via TV set or computer, the law is the same
Only for bbc though re catch-up on iplayer, you can watch itv player etc as long as no live with no license

HeadDreamer · 13/01/2018 20:44

It was then changed to if you watch both live or via catchup after the programme has been broadcast, you need a license.

Only if it's BBC iplayer. You can still watch catchup free on 4oD, iTV, youtube, netflix, amazon video, etc etc. It's clearly written on the TV licensing website.

c3pu · 13/01/2018 21:37

You can also still use the iPlayer to listen to the radio, and to watch programs from S4C without a licence.

GladAllOver · 13/01/2018 22:04

... and to watch programs from S4C without a licence.
Where did you get that one from?

There is no exception for S4C. A licence is required to watch ANY live TV channel.

c3pu · 13/01/2018 22:06

Where did you get that one from?
There is no exception for S4C. A licence is required to watch ANY live TV channel.

I was referring to the iPlayer, not live. Will see if I can dig out a reference.

c3pu · 13/01/2018 22:08

www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ291

"You don’t need a licence for iPlayer Radio or to watch S4C TV on demand on iPlayer"

bfgdreamtree · 13/01/2018 22:11

Wheres the law to protect victims of violent crime? We need to worry about that.

So why are you posting about tv licensea then?

GladAllOver · 13/01/2018 22:17

You don’t need a licence for iPlayer Radio or to watch S4C TV on demand on iPlayer

Yes. But not live.

c3pu · 13/01/2018 22:23

Yes. But not live.

No, it has been firmly established that to watch or record TV live, or nearly live, that you need a licence.

But if TV licencing/capita goons try telling you that having the iPlayer means you have to have a licence, there are plenty of scenarios where it is legit to use it without one.

WhatToDoAboutThis2017 · 13/01/2018 22:34

bestthings I’m on MN several times each day, every day, OP.

Nothing you listed is at all relevant. Being poor doesn’t mean you get to break the law; nobody needs to watch tv.

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