so worried tv licence pls help

[kelzxx]

i have been done 3 times for not having a tv licence i hardly use my tv only for dvds etc iv never had to go to court but this time they are doing a trial as i pleaded not guilty my daughter put the tv on and i was caught can i go to prison???/

Why did you plead not guilty?

can you not just buy a licence? works out about £12 a month

i dont no iv never filled in the forms before and i didnt realise i put not guilty i ment to tick guilty
them forms were hard i didnt understand half of it

Why don't you just change your plea to guilty then?

At three times surely you'd just buy a licence. Yes I get the irritation but you have a tv (obviously connected via aerial otherwise how would your dd switch it to a channel?) and it works out not very much per month.

If you "hardly use my tv" then you need to buy a tv licence.

Hardly using it is still using it.

You can change your plea to guilty I am sure.

Or if you really don't want a tv and commit to never watching it then just remove all areals and box recievers and everything so even with the tv on you can't pick up any terestrial tv.

Agree, change your plea to guilty.

Why didn't you buy one after being caught twice before??

Have you got one now?

no its been to court yesterday i didnt have to go but got ajurned till 25th of feb as i pleaded not guilty...how do u change a plea?iv never done nothing like this?

Do you have the TV stations tuned in or did you go into live TV through iPlayer or similar websites?

If you have TV stations tuned in and an aerial then it will look like you plan to watch TV without a licence and it will be harder to argue an innocent plea.

If you watch TV through iPlayer (as I do, completely legally without a licence) and your DD accidentally clicked to watch the live TV (and went through the TV licence agreement screen) then you may be in a better position to argue that it was an accident that the live TV was viewed, and not your intent.

As you have already been fined 3 times for this it was probably be very difficult to argue that it was an accidental viewing. Please un-tune all of the stations and only have DVDs and the programs freely put on the internet if you are not going to pay for the licence. I get to watch most things I want to; Sherlock, Downton Abbey, Octonauts on a never ending loop. I have to wait until the next day to do it legally, that's all.

For now contact the court and say that you were having difficulties with the forms and could they confirm that you ticked the guilty plea. If they say you ticked the wrong one ask if you can get another form or go by the courts to amend it.

Just go and buy one or make sure it looks as though you're at least trying to pay for one.

Barely using it means that you do use it

Being caught 3 times smacks of arrogance

Not after two times already catcatcat

How many more chances should be given otherwise? Has to be a cut off point and most people would only be caught done once.

They could be asked to purchase but doesn't mean they will I guess.

We don't know how many letters/requests etc have been sent to the OP inbetween all these times either.

Agree, for £12 a month, it makes sense. Or have no TV and remove the risk altogether.

Each time op has been caught without a licence they would either set her up with a card plan or direct debit which she has obviously not paid which is why she still gets visits I doubt you would go to prison but your fine will get bigger each time probably best just to disconnect it if you don't want to pay for it

Phone the court and tell them you want to change your plea. Phone TV licensing and tell them the same.

Turn up on the morning of the next hearing and tell them you are changing your plea to guilty.

The only problem will be that you lose your 30% discount on sentence, if you plead guilty on the morning of the hearing you only get a 10% discount.

The TV licensing people will ask for increased costs of preparing a trial so you must tell them that you phoned in advance to let them know you would be changing your plea - otherwise you will be lumped with greater costs.

Buy a TV licence in advance of the hearing. Look sorry. Explain that you had told DD not to watch TV and only to watch DVDs (if that is the case), and that it was a one-off. Show them the TV licence that you have now bought.

The sentence is a Band A to a Band C fine (50% of your "relevant weekly income" to 150% of it.) Which one depends on how long you were watching tv for without a licence - if you are on your third then it'll be at the higher end. Relevant weekly income is deemed to be £400 unless you fill in a means form at court, the usher will give you a form. If you're on benefits tick the box, RWI is then deemed to be £110.

You shouldn't go to prison for not having a licence but you can for non-payment of the fine, so don't ignore the fine.

And don't let the buggers in your house without a warrant! (They are currently hassling me - they know I don't have a telly, they've known this for years, and they still send men round asking to come in.)

Get organised and pay up. Stop wasting taxpayers money taking you to court

Agree with others. Hardly watching means you are watching it sometimes! It doesn't work out that much a month surely?

Thought it was 4 times?
www.netmums.com/coffeehouse/advice-support-40/serious-stuff-43/1050395-tv-licence-im-so-scared-now.html

That's a robust thread on Netmums. It wasn't full of tickers and hugz. i think that I have believed the MN spin on NM for too long.

Lol.