TV license officers

[vennomm]

So I've received a snotty letter saying at tv license officer is going to be visiting my property. I literally only watch Netflix and Amazon prime as my husband and I have only just moved here from the states and don't know any different from Netflix and prime with travelling so much. Is there any way we can prove that we only watch these two streaming services? Our TV set isn't even connected to the aerial so I'm puzzled on what to do and to dodge the dreaded £1000 fine!

I showed him I wasn’t connected to an aerial, and then he just asked me to switch to bbc i player and try to connect to it (to see if it’s logged in) and that was it.

Well then he was wrong as you could have been logging in to iplayer to see what is on (but not watching it), bookmarking things for later watching elsewhere or when you buy a licence, or listening to Sounds. It may be slightly different from a smart TV, but these things are legitimate uses without a TV licence and I do them from my PC regularly. I watch the odd thing that I'm fussed about when on my weekly visit to a relative's house (where there is a TV licence) and listen to the radio and podcasts via BBC Sounds a lot at home. I also vote for things when logged in, such as SPOTY, Strictly or Eurovision. Don't need a TV licence to do so. Frankly TV licencing are full of crap and if you give them an inch they take a mile. There are also many holes in the legislation as it applies to modern technology and they make up things that have never been tested in court as being facts, to scare people into buying a licence they don't need, letting them in, or paying a fine. It's very unethical.

(Not having a go at you, I understand why you let him in, I am more writing the above for the benefit of the general reader, we had problems with TV licensing at a relative's house a while ago and went through what the rules really are with a fine-tooth comb at that point.)

And what @CornucopiaTVLR said, sorry didn't read thread properly before replying.

Sky news LIVE on YouTube because its a live broadcast off a TV station

This is the sort of issue that seems, as far as we can tell, to be a bit of a grey area. Partly because the feed isn't identical to the one on the TV (there seem to be weather reviews where advertisements would be on the broadcast channel, for example), partly because once you rewind (time shift it) is it live/concurrent any more? These are the sorts of things that haven't been tested as far as we can tell. Does it apply to things broadcast simulatenously but only on overseas channels that one can't receive in the UK at all? Or that you don't have the equipment to receive on a personal level? Or not in your part of the UK? Or when more than one channel (some internet-only, but also BBC) are showing exactly the same live feed of an event at the same time such as the Queen's lying in state? Who knows??? I am sure that they won't try and bring any case that could set a precedent that they don't want to be set though, and will continue harass people and go for the easy wins. (I do believe in following the rules and paying for a TV licence if required, btw.)

Never let them in. Politely say you are busy and do not need a license and close the door.

There has never been a license to listen to any radio channel

Example
If you have a car, you don't pay a license to listen to the radio

The BBC have missed a huge trick. Some of us who live abroad and outside Europe would pay for a BBC tv licence. Currently we illegally download UK content because there is no legal way to access so many programmes. We would happily pay for a licence but they will not license to our country, due to rules about regions, like the DVD issues It is bonkers. They presumably pay a fortune for enforcement officers when many ex pats would be happy to buy a licence each year and make up for those who need a licence in the UK.

@TentCampByTheHippoRiver "There has never been a license to listen to any radio channel"

Yes there has, but It was abolished in 1971.

@Tomikka "All you need to do when/if someone turns up is to tell them that you do not watch broadcast TV and do not require a licence"

You don't need to do anything.

Not helpful but years ago a friend once had the Licence Officers come to her door. She told them she didn't need one as her tv worked perfectly fine without one!

So, can we watch recorded programmes on TiVo without a license? For example, DP is currently watching Apprentice recorded on TiVo.

You can watch without requiring a Licence, but you would have needed a Licence to record the programs in the first place.

No, you need a license for that

Thanks @ladymacbeth and @CornucopiaTVLR That's what I thought but wanted to make sure. DP is the only one who watches on TiVo and it's only a couple of hours a week. I think we're going to have a discussion.

You can watch apprentice on catch up without a licence, as long as it's not iPlayer. Some things appear on YouTube as catch up TV so you can do them that way.
But the person doing the recording would need a suitable licence.