How to Get Rid of the TV Licence
How to Get Rid of Your TV Licence
I’ve decided to become one of a select group, well I’m probably already in quite a lot of ’select groups’ but that’s by the by, I’ve given up television.
And because I no longer watch TV I no longer have to pay that pernicious tax of £145.50 per annum and given the moronic nature of most TV shows nowadays that’ll leave me richer both mentally and financially !
How easy is to though to get rid of your BBC television Licence . . .
I’m expecting this to be a running story, possibly even a running sore, time will tell on va voir
Today, 09.02.2012 I went to the BBC TV Licensing website filled in the online form to cancel my television licence, printed off the PDF declaration, signed it and posted it off.
I’ve requested a cheque for the balance owed to me as in December 2011 I, rather rashly, handed over £145.50 for the privilege of watching 3 episodes of Sherlock.
Admittedly, it was great, A Scandal in Belgravia was a work of art, but even for a Sherlockian such as myself it’s somewhat of a luxury - working out at nearly £50 per episode - bit rich for my blood !
Formula One has gone to Sky, I no longer drink and smoke of an evening so that’s it - no more television for me 
Unless I’m on it of course . . .
The Best Thing on TV
Me at Irby Dales, note perspective relative to TV angle
There are quite a few myths surrounding the TV Licence in the UK, I myself almost never watched TV shows but assumed I needed it because I watched DVDs, there are other issues I discovered as well, for example:
Do you need a TV Licence if you own a television set ?
No, you do not, you only need one if “you watch or record television programmes, on any device, as they’re being shown on TV”
Do you need a TV Licence to watch DVDs, Videos, Blu Ray or play video games ?
No, not if that’s all you do ! You do not need a a TV licence if you only watch DVDs or Videos, or play xBox - Wii - Playstation games consoles etc
Do I need a TV Licence to watch BBC iPlayer or other internet online Catch Up channels
No, you do not, you can, watch catch up and iPlayer etc online without paying the BBC the £145.50
Can a TV Licence Inspector come into your home and check it for TVs etc
No, they cannot, they can only enter your home with your permission (or in the extreme and unknown with a Court Warrant)
Simply refuse then entry if you so wish.
[Caveat] All of the above ‘legal’ information is/was correct at the time of writing and double-checked on more than one official source.
I shall keep updating this and and when anything happens, in the meantime . . .
If you have any comments, opinions or experience of this, perhaps even an opinion on the BBC licence itself then please do leave a comment.
Have I lost my mind or . . . finally come to my senses ?
All the best
Rod aka Johnny TVless
[Edit] Update 25.02.12 . . .
Amiguru said,
February 10, 2012 @ 11:58 am
Rod,
You knew I would, didn’t you?
United we stand!
Why waste your life watching others making a mess of theirs…..you have one of your own; make what you will of it.
As you point out, it is perfectly ‘within the rules’ to watch anything available on iPlayer, 4OD etc. without a licence so by delaying your viewing by half an hour or so, you can still enjoy selectively watch most programmes.
Pensive Neville
Chris Keyworth said,
February 10, 2012 @ 12:27 pm
Rod
with tv licencing you are Guilty until proven inocent you will recieve letter on a weekly basis and when you fail to respond or write back they will send an inspector, now wait for the knock at the door dont invite him into your home or give details of you tv set, all you need to do is, inform the man at the door that you feel harrased and that the TV Licencing is causing you undue stress by sending letters and banging on your door, in form the man at the door that you you have withdrawn the the implied right of access to your property, this then makes it a criminal offence to send you demanding letters and most importantly to set foot on your property for a period of upto 3 years….
hope this helps somone you can do this with any agencey….it pays to know your rights..
regards
chris
Mick Deakin said,
February 10, 2012 @ 12:36 pm
Thats amazing news Rod !
The quality of the service that the BBC provides has seriously deteriorated in my opinion.
I am hooked up to iplayer via my Wii box so its great news to know that I can still watch the few good programs left on the beeb without having to pay my license fee.
I will henceforth go into my settings for the digi receiver and delete all bbc channels then password protect just in case the missus or the nipper decides to circumnavigate the settings !!
Then I shall also seek a refund
Mick
Rod said,
February 10, 2012 @ 12:47 pm
Neville,
that’s the way I look at it. I can enjoy something like River Cottage for example but then I think . . . I’v ejust given that an hour of my life, I’ll never get it back . . .
I’ve not plugged the thing in for a month and don’t miss it all !
Best
Rod
Rod said,
February 10, 2012 @ 12:49 pm
Chris,
I’ll be publishing all correspondence on here so it will be interesting, in theory they can no longer plague you - time will tell of course . . . watch this space.
You’re quite right to reiterate the point that you don’t have to comply with any inspection requests either
Best
Rod
Rod said,
February 10, 2012 @ 12:51 pm
Mick,
lest you misunderstand, you’ll not be able to watch, or record, any TV at all whilst it is broadcast, not just BBC, you cannot receive broadcast television channels as they go out on air, be it satellite, cable or aerial etc
Best
Rod
Amiguru said,
February 10, 2012 @ 12:59 pm
Rod,
I’ve had my licence to not watch live TV for 4 months now and haven’t had any letters or visits at all. As part of the complete procedure they acknowledge that you don’t need a licence and will just contact you in three years time to see if you still don’t need one. In the mean time, if you change your mind, (who would?), all you need to do is apply for a licence in the usual way. Job done!
Regards,
BBC-free Neville
Little Brother said,
February 10, 2012 @ 3:41 pm
Rod,
Best get Mother to record Jeremy Kyle for you
LB
Rod said,
February 10, 2012 @ 3:49 pm
Neville,
that’s pretty much as I understand it - I suspect they’ve been ’squared up’ and can no longer harass.
I thought it was contact every two years - hopefully it won’t be because I’d like some material for this thread
Best
Rod
Rod said,
February 10, 2012 @ 3:51 pm
LB,
don’t bother, I can stand outside any house in the street where a woman lives and watch it through the window
Best,
Rod
Mick said,
February 10, 2012 @ 8:45 pm
damn and triple damn Rod !
I really do like C4 films and ITV for the footy.
Nevermind.
I fear I must also digress greatly again Rod
I have been reading “An accompt of the most considerable families in the County of Cumberland” (John Denton)
when I came across the item below. If the account of this poor fellows encounter with such a ‘Jezebel’ is true……..
“Radulph had issue William Engayne, and he a daughter named Ada mother
to Sir Hugh Morvill. Of her it is written (by a monk) that
in the old age of her husband she was greatly enamoured of
one Lyolf, a young gentleman that served her husband
whom by no means she could persuade to abuse himself towards
his master, he dutifully avoiding every occasion that
might further her desire. But being commanded one day by
his master to carry a dish of meat to her when she kept her
chamber : after he was entered, she caused a gentlewoman to
make fast the door and forthwith shamed not to move him
to lye with her, as often times before she had done. But
he continued resolutely faithfull to his master, and would
not consent for anything she could do or say. Whereupon
fearing that he would discover her lewd incontinency
and turning her inordinate lust into revenge, she presently
made her gentlewoman to make a great outcry. When
her husband heard them he came into the chamber with
his servants and in great rage asked the cause of such
disquietness. She accused the young gentleman that he
would have ravished her, and thereupon he commanded
him to be bound and cast into a lead full of scalding
water…”
Aaaaaaaaaaaargh !!
Rod said,
February 11, 2012 @ 6:26 am
Mick,
wonderful stuff, there’s nothing new under the sun
If you come across any early Lincs Christian related stuff in your research I’d love to see them on the Lincs Christianity thread - if anybody is going to come up with a nice Saxon gem it’ll be you Mick !
Best
Rod
Al said,
February 17, 2012 @ 12:56 pm
Nice one Rod, I’ll be interested to see how this pans out, I’ve often thought about getting rid of the telly but I’m well and truly outvoted by the missus and kids.
As an aside, the kids are mid way through a weeks telly ban and their behaviour has improved noticeably - not sure if it’s due to the lack of rubbish or the promise of telly next week though!
Rod said,
February 17, 2012 @ 4:11 pm
Al,
I doubt I’d get away with it if I had a wife and children
I’ll keep this updated as and when anything happens
Cheers
TV Free Rod
Rod said,
February 25, 2012 @ 10:56 am
Oh yes ! Get in there !
Check the oiginal article for an update photo
Chris Keyworth said,
February 25, 2012 @ 11:22 am
result…
regards
chris…
Rod said,
February 25, 2012 @ 4:20 pm
Chris,
it’ll do for me
Rod
Rod said,
March 4, 2012 @ 9:16 am
Letter received on Saturday:
Thank you for getting in touch [Yeah, right, I’ll bet]
They say they’ll be in touch in 2 years time etc but then we get . . .
We may need a couple of minutes of your time.
The law states that you must be covered by a TV Licence [note use of ‘law states’ implying, and setting the tone for, legal obligation and their right for what follows . . .
As it’s our duty to ensure that everyone in the UK who needs a licence has one, we may visit your home to check that no licence is required. It’s unfortunately necessary to do this as . . . [once again the implication is one of compliance, I suspect most reading the letter would now assume they had no choice but to allow an inspector into your home]
Happily, I know you do not have to let an Inspector etc into your house !
Of course, I don’t know it from the letter they sent, strangely they don’t mention that bit
Chris Keyworth said,
March 4, 2012 @ 1:09 pm
Rod they will be in touch again there persistant, the inspector went to my mates house, he banged so hard on the door he cracked a pain pf glass, the inspector was told that he had cracked the glass but no offer of compensation was made so a strong letter was sent threaterning leagal action, he has had no further contact from them todate this is about 6 months down the line now, you need to write to them withdrawing common right of access to your property and thus making it ileagal for them to step foot on you property without your express permision. this will kill two birds with one stone…
regards
chris..
Rod said,
March 4, 2012 @ 4:05 pm
Chris,
that’s very interesting - we’ll see what happens - needless to say I’ll keep updating as and when
Best
Rod
SonnySouthWest said,
April 12, 2012 @ 7:17 pm
Hello Rod,
This thread is a great idea, but have you noticed the only people who have come up with the ‘statistic’ that those who do not pay the TV license are in the minority, are the TV Licensing themselves.
Easy to work out why they want everyone to believe that!
So welcome to the (not-so) select group of ex-license payers.
A realistic estimate would be over 10 million and rising. Someone will do a head count one day, but it won’t be me.
Whilst there have always been those who haven’t paid, simply because they are too tight and felt it was worth the risk, I have not bought a license to watch TV for 15 years, because I haven’t watch live-broadcast TV.
For 8 of those years I was working abroad, but returning to live in the UK and finding the cost, compared with the trashy standard of programmes available made it an easy decision.
I had about two years worth of threatening letters from TVL, then I telephoned them and invited them to come and see my television set if they wanted to, which I only use for playing VHS or DVD.
If I hear of something worth seeing, I watch online as catch-up.
I still have the aerial lead plugged in to my TV, hoping for a knock on the door.
I told them that they would not find me watching live broadcast, so could park their little vans (the ones containing a vacuum flask & a box of sandwiches) outside my house for as long as they liked.
I’ve always wanted to meet the guy who said: “……and they’re watching Columbo!”.
Rgds, Paul
Rod said,
April 12, 2012 @ 7:59 pm
Paul,
great comment - many thanks and welcome to the site.
They’re more than welcome to sit outside my house as well, I’ve not plugged mine into the mains for 4 months now!
They certainly don’t advertise the fact that you don’t have to have a licence just because you own a TV, they’re very crafty about that
Cheers
Rod