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So. Any Brits here know about the ins and outs of this? I’ve tried a little light googleling and I can’t separate out the scary myths from what’s actually likely to happen.
Everytime I’ve had a telly in the past I’ve been a good boy and always bought a TV licence: yeah, I think the licence fee is quite a Good Thing, although I’m a bit more hazy on the ‘hounding poor people into prison for non-payment’ aspect of it. I’ve done my bit in the past and I’d still count myself as supporting the concept of a publically-funded BBC. In theory.
But, I don’t have a television at the moment. Can’t afford one, can’t really afford a licence, so I tried life without a telly and it’s been great. And since I’ve lived in this flat I’ve cheerfully ignored all the TV licencing letters to ‘the occupier’ because I don’t see the need to enter into a dialogue if I’ve made the decision not to have anything to do with them. So, the other night a couple of seriously burly men turn up on my doorstep after dark, and when I tell them I don’t have a TV, they demand entry to check, and warn me of the fines I could be incurring unless I buy a licence. It wasn’t very nice. Not to feel intimidated on my own doorstep, or to be disbelieved, or to be threatened, however vaguely. I mean, they were *very* gruff, and they shone a torch in my face, it was intimidation on that kind of stoopid, base level. A trawl of horror stories on the internet tells me I can now expect anything from more unpleasant visits like this, to TV Licencing sooner or later acquiring a search warrant and forcing entry. Now, call me odd, but I don’t *want* a couple of bouncers going through my flat and seeing exactly what stuff I do or don’t have, regardless of the circumstances. Being legally compelled to grant them access wouldn’t make it okay. But I certainly don’t want my door broken. And, rather more idiotically, I don’t particularly feel like providing a privately held database with a current name for this address, when I’ve actually decided not to own or watch a telly. I’ve declined a service: so it’s quite literally none of their business. So, my question to Barbelith is, does anyone know how can I best avoid any of these things? Apart from by buying a licence, because I’m already considering doing that, just to be left alone.
This post comes with apologies for the flappy hysteria/long-windedness/appalling grammar. |
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