Hundreds caught with no TV licence

8:55am Wednesday 20th February 2013 in News

MORE than 940 people were caught TV licence-dodging in York last year, new figures have revealed.

TV Licensing said more than 250 Selby viewers and more than 900 in Scarborough were also found watching their screens without a licence, but almost 95 per cent of homes across the UK had one and the average “evasion rate” in 2012 was low.

Spokeswoman Lucy Baird said: “In order to be fair to the law-abiding majority who do pay for their licence, we’ll continue to pursue the small minority who do not pay.”

Comments(16)

capt spaulding says...
9:10am Wed 20 Feb 13

Spokeswoman Lucy Baird ?

Wonder if she had an uncle Logi ?.

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Garrowby Turnoff says...
9:36am Wed 20 Feb 13

Got to keep up the cash-flow for the BBC to pay megabucks to people like Clarkson, Linekar, Savile, Norton, and Evans...

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Ignatius Lumpopo says...
9:56am Wed 20 Feb 13

The licence fee also goes to pay for starting up the new local television stations. Leeds will have one, but there's unlikely to be one for the foreseeable future in York or N. Yorkshire (which is why channel 8 on your TV will stay empty unless you change all the numbers around).

Therefore it's not fair for those not scheduled to receive these new services to pay the same licence fee as those who are.

And there's the debacle of DAB radio - where here in the sticks we get a couple of dozen stations most of which are available on AM and FM whilst in London there are three times as many on DAB. Yet no plans for Radio York to be made available on DAB

The UK licence fee is no longer equitable.

(And don't get me started on how the BBC wastes it...).

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Capt. Dobie says...
11:05am Wed 20 Feb 13

WHAT if we just use a computer based app/ programme to watch TV? You don't need a license for a monitor do you?

I agree with the comments on the ridiculous salaries Aunty Beeb pay feckless greasers like Jonathan Ross; during the 'celebrity Royal Institution Christmas lectures' Ross was manhandling this huge diamond and he spouted 'the BBC used to pay me in these...'

Well done Ross you cockey, arrogant oaf...we knew.

Also, query how many BBC TV presenters have had flights in ex-military fast-jets in South Africa at £10k a pop. I am at odds with myself, I do enjoy Top Gear but wince at their profligate hedonism...probably just jealousy!

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markymmark says...
11:51am Wed 20 Feb 13

What do you expect when the fine (if any) is less than the cost of a licence !

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YorkShrimper says...
11:54am Wed 20 Feb 13

Capt. Dobie wrote:
WHAT if we just use a computer based app/ programme to watch TV? You don't need a license for a monitor do you? I agree with the comments on the ridiculous salaries Aunty Beeb pay feckless greasers like Jonathan Ross; during the 'celebrity Royal Institution Christmas lectures' Ross was manhandling this huge diamond and he spouted 'the BBC used to pay me in these...' Well done Ross you cockey, arrogant oaf...we knew. Also, query how many BBC TV presenters have had flights in ex-military fast-jets in South Africa at £10k a pop. I am at odds with myself, I do enjoy Top Gear but wince at their profligate hedonism...probably just jealousy!
If you are streaming live broadcasts, then yes, you do need a license.

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THE_JABINATOR says...
12:02pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Just don't pay it and don't answer the door if they ever turn up. Why should be pay the BBC? They should be payingus with the amount of rubbish they put on their screens!!

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Ignatius Lumpopo says...
12:14pm Wed 20 Feb 13

markymmark wrote:
What do you expect when the fine (if any) is less than the cost of a licence !
Yes, but in addition to the fine, you have to buy a licence. The fine (or jail sentence, if it ever got that far) is for breaking the law. The law in this instance is that if you watch television, you have to have a licence.

All a bit anachronistic I'd say. I'd have thought that digital is clever enough these days to know whether a receiver is licenced or not and, if not, just stop all broadcasts and put out a caption saying "Oi! Mush! Pay up!"

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Overproof says...
1:43pm Wed 20 Feb 13

We should be givien the option to 'opt out' and not receive BBC programmes.

Then they would have an incentive to come up with some decent shows for a change.

And notice how the BBC always use the name TV Licensing when collecting money - TV Licensing is just part of the BBC.

The BBC fined 900 people in the York area.

Do we really still need a state broadcaster these days anyway ?

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idlehousewife says...
2:44pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Point of grammar - headline should read "caught without a TV licence".

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Whistlejacket says...
3:21pm Wed 20 Feb 13

" Capt. Dobie says...
11:05am Wed 20 Feb 13
WHAT if we just use a computer based app/ programme to watch TV? You don't need a license for a monitor do you? "

It's a licence for operating equipment capable of receiving television broadcasts.
If you are streaming on your laptop / smartphone / tablet etc. at the time of the broadcast, then you need a licence.
If you are using iplayer, 4OD etc to watch at a time of your choice, then it's no longer a broadcast but a point-to-point transmission and no licence is required. The BBC tend to gloss over this.
Incidently, flat screen devices give off miniscule electromagnetic fields compared to the old cathode ray tube TVs. Their operation cannot be easily detected from outside a building.
Also incidently, TV licensing "officers" are not officers of anything. They are are cold calling salesmen who receive a commission on every licence dodger they scare into a purchase. They have absolutely no right of entry into your home unless they apply for a court warrant.

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Garrowby Turnoff says...
4:22pm Wed 20 Feb 13

When my son went to Uni he was warned that he needed a £150 TV licence for his room in a Hall of Residence. He lasted 3 days without switching on his TV set before joining everybody else on campus who were disregarding the law.

During that 3 day period he wrote home 6 times but after the TV "switch on" we never heard from him again via letter. Funny that!

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Narn & farv says...
5:29pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Capt. Dobie wrote:
WHAT if we just use a computer based app/ programme to watch TV? You don't need a license for a monitor do you?

I agree with the comments on the ridiculous salaries Aunty Beeb pay feckless greasers like Jonathan Ross; during the 'celebrity Royal Institution Christmas lectures' Ross was manhandling this huge diamond and he spouted 'the BBC used to pay me in these...'

Well done Ross you cockey, arrogant oaf...we knew.

Also, query how many BBC TV presenters have had flights in ex-military fast-jets in South Africa at £10k a pop. I am at odds with myself, I do enjoy Top Gear but wince at their profligate hedonism...probably just jealousy!
The official reply from TV licensing regarding students. if your mobile device isn’t plugged in, you’ll still be covered by your parents’ licence. Simple, unplug your computer while watching live tv.

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glyn says...
7:24pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Less than £3 a week, great value for money.

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Paul Meoff says...
8:03pm Wed 20 Feb 13

THE_JABINATOR wrote:
Just don't pay it and don't answer the door if they ever turn up. Why should be pay the BBC? They should be payingus with the amount of rubbish they put on their screens!!
They have the odd educational programme. May be worth your while taking one in.

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yorkborn66 says...
8:19pm Wed 20 Feb 13

Would I be right in saying that the TV licence is the only consumer item that if you do not pay for, but use the service becomes a criminal offence, normally it would be civil?

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