Unpleasant threats from the TV liecence people.

[Roboframer]

If it came to it they wouldn't be required to know your viewing history - just your viewing capability - you could get some independent geek to prove beyond doubt that you'd never watched live TV on your PC (I think it's OK to watch recorded stuff via the BBC i player) - but it wouldn't matter one jot if you could if you wanted to.

At one time it was 'the law' for retailers to inform the TV licensing sharks of the names and addresses of anyone purchasing a TV. These days they don't worry about that - they just obtain lists of addresses from whatever source - like the gobmint - and letters are sent out "We have no record of a TV licence being held at this address'

'Everyone' has a TV at home - maybe in the not-too-distant past some business premises had them too - but now many have the capability - even unwittingly, with absolutely no intention, or desire, to watch TV via the internet on the premises - doesn't matter.

So what do those businesses do - disable the facility and compromise the way they run their businesses, or just pay and shuttup?

[Roboframer]

Marvellous way to do business though isn't it - blast something out in to the ether that no-one asked for but most everyone has to pay for, by law.

In the daily telegraph - the paper that outed the MPs' fraudulent claims, they tried to follow that up with how the BBC wastes our licence fees - extravagant parties etc etc. I wish the outrage bus had jumped on it as much as the MP scandal - think they should have - this fee is just the same as a tax really.

But I think/hope it's just a matter of time before we can opt out of this archaic system somehow; they've seen what public opinion has done recently and are maybe grasping whatever straws they can while they can.

Having said all that ....... I think Formula one with no adverts is fab - especially with the facility (not a BBC facility - a digital freeview facility) to pause live TV and go for a pee/answer the phone/whatever. When ITV had the rights you'd miss 2 laps every 20 mins or so.

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

Anyone coming into my workshop is required to wear the following for their own safety and to satisfy health and safety laws and my insurance company...

A Hard Hat to standard EN397
A High Visibility Jacket to standard EN471
Safety Spectacles to standard EN166
Safety Gloves to standard EN388
Safety Boot to standard EN345-SBP
Face Dust Mask PV3 to standard EN149
Ear protection to standard EN352-2

The person would also have to read and understand the fire safety information and know what to do in case of a fire.
He/she would need to carry a personal First Aid Kit and be trained in First Aid.
He/she would need to be trained in basic health and safety.
We would also need to make a risk assessment for the person visiting. This could take up to 28 days.
We would not insist on a life jacket because that would be going over the top.

We would be more than happy for anyone to visit our workshop who meets all these conditions.

[kev@frames]

Bill said In any event, any time you can annoy a government bureaucrat and make his/her life miserable, that’s kudos in my book
It works the other way over here, Bill.

Any time a government official/petty town hall "officer" (and thats their job description, not mine) comes up with a way of making life a bit more miserable over here for a taxpayer or anyone working or running a business in the private sector they seem to love it.

[gesso]

The best TV in the world (i lived in the states) dosnt come cheep.

[Not your average framer]

Just in case they insist on coming to have a look around, I have to provide all sorts health and safety notices. To cover my ***, I need various different warning notices Here's one to go with the normal glass hazards warning notice. I'll show him the Wessex catalogue so he knows it's produced to be invisible, then the Wessex price list so he knows how much it's gonna cost if he breaks a sheet. Whatcha think guys?

The notice might help to sell museum and water white glasses too!

Glass hazard area.jpg

[Bill Henry]

I like the “invisible glass” sign, but I don’t think it goes far enough. I would think that a document drafted by a lawyer for £30 might be worth it. If for no other reason than to give you satisfaction.

Or, perhaps you could draft a consent form yourself, something like …

I (print your name) as authorized representative for and on behalf the TV licensing board accept full financial responsibility for any and all compensatory damage done to the premises of (name of your shop) whilst inspecting the premise for an unlicensed television set. Reimbursement for any and all damages to this property shall be made within 30 days of said event.

It is recommended that a construction hard had, steel toed boots, respirator mask, and abrasion and laceration resistant gloves be worn during this inspection.

I also absolve the owners of said shop from any liability due to the accidental discharge of any harmful chemicals, any injury to falling glass, tools, and other items of inventory, … blah, blah, blah.

Please provide evidence of medical/health insurance.

…Yada, yada, yada.

Make it as intimidating as you can and have him/her sign it before he enters your work area.

Any reasonable person will refuse to sign such a document. But, what am I thinking? … after all, we’re talking about a gum’mint employee, so all bets are off.

[Not your average framer]

Of course if anyone does decide to come, I could make out that I think he's the pest control man who coming to fumigate the premises and deal with a nasty infestation of something not very nice.

[Bill Henry]

… or, someone from the Center for Disease Control looking to stamp out that pesky colony of Ebola.

[prospero]

That reminds me of that episode of "Open All Hours", where Arkwright had a special method of cutting short the VAT inspector's visit.


"Was it that little grey one? Teeth like an alligator".

[bilhughes]

I used to have a off-license shop I got a call to go to the shop quickly and found that a TV license guy was there and the girl that worked for me had been watching a tv that another girl that had worked for me (who had left the shop) had brought in they had hidden it under the counter and used it to watch coranation st + eastenders but they had not told me
So the tv license guy who was flipping huge gets realy nasty with me because I told him nothing to do with me he was very intimidating and said if i bought a license there and then he would have let me off but he had annoyed me that much I refused he then wrote out a statment for me to sign but I refused to even look at it I had by now picked the tv up and thrown it in the bin outside he then said the police were coming but nothing happend I sold the shop about two months later and the new owners gave me about five letters summons fines etc but the summons had my nickname as a surname and it bears no resemblance to my real name I have ignored it but i often think if anything will happen this is over a year by now

[The Jolly Good Framer #1]

What are the police going to do? Arrest you for being in possession of a colour TV? I don’t think so.
That guy was obviously trained to a high level in BS and intimidation and the fact the police never turned up is proof of that.
I can’t help thinking that these people work on commission.

[circles_of_confusion]

Actually, I believe you don't necessarily need to have been watching a television transmission without a current TV licence to be fined for this. The fact that you have equipment capable of receiving a TV transmission is all that is required for them to take action. In a previous life I used to be a TV engineer and every now and again I 'd have to go to someone's house to disable the tuner on their TV and or video recorder so that they could opt out of paying for their licence. Their TV and video would be used purely for watching Video films that they bought or hired through a composite video or scart connecting lead.
Whilst, working for Granada TV rental, we had a contract to supply all the main post offices throughout Britain with a Video and TV set, so that customers could be bored to death by the worst adverts imaginable being played at them whilst waiting in the queue. This was more than 25 years ago and some of you may remember that it was around this time that the post office first introduced us to the cattle herding and railing to enable the forming of an orderly queue......Not for the customers benefit of course, no, it was so that every poor sod in the queue was subjected to the mind numbing advert experience.
Getting to the point though, None of those TV's or video'e had their tuners disabled and so all of them were all quite capable of receiving a TV transmission had an aerial been connected to them......In some areas where the signal was very good you wouldn't even need an aerial, a piece of wet string would have done.
I doubt very much that every post office, which had that arrangement, bought a TV licence though. I did bring it up at the time, but I was only listened to by deaf ears.
It's, if your face fits mate...

[WelshFramer]

We managed to convince the TV licence people that we didn't need a licence even though we had a perfectly good TV. We told hem there was no TV signal in this part of Wales and, should they doubt our word, they were welcome to come round for tea one afternoon and check it out. I said that if they would arrange for a TV signal in the area then we'd gladly buy a licence. They never came round. (I suspect it was the threat of being invited to tea that put them off chasing us).

We recently got a TV for our house in Sussex and tried to get a TV licence. We went to the Post Office who said they didn't do TV licences any more and didn't know where to get one. We went home and read the letter from the licence people and it said we could get one online. The wife tried that - got as far as the final screen and nothing happened. We waited for a while but never got any sort of confirmation or communication from them and nothing seemed to have been taken from her bank account. Some weeks later the wife sent them a cheque. A week later they returned the cheque saying we already had a licence.

They'll probably write to us soon telling us we need a TV licence.