TV Licensing

I've just had an e-mail from this lot, telling me that they haven't been able to process my direct debit for my TV licence that expired at the end of February.
Of course they wouldn't as there isn't one. We've had a free TV licence for fve years, so how can it "expire?" They want me to set up a new direct debit.

As I understand it the free TV licences for Pensioners ends in June. The e-mail I received was of the, "Do not respond to this e-mail, go to this site and answer a lot of fool questions nonsense, " how I hate those, it really put my back up.

So I e-mailed 'em back through their maze of a website telling them to contact me again in June.

What I think's happened, is that some overpaid manager at the BBC has told the tech boys to stick all those people who currently have an OAP free licence, back in the system, so they automatically get picked up by "the late payment" "app."

 

We used to have that here in Holland as well...but the folks came into a sort of upstand and complained massively until our government did away with it. we had a to and radio license that we had to pay annually. We have more silly rules here, but I shan't bore you with it all...just don't get me started. hahaha.

 

Unfortunately, yes, if you have a TV that you watch that connects directly to the BBC TV programmes. You can of course watch any free channel, or those to which you subscribe. But you still have to pay for the BBC.


Until recently,. if you were over 75, you didn't have to pay. It costs £154.50 a year. That's two hundred bucks in "real money." The BBC doesn't have commercial breaks, actually they do, between programmes, promoting their other programmes and other BBC services.

 

What an irritation that is, mate. We had the same thing over here until perhaps fifteen years or so ago. Our licence included radio listening as well. Ours was without commercials except between programmes....now the trade-off is that we have to sit through ~seven minutes of commercials every so often during the shows.
Having said that, there are still three national (public) channels and they are still advert-free except between the shows (just like in the good ole days). These public channels get subsidy from the government to operate.
I like to record many shows so that I can just zip through the commercials. Thing is that I cannot recall ever having bought a service or product featured on a Telly commercial. Just a big waste of time.
I mean, when you are watching a particularly exciting show and they just cut it off and go to a commercial break-- why, the whole "feeling" of being right into the film is lost.

Well, I do not want to rant more about things here---basically I just want to let you know that you have a sympathizer here with your BEEB sit.

 

I find so little on TV that I want to watch. Perhaps we ought to take that money paid for cable and licenses and give it to the local library so we'd have more books to read!

 

Given the quality of TV programmes, I believe the UK has the highest % density of programme recording apparatus. The only thing I watch live is sport. Everything else I record. Some programmes I'll only watch for a few minutes, before deleting them, some go "straight to delete."

We've Sony android TVs in both our reception rooms. We have a Virgin Tivo box under each TV, The TV I use most also has a Humax HDR recorder a DVD/CD player and VHS recorder/player (I've still a lot of film noir on VHS). The TV in the lounge has a DVD/CD/VHS player under it. So we can record eight different programmes at the same time should we choose. Though it's hard to find more than a couple.

I dislike the BBC with a vengance. They know how much money they are going to get each year, have done for as long as there's been broadcasting, but they still can't manage on it. They waste millions.
If they were in the real world, all the top brass would be fired.
They have levels of management that other broadcasters don't have. They think if they put a highly paid, "well known name" in the title of a programme, we'll watch any old crap.
He's gone now, but they were paying Alan Hansen £1,500,000 a year (well.. six months actually) to tell viewers about what they'd just watched on Match of the Day. Garry Linaker on even more money is a waste of space.

They are obsessed with "celebrities," the same old faces turn up in so many programmes.

Then some of them still moan.

Anita Rani (who I like), was moaning in the Daily Mail early this week, about the difficulties she faces being in TV, being female, Asian and from the North.
Totally oblivious to the fact that the BBC, which is "over inclusive" has put her in dozens of programmes, specifically because she's female, Asian and from the North. Check her out on Wiki.



I expressed my views on TV twelve years ago on Urban Dictionary.

From observation, recognising that the general standard of television in my opinion has deteriorated and continues to do so year by year, so much so I now watch very little, I’ve found as far as the programme quality and content on all television channels, the following Laws of Television often apply.

I started compiling this list several years ago and some of these "laws" are now occasionally mentioned by contributors to a specific TV network message board, though of course they can apply to any channel.
I'm sure other contributors may relate to some of them and can think of other examples of practices which could be added to the list.


With a new programme, if your impression of it after ten minutes is that it's going to be rubbish, you’ll only be right 95% of the time.


The number of advance programme trails screened, will be in inverse proportion to the quality of the programme. The ”best bits” of any programme will be included in the trail.

The volume of background music will often be in inverse proportion to the amount of watchable activity on the screen at that time.


Any TV audience gets the standard of programmes it deserves. It’s no good complaining about the quality of a programme if you continue to watch it.

If an idea for a programme suggested to a TV network commissioning department isn’t another soap in one form or another, or requires an "in your face" presenter/auto-cutie, celebrities, judges, phone votes, or the inclusion of dysfunctional members of the public, it is unlikely to be made.

The number of programme presenters appearing at any one time, will usually be in inverse proportion to the quality of the programme.

The number and variety of similar programmes on TV, are likely to be in inverse proportion to their cost to present.

To reach the widest audience, in a programme where the subject is of a specific nature, it may include totally unrelated elements in an attempt to also “engage” viewers who aren’t the slightest bit interested in the actual topic, in a futile attempt to increase the ratings.

Some programmes, even a few news bulletins, given the level at which the programme makers pitch their production, should have the words; "for Dummies" added to the title.

If you've any doubts about watching a programme, from the trails or advertising you've seen, take a chance, give it a miss.




Far too many repeats.
I christened BBC4 "BBC before" ten years ago on UD, because there were so many repeats and nothing's changed.

 

I've had a response to my message sent to the TV Licence Department, through their website telling me that I hadn't submitted enough information.
Now I've no idea whether this was from a "real person," or a computer generated one. But at least I could respond to it and I did.

I told them I don't appreciate "don't reply to this e-mail, go to our website" type e-mails.
I refuse to be "navigated" (a term used by the BBC when they want to shepherd viewers in a particular direction).
If someone sends me an e-mail, then I expect them to give me the courtesy of letting me respond to it directly. I said I've given them all the information they need and I refuse to do it again.

The people next door, both in their 80s, are away, so I've been sticking the mail left in their porch each day (the door doesn't lock) through their letterbox. I noticed they had a letter from the TV licencing people, (I recognised the envelope). They aren't on the internet. The chances of their old licence expiring at the same time as would have mine, aren't likely, so these communications seems like computer generated ones, sent to all the former licence payers put back on the database.

 

Wow,, thats confusing ! You do not have satellite TV ? I use Directv,, pay the bill monthly and watch 154+ channels plus movie channels which are extra !

 

oh my. I don't even have a tv anymore but to pay a license fee to watch it? no way. no thanks. too busy.

 

We do have satelite TV, well cable actually which is similar, it's the same servicve, with a couple of hundred channels.

But to operate a TV which can receive BBC TV programmes you have to have a licence.