[WillowTheWhisp]

Originally Posted by LancYorkYankee

Okay, so you guys can't just plug in a tv with some rabbit ears and have it come on?

Physically yes.

Legally no.

They have detector vans and bossy little men who knock on your door and tell you they know you have no TV license and you get a nasty fine.

They also assume that every house in the land has a TV so the 'detector van' which claims to be able to track down TVs which are on is a load of pigs trotters.

When Busman lived in Primrose Street before we were married he was always getting demands for payment for a TV licence and he would tell them repeatedly that he did not have a TV. They threatened to take him to court and everything to which he would reply "OK go on then." because he did not have a TV. He used to come here to watch TV. It just seemed impossible to the licence people that there should be anybody who doesn't have a TV.

I have friends who have never had a TV in their lives. I think they finally managed to convince the authorities that they don't have one.

The licence fee goes to the BBC.

My view of this is that if you could block your TV from receiving BBC programs you should be able to have a TV without a licence. You can have one if you can prove it will only show videos. We used to have one under those terms at work.

There used to be a cheaper licence just for black and white TV and an even cheaper one if you only had a radio. Yes the radio needs one too because that's got BBC on it.

The mad thing is that you guys abroad can get BBC programs without a licence!