TV licence?

Ok I got one of those letters from the post office basically saying, "We know you have a TV and no Licence".
I know they're on to me, but how long should I reasonably expect before I hear a rapping on my door and I hear

"TV Licence inspector"

Money's tight at the moment and I'm moving out in September...

Karoma

It could be days; it could be weeks. There's no set timeframe.
Just get rid of the telleh,etc.

Alternatively, maybe you could just start getting TV License stamps (€4 a go..and stop paying?) --not sure about this option.

Thinkin that. The old, "I only use it for the playstation" doesn't work-Though it should

Nightwish

just dont answer the door or else say its a PC monitor

Basq

How about the old "what's a television?.... oh, the shiny visionbox in the corner.. sure that's been here for 8 decades dagnabit!"... should work too!

Karoma

Papa Smut wrote:

Thinkin that. The old, "I only use it for the playstation" doesn't work-Though it should

It's any equipment capable of picking up channels... you could try pulling out bits'n'pieces from the T.V. to render it incapable, and then argue with them. Or ask re: Stamps.


"It's a fishtank."

Ruu_Old

I think you'll have to transfer the license to your new address anyway. The stamps thing might work alright. Don't have one yet, but have been saving *show stamp book*.
"Tel-evi-sion?"

Karoma

Nightwish wrote:

just dont answer the door or else say its a PC monitor

They'll just go by records and send another letter stating fine and court appearance.
PC monitor...I doubt it'd work somehow.


Time to start listing your religion as Amish.

Nightwish

I got one of those threats in my house when at college. There were 5 tvs in the house. We just never answered the door and we ignored the letters.

Nightwish

Nightwish wrote:

I got one of those threats in my house when at college. There were 5 tvs in the house. We just never answered the door and we ignored the letters.

I'm thinking this'll work tbh

Karoma

Nightwish wrote:

I got one of those threats in my house when at college. There were 5 tvs in the house. We just never answered the door and we ignored the letters.

zomg! You should feel so ashamed about... now. (Stupid TV ad. campaign:))

Ruu_Old

Karoma wrote:

zomg! You should feel so ashamed about... now. (Stupid TV ad. campaign:))

Ah dont bring up them stupid ads. *takes away Karoma's dinner plate*

3greenrizla's

Nightwish wrote:

I got one of those threats in my house when at college. There were 5 tvs in the house. We just never answered the door and we ignored the letters.

dose the Job.


In one apartment we lived in I got those letters eventhough I had a TV licence.

Tar.Aldarion

Meh, got two letters this year, nobody came.

Karoma

Tar.Aldarion wrote:

Meh, got two letters this year, nobody came.

Are these connected incidents or just stating the obvious aspect of your love life...again?

Tar.Aldarion

Hey, one person comes under my power and I'm glad which one it is.
Oh and possibly people pleasure themselves thinking about me, my personal army.

godtabh

How do they know you have a tv?

I've heard stories of people driving around in vans trying to detect them but how does it work?

Nightwish

I dunno how they do it here, but in the UK they retailers are obliged to ask for the customers address whenever they purchase a tv. When I worked over there loads of people just gave their parents address or a neighbours address when we asked them for their details.

Tar.Aldarion

When it is on, they can detect it with their yokes(>_>), can't they?

mikemac

If you say it's a black and white tv don't you pay a reduced rate

You could turn down the colour if the inspector called.

Avns1s

I got one of those letters threatening court last year when just starting building a new house. I think the raft was just about in at the time. Must have got the name from the planning applications in the council. I just ignored it (though I felt like giving the bureaucratic gob****e that signed the letter a fair piece of my mind!), and I saw nobody.

Mossy Monk

micmclo wrote:

If you say it's a black and white tv don't you pay a reduced rate

You could turn down the colour if the inspector called.

there must be a lot of black and white plasma tv's about

BOHSBOHS

just lock your front door then they wont be able to come barging in your door going "tv licence inspector " in a smarmy voice like on the ads!! :-)

Telefís

The blank and white rate was abolished a good while ago now. The standard rate applies across the board.

In all of this indignancy, it must be noted that it is not the fault of RTÉ that people are from time to time issued with incorrect notices, but rather An Post who operate the system, and their ever-present inefficiences. This tardiness also extends to the majority of genuine cases where there is far too much leniency offered. Warning letter after warning letter is issued that is in nobody's interest. Human nature is such as to string these things out as for long as possible, meaning people are living on tenterhooks as to whether they may be caught, whilst at the same time RTÉ is done out of tens of millions a year, and gets a bad name from all the 'threating' letters that clunky aul An Post keeps churning out.

One letter, two weeks to pay. After that, to court with you.
Everyone knows where they stand.

Sleipnir

You can pay by direct debit monthly at about twelve euro pm. Easier than buying a stamp every week. Or bi-annually or quarterly.

Telefís

Yup - and in this respect one cannot have sympathy for people who say they only have one or two months left in their current accommodation (students, temporary renters etc).
You can also get your licence transferred to another address if moving to a new home - for free too.

irlirishkev

A mate of mine ignored a couple of letters he got about getting a tv license. Then one day he got a letter saying he could either pay a big fat fine for not having bought one after being warned repeatedly, and buy a license within 10 days, or he'd receive a court summons.

He paid the fine and bought a license.

It's a shyte and stupid tax, but it's the law unfortunately..

Our man in Havana

More fool him!

The way to deal with licence inspectors from my college days, Don't let them in. Don't give your name. If they ask can they come in tell them to p*ss off and get a warrant. It will take them a few days to get a warrant if they even bother. Whilst they are gone nip down to the post office and get a licence.

J.R.HARTLEY

Bond-007 wrote:

More fool him!

The way to deal with licence inspectors from my college days, Don't let them in. Don't give your name. If they ask can they come in tell them to p*ss off and get a warrant. It will take them a few days to get a warrant if they even bother. Whilst they are gone nip down to the post office and get a licence.

yeah, or save yourself all that unplesantness and bother by having a tv licence in the first place.

Faith

We got those letters every couple of days (falsely - there were no unlicensed TV's in the flat) for a year, getting more and more threatning, but nobody ever showed up!

This was in Scotland though.

Sesheta

Much as I hate having to pay RTE to buy yet more imports and pay the pensions of the Fair City lot it's just one more bill that needs to be paid!
Having said that it does make you wonder why you bother when they keep bombarding us with increasingly hysterical letters even though there's a licence in the house. It seems that the problem lies with the fact they are apparently incapable of keeping records according to address and everytime someone with a different name buys the licence they keep harrassing the last person who bought one for not renewing...
After the first two times we now alternate who gets it just to see how apoplectic they'll get! They actually gave us a court date last year until we rang up to inform them the licence was bought six months ago in another name!

Telefís

Again, the ever-efficient An Post - not RTÉ.

Indeed it is genuinely thought now that An Post are deliberately not improving their standards or making efforts in lowering the 20% evasion rate in an attempt to lose RTÉ's contract with them - they don't want it anymore.