Just got slapped with a €700 TV Licence fine and can't cope

LegacyUser

Hey Boardies, Going unregistered for this.

Mods this might be in the wrong forum, so move if necessary

Basically,today i got a letter saying i haven't got a TV licence and must pay the €700 fine and deliver it to court, in two days (Tues).

The thing is I've got no where near that money and if i don't pay up it'll be a €5,000 fine.Now i know what some of you are thinking (he doesn't have a tv licence and deserves it).
If that was the case i'd understand ....... BUT!!!!.........

I have a TV licence and i've been paying it. Last year i got reminders about the tv licences and how you can get one.Thinking i'd get an inspector knocking on the door any moment. i got one and started paying it.

Then a few days later i got another reminder, but i ignored it because i just bought one.

That was a year ago and i thought i was off the hook.
€700 is a lot of money and it's money i simply don't have. i have to go to the courts on Tuesday with the money.

Can i appeal to anybody or explain my situation to the courts.

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated

Zaph

When did the licence you bought last year expire? Have you renewed that licence? If you have, or the one you bought last year hasn't expired I'd bring that to the court as proof that you had one. If on the other hand the licence you bought last year expired 6 months ago, you'll have a harder time convincing them to let you off.

LegacyUser

If you have a TV licence, take it with you to court!!

miss no stars

I'm a little confused, are you saying you didn't have one, knew you didn't have one and then decided to get one? If so, how long had you had a TV without a license?

Couldn't you just go to court with a copy of your TV license? Show the judge the license, say that you've been paying it and that it must be a clerical error?

scarymoon1

Get a loan off a family member or friend - at the end of the day you'll have to pay it and i douth you'll get out of paying it.

opinion guy

scarymoon1 wrote: »

Get a loan off a family member or friend - at the end of the day you'll have to pay it and i douth you'll get out of paying it.

What ???
He said he has a licence.
Call the license people in the morning and tell them you already got one and there must be a mistake. you might still ahve to go to the court thou. just bring your licence along if its still valid and the judge will throw out the fine and likely give the tv license folk a stern talking to for wasting his time

LegacyUser

Nope it's definitely within the 12 months of me first buying it, i know that for sure. Will make sure i'll bring in the tv license on tuesday.

could my name still be in their system for not paying , i'd understand a delay in taking off a name , but 10 months is a bit of a push.

Liam Byrne

Worried! wrote: »

That was a year ago and i thought i was off the hook.

Sorry if this sounds either patronising or dumb, but if it was "a year ago", did you renew it when it expired ?

scarymoon1

opinion guy wrote: »

What ???
He said he has a licence.
Call the license people in the morning and tell them you already got one and there must be a mistake. you might still ahve to go to the court thou. just bring your licence along if its still valid and the judge will throw out the fine and likely give the tv license folk a stern talking to for wasting his time

maybe i misread the op - he said he was paying a licence but he was getting letters in the post that he didnt have one so he bought another one??????

Kenno90

At the end of the day he has a valid TV license, Wither or not he has the money bring in the tv licence to court , the court can't dismiss that.

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Sorry if this sounds either patronising or dumb, but if it was "a year ago", did you renew it when it expired ?

Even though he says a year ago , i doubt he means 12 months on the dot ,sure 11 and a half months ago is last year, even if it was they have to let us common folk a little time in order to renew it

opinion guy

hmmm yes op is your license still valid ? there should be a renewal date or somthing on it

Sarn

One year when we went to renew our licence we were told that they had no record of it on the system, they do mess-up. Go with the advice above, contact the tv licence people, confirm that they have a record of your licence on the system, turn up for your summons with your licence.

Victor

If you have ahad a licence all the time you have nothing to worry about. Talk to the TV Licencing section tomorrow (their details will be on the demands for payment). However, perhaps having someone to speak for you would be useful, possibly a solicitor. You must go to court if there is a summons.

Is it possible that they have your address slightly wrong - "The Bungalow, Dublin Road, Ballygobackwards" instead of "52, Dublin Road, Ballygobackwards"?

Kenno90

Victor wrote: »

However, perhaps having someone to speak for you would be useful, possibly a solicitor.

Haha the cost of a solicitor would be more then the fee itself

kelle

OP, I understand you have a TV Licence but I think what you are worried about is that you are liable for the period BEFORE you got your licence.

You are not - you got a reminder, it was explained to you how to obtain a Licence. And you acted on it 100%.

Sarn is correct when he says the TV Licence people do mess-up - it's obvious they don't have your name on the system (maybe it's spelt differently on the Licence). This happened to me when I first got a Licence - like yourself I got one immediately when I got a similar warning letter in the post. A few months later, an inspector called saying i had no Licence. I produced my Licence and it turned out my name was spelt differently on his records.

Anyway, you must contact the TV Licence crew immediately and get it sorted. Bit cheaper than paying €700!

Victor

OP, one thing - you have not beeen fined yet.

Kenno90 wrote: »

Haha the cost of a solicitor would be more then the fee itself

For something like this, I imagine a solicitor will charge €100-200.

Faith

We got a letter the other day saying we've no TV licence. We do, it's valid until 31st of December, and we've had one every year.

However, the licences run from 1st Jan-31st Dec. I'm not sure if that's because we buy one at the start of every year, or because that's the fixed period for them. If it's the latter, then the licence you bought last year will be out of date. I'd still recommend bringing it to court with you as proof that you bought one and were being unfairly and incorrectly targeted. If you don't have a currently valid one though, I'm not sure there's much you can do. If you do have a currently valid one, then they have no claim.

Macca07

TV licences run from the day u renew them for 1 year.

I'd go in with the letter u received and ur TV licence. Wouldn't think u'd even need a solicitor for this!!!

RossFixxxed

They are yearly and you need to renew. If you have as the guys say check it is accurate and bring it with you to court. It could just be a mess up.

My name is Ross.
My Gas Bill is Roff.
My Library card is Ralph.
My Xbox Live was in Rosston.... WTF?

Motley Crue

I think what has happened OP is that you had a license and it has just run out....ironically you would have had more chance of getting away with this if you had never had a license, ignored the warnings and just pretended to be out when the inspector called lol...although I cannot support that because its dishonest and illegal

One thing though, do they actually ask you to pay the fine in court in cash, I cant imagine you handing over your 'VISA' or your cash to the judge while he asks you to enter your pin...I think you sign an agreement to say you will pay the fine, and you agree upon a monthly deductable sum via direct debit...unless Im very much mistaken!?

Victor

Motley Crue wrote: »

One thing though, do they actually ask you to pay the fine in court in cash, I cant imagine you handing over your 'VISA' or your cash to the judge while he asks you to enter your pin...I think you sign an agreement to say you will pay the fine, and you agree upon a monthly deductable sum via direct debit...unless Im very much mistaken!?

I've never had to pay a fine, but I understand you normally get 30 days. "Cash. NOW!" is rather rare.

mikemac

Someone has made a mistake

I was in court in September for this.
Got fined 120 euro and produced the licence I'd bought 20 minutes before court started
Got to meet many of the neighbours from the estate too, recognized a few faces

Everyone who showed up got fined 120 euro.
The judge was annoyed that most people on the list didn't show up, seemed to take it personally, maybe he thought they were disrespecting his court.
They got a 300 fine and 35 legal costs for An Post

If you showed up you got the legal costs waived

So how exactly did you get a fine of 700 euro against you??

mikemac

Macca07 wrote: »

TV licences run from the day u renew them for 1 year.

Not so, it runs from the first day of the month, it's like motor tax.
I bought a licence on September 25th, it expires at the start of September next year.
Gah, I paid for over three weeks and get no cover for it.
So buy your licence at the start of the month

Macca07 wrote: »

I'd go in with the letter u received and ur TV licence. Wouldn't think u'd even need a solicitor for this!!!

Agreed, no need for a solicitor

opinion guy

mikemac wrote: »

The judge was annoyed that most people on the list didn't show up, seemed to take it personally, maybe he thought they were disrespecting his court.
They got a 300 fine and 35 legal costs for An Post

They were disrespecting his court. If you don't show up you get fined. Hardly shocking now is it ?

mikemac

opinion guy wrote: »

They were disrespecting his court. If you don't show up you get fined. Hardly shocking now is it ?

Agreed

1071823928

my friend was in court for this aswell and she just told the judge she was sorry but she didnt have the money so he scrapped the fines and told her just to pay the actual license fee!

Peggypeg

Hey OP big hug to you!! But calm down!!! This sounds very scary but believe me it really really isn't, it's very very likely it really is a clerical error. I'm a civil servant myself so please believe me these things happen but seriously you've nothing to worry about!! You have a valid t.v. licence, bring it to court with you and show it, the court will throw out the case, still a pain in the bum having to show up in court but you could get in trouble for not showing so go with the licence and get it all sorted out. Also take a deep breath, it really will be ok.

Karmella

This definitely sounds like a mistake - Their computer system definitely isn't the best. I have a licence which I transferred from a previous address, but for some reason they think that there is no licence registered to the new address. i figured the reasons were that the previous occupants had none / or cancelled theirs, and they systems hasn't picked up on the new one. Although they have stopped sending the 'there is no licence registered to this address' letters so they must have copped eventually.

However, I think its extremely strange that you would receive a summons and a 700 euro fine without at least getting a couple of reminders first. This is the reason that I think it is a mistake. Have you actually phoned the TV licence people? I would ring them and turn up at court and produce your current licence and that should put the entire matter to bed.

Oh and to add, its the address that is registered - not a name. If there was no licence at that address in previous years, but there is one now, that should not be your problem.

I want to know how on earth they can fine you when they have no proof you even have a TV, and when you have a licence anyway. I'm in the UK and getting threatening letters every week about not having a licence. Mentions of court, fines, etc - well I don't have a bloody TV. Any 'fine' I receive will be thrown in the bin. I have absolutely no obligation to buy a licence for a TV I don't have, and the onus is on them to come round and see for themselves that I don't have one. These letters, as far as I'm concerned, are pure bullying tactics. I've been tempted a few times just to buy one and get a TV to get them off my back, but why should I? How do they have the right to assume I own a TV and basically call me a criminal for not having a licence? I've done NOTHING wrong. And neither have you. It's a scam if you ask me.