TV License

bobcoffee

I'm not sure were to post this and if someone could move this to the right section it would be much appreciated.

TV inspector called on my door on the 14th day of July 2009.
Then today 01/4/2010 I got a letter from a solicitor saying that I'm being summoned to court on July 2010.

I'm on the dole and can't afford the TV license and am puzzled to why I have to pay for one when I bought the TV, the cables (which they are charging me for in the first letter) and also rent the lines from NTL. I'm sure that NTL pays the government to rent out the lines in the first place. Their are 2 acts that I'm being charged with one is from 1926 and the other 1988 which are both outdated. Also its not the government who is charging me this but An Post which has nothing to do with TV, RTE or the court system.

I'm wondering what are my rights in this matter?
Is this going to be a case were I can't afford this and end up going to prison for nothing?

I only got this letter today and will have to go to the solicitor and find out what letters of warning did I receive, what exactly is the total fee and why has it been a year without a word just to be landed with a summons.

Please don't post something that has no value at all as it is important to me and am a bit lost on what to do.

Thanks guys for your help

John Mason

once you have a TV in your property (private or commercial), you must have a TV Licence.

you could be looking at a custodial sentence and a large fine. if you have a TV you will have seen all the advertisements clearly stating you must have a Licence.

i would suggest to contact a solicitor ASAP

bobcoffee

well have no money for that, can you go to one and get advice off him and pay him just for that time or the you need to hire one?

John Mason

contact citizens advice, you may be entitled to free legal aid

bobcoffee

thanks man, will be doing that tomorrow

just never been through this stuff before and registered here today just for this post

Taltos

Best of luck with this OP.

One of my teachers in the 80s got a custodial sentence for this. Refused to pay based on there not being enough Irish language programs on the Telly... Not sure if it was his first or second summons but away he went for a short time.

At the same time now - this same teacher used to coach our soccer team - well I do not think training is meant to have so many decades of the rosary - but I could be wrong - might explain why we lost every game though...

Do contact customer advice and best of luck.

Shayman

I know a man who was done for this. Fined €500. Refused to pay the fine was sent to Mountjoy for a week. He turned up at Mountjoy and was amazed to find about a hunderd others there for various other non payment things. He was brought in at 9.30 am and processed. Sent down to a room with the others. Waited around, had his lunch, waited around again and was chucked out at 4pm. Sentence served!! They're kinda stuck for space there at the moment so they're not going to give up nice warm cells to mere TV licence dodgers. Mind you, he said it was a most horrible experience and one he didn't want to repeat... He bought a TV licence too!!

Anyway OP. You best buy a licence. At least show cause. You can pay it monthly.

Ever2010

OP it does seem a little stupid to have to pay one - we don't have any channels and only watch DVDs on ours but we still have to fork out for a license. Once your registered with NTL they will catch you.

Have you had repeated letters addressed to you to tell you to get one? It may be possible to "get off" if they didn't have the correct details (happened to two friends of mine). I'd get a license in the meantime, and see where you go from there.

tenchi-fan

Honestly, you can't afford a tv licence but you pay for ntl?? that's not going to go down well in court!! My advice.. buy the licence immediately - it will look a lot better when you are in court and there will be a chance it will be just struck out.

i don't have a tv licence either but I have a dish and freeview & freesat. I got two postcards addressed to "the occupier" and a post card through the door saying "we called while you were out" but it didn't mention my name so hopefully I'm still anonymous.

cojomo2

OP, does the inspector know for sure that you actually have a tv set?
I don't think ntl pass on your info to tv licence people.

cojomo2

tenchi-fan wrote: »

Honestly, you can't afford a tv licence but you pay for ntl?? that's not going to go down well in court!! My advice.. buy the licence immediately - it will look a lot better when you are in court and there will be a chance it will be just struck out.

i don't have a tv licence either but I have a dish and freeview & freesat. I got two postcards addressed to "the occupier" and a post card through the door saying "we called while you were out" but it didn't mention my name so hopefully I'm still anonymous.

if they don't know your identity, are you safe from prosecution?

tenchi-fan

cojomo2 wrote: »

if they don't know your identity, are you safe from prosecution?

they can't summons me if they don't have my name, and they can't prove I have a tv if they haven't inspected the house (although as other people correctly point out, technically the aerial and dish count as tv equipment). it's a tough one but I'll take my chances. i pay enough tax and rte squander the licence fee. the more they get the more they waste. if i do get summonsed i'll probably buy a licence.

tbh

OP I'm not going to lecture you, but you're caught bang to rights in this case. You don't have a defense, all you can do is throw yourself on the mercy of the court and try to make sure the fine you get is as low as possible. If you start with the "but I get cable/bought my tv" stuff, in reality you're only going to annoy the judge. It doesn't matter whether you think you're right or wrong, you have to play the game. Go to legal advice, get a TV license before the court date and take it on the chin.

tbh

tenchi-fan wrote: »

they can't summons me if they don't have my name, and they can't prove I have a tv if they haven't inspected the house (although as other people correctly point out, technically the aerial and dish count as tv equipment). it's a tough one but I'll take my chances. i pay enough tax and rte squander the licence fee. the more they get the more they waste. if i do get summonsed i'll probably buy a licence.

you're on a list - chances are they won't leave you alone until they know you have a license - take it from me

source

The TV Licence entitles you to hold equipment capable of retrieving a television signal. It's a stupid tax which only goes to RTE which allows them to pay Pat Kenny et al their stupidly high salaries. They don't put money into decent home grown tv programs, Also with the level of advertising that they have on tv nowadays surely the need for the TV Licence is gone. Also if they made decent shows that they could sell then they may make that bit more money.

Op while i do have sympathy for you it is very limited, I pay for my licence weekly, you can buy stamps in your local post office and you collect them in a book (like a savings book) and cash them in at the end of the year to pay for your licence.

kjl

foinse wrote: »

The TV Licence entitles you to hold equipment capable of retrieving a television signal. It's a stupid tax which only goes to RTE which allows them to pay Pat Kenny et al their stupidly high salaries. They don't put money into decent home grown tv programs, Also with the level of advertising that they have on tv nowadays surely the need for the TV Licence is gone. Also if they made decent shows that they could sell then they may make that bit more money.

Op while i do have sympathy for you it is very limited, I pay for my licence weekly, you can buy stamps in your local post office and you collect them in a book (like a savings book) and cash them in at the end of the year to pay for your licence.

that sounds like the biggest hassle in the world, so let me get this straight, you basically waist your, I did the maths and you basically spend 21 days of your life paying your TV licence.


At the OP, I had a simular incident when I was in college, received a letter saying that I was to apear in court on such a day. But in the fine print it basically said this can be avoided by paying the licence now.

I didn't bother, the only reason the was a TV there was because of an old tenant, so I chucked it and never heard from them again.

bobcoffee

yea looks like begging for mercy is the way to go, wish there was a way to not go to court and just pay for it. really don't want anything on record as it would suck.

Little tip, if you get a letter in the post and has to be signed (not a parcel). don't sign for it. its a loop hole, you cannot be brought to court if you don't receive the summons. If you sign for it, its proof that you know your going down. Don't think they send Gardai around with a summons over something stupid as tv license. Kinda rediculous that they spend so much in order to pump fear into other people. And yes I pay for NTL but that and the ESB bill is really all i can afford. I save up little bits here and there to spend on things like clothes. but seems like ripping off the public is no problem same as paying 10's of billions to corrupt fat bankers
Once again guys thanks for you help and might post back if there anything new

skooterblue

Lets get back to the real issue . The OP doesn't want a record even if is something as silly as a non payment of a TV license. Read the fine print and see if you can get out of it by buying a license immediately.

I would be more worried about a record and future employment.

metrovelvet

You get a criminal record for not paying a tv license?

OP i would suggest you just buy the licence and bring it to court you may avoid any fines unpleasantness that way

LegacyUser

tbh wrote: »

you're on a list - chances are they won't leave you alone until they know you have a license - take it from me

I haven't paid a license in 2 years now. The inspector called about 7 months ago, I didn't answer and he left a notice. I ignored that, and heard nothing for ages. In the last 6 weeks I have received 2 warnings, binned them both. Everything has been address to 'the occupier'. Until they know who I am, I'm not worried.

If you have what looks like an NTL cable running down the side of your house and in through the wall, is that counted as a TV for tv licensing purposes? Or am I getting confused with a dish/Ariel?

bon ami

If you have a TV you need a licence , those are the rules and unless you have been living as a hermit for the past 30 years you know this. It is the law of the land.

Are there any other laws that you don't particularly like and we can arrange to grant you an exemption from them, while the rest of us abide by them.

bobcoffee

got this letter yesterday in the afternoon, didn't sleep all night looking at stuff about the license trying to find any logic to the acts that were impossed. its impossible just seems to be made up during the times when there was no extra cash to fun Irish things. Now its just for feeding the fat cats.

waited till 9 this morning to ring the solicitor that charging me the see if it can be done with out court. its god dam Easter weekend with most things close on fridays lol just my luck :P

Fizzical

You're on the dole and can't afford the TV license.

But you bought a television and pay for cable so you're well able to afford a license.

The inspector came a year ago and you're wondering what warnings you should have got.

You stayed awake all night wondering about the legalities and solicitors - trying to find the logic to the acts! - when all you had to do was go to the post office and buy the license.

OP, there's no need to be anxious and bothered about this. Just follow the rules, obey the law and buy your license like the rest of us. It's simple.

The post office is open in the morning - then relax and have a happy Easter.

Dorsanty

When I moved into my current place An Post called around claiming to be updating their records for the area so that the local sorting office could do their job better. Once he got my name he announced he was actually doing this for the TV license and I need to sort one out as soon as possible.

I was left feeling a little shafted by the underhanded tactic, but will know for any new address I move to. For now I pay for the license, even though I don't pay for cable/satellite or get the over the air channels. Like someone else here I just watch DVDs and the like, but do so on a TV so it falls under the rules for needing a license.

Of course in theory An Post are best placed to determine who is living somewhere since they deliver all the mail to a given address. Check for the name on a recent ESB/Telephone/Gas bill and it is job done.

Zaph

bobcoffee wrote: »

got this letter yesterday in the afternoon, didn't sleep all night looking at stuff about the license trying to find any logic to the acts that were impossed. its impossible just seems to be made up during the times when there was no extra cash to fun Irish things. Now its just for feeding the fat cats.

Actually if you'd care to look here you'll see that there's hardly a country in Europe that doesn't have a tv licence fee, and some of them are a lot higher than here.

Seriously, there can't be a single adult in the country who hasn't seen or heard ads for tv licences at some stage, there's enough of them broadcast on both tv and radio. Nobody likes paying for it, including myself, but basically you have absolutely no excuse for not having one so you're wasting your time trying to figure out any sort of logic to the whole thing. As has been said previously, your best bet is to buy one as soon as possible so that you can demonstrate to the court that you really are a law-abiding citizen and hope that you'll be treated leniently as a result.

Fizzical

Fizzical wrote: »

You're on the dole and can't afford the TV license.

But you bought a television and pay for cable so you're well able to afford a license.

The inspector came a year ago and you're wondering what warnings you should have got.

You stayed awake all night wondering about the legalities and solicitors - trying to find the logic to the acts! - when all you had to do was go to the post office and buy the license.

OP, there's no need to be anxious and bothered about this. Just follow the rules, obey the law and buy your license like the rest of us. It's simple.

The post office is open in the morning - then relax and have a happy Easter.

+1

If you can't afford a licence, don't have a TV. I haven't had one since last summer, because I don't want to pay the licence fee. I don't know why some people feel like they don't have to pay for something everyone else pays for. It doesn't really matter if the TV licence fee is 'justified' or not. Right now, you have to pay it. If you want to make a stand against it or genuinely can't afford it, get rid of the TV.

bobcoffee

It seem that the summons is their final warning, you ring up and they give you info to fill out postal order, for me that 130 for the old bill and 160 for the new license. So problem solved no court.

Lesson to be learned, don't answer the door when you know you shouldn't :P

dan_d

I'm afraid you've got to pay OP, there's no way out of this one. You'd want to have been living under a rock to have not noticed the ads.

On a different note, one would question the amount of time and effort put in to prosecuting people over 160eur(increased in the last 2 years, I might add) TV licences, while bankers who shall remain nameless waltz in and out of the country without a worry, even though they are in a large part responsible for our present economic situation.......but then, that's another day's argument.;)

sexdwarf

OP 160 euro is a lot to me too so what I did was set up a direct debit for the TV licence, 13.33 every month from my account. Don't even notice it go out.

Dark Phoenix

I have to buy a tv licence even though I cannot get a single channel in my house which means I also have to get sky and fork out each month for that. It really annoys me that I have to pay RTE for something I do not actually get - in my old house I never bothered with sky or ntl I just watched the four Irish channels. But - its one of those things not worth kicking up over you just have to get on and pay it I am sure they have a direct debit scheme if you cant pay in full. Its just not worth the hassle of fines and court drama when you can just pay it and be done with it

beans

I don't think this is off topic - if you don't own a television, but do own a device connected to the internet, are you still subject to the license fee?

I'm guessing not, but I get different answers depending on who I ask.

beans

beans wrote: »

I don't think this is off topic - if you don't own a television, but do own a device connected to the internet, are you still subject to the license fee?

I'm guessing not, but I get different answers depending on who I ask.

You do not require a television licence to watch television on your computer or mobile phone. However, you do require a licence if the computer is used together with any other apparatus to receive a signal.

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/consumer-affairs/media/tv_licences

popecatapetal

I'm living in a room in a rented house, in which there is a TV, as the house is used as a B&B in the summer. I have never used this TV, never even switched it on to see if it works. Do I still have to pay a license for it?

Also, as I'm just renting 1 room of a house, if a TV inspector did call around, would I be held liable if there were no license for the house? I haven't checked with my landlady if there is or not, as I only ever watch DVDs on the computer.