TV licence without....a TV.

Guillaume

I have to pay my TV Licence. BUT I am thinking about giving away or selling it. Question : If I pay my TV licence now then few days or weeks later get rid of my TV, should I get a refund or something ?

Elara: Kin

Highly doubt you will get a refund.

Paulw

No, there is no refund scheme.

ZENER

They have also widened the criteria for what's deemed a television !! A device attached to your computer in order to receive a television signal is now deemed liable for a license !!

Ken

Nanazolie

When we moved from shared accomodation to our new "love nest", we took the TV with us, but there was no signal and we had no intention to sign up with NTL. So I put the TV away in a wardrobe. A few weeks later, I received the letter for the renewal of the TV licence, I called the office and explained that since we had no signal I didn't think we should pay for the licence.
The answer was that if you own a monitor (a TV to you and me) you must pay the licence, even if you can't receive any of the public channels the licence is supposed to pay for.
So I told them I'd give it away and sure enough, an inspector knocked on my door a few days later. He didn't even bother to look into the wardrobes because we were sitting in the living room reading, my mum was doing crosswords and my dad was fixing a lamp. It was obvious we didn't have a TV. Nevertheless, I gave it away the next day because I didn't want to get fined for owning a TV that didn't even work.

My advice is get rid of the TV now if that's what you are planing to do anyway, and call the licence office to advise them that it's gone.

superfish

question: I live in the middle of nowhere and cant receive 1 single channel do I still have to buy a tv licence ?

Paulw

superfish wrote: »

question: I live in the middle of nowhere and cant receive 1 single channel do I still have to buy a tv licence ?

As the ad on TV says - if you have a TV, you must have a TV license.

The law states that you must have a license if you have a device capable of receiving a signal, not that you have to be able to receive a signal.

Nanazolie

superfish wrote: »

question: I live in the middle of nowhere and cant receive 1 single channel do I still have to buy a tv licence ?

yes. Read my post, we couldn't receive any channel either and were still asked to pay to stare at a black screen. Public service...

cookie1977

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/consumer_affairs/media/tv_licences.html

No refunds

hdowney

i think it is completely jacked up that if you have no form of signal coming into your house (think sky, ntl etc) but have a tellybox say for the purposes of playing computer games they expect you to fork over more than 150 squids to keep RTE going when you don't even watch the rubbish. completely unfair practice if you ask me

Paulw

There are many things that are in law that are unfair (many taxes and such), but it's the law.

If you don't like it, why not complain to your local TD?

superfish

I dont really mind Id like to see them get past my german shepherds to even get near my house

Happyzebra

Superfish I always wondered how so many people get away with not having a tv licence ... Doh! How could i be so stupid??? 160 euro and i never watch the rte channels!


Do you have a licence for the dogs?

superfish

same applies to the dogs I dont drive my tv or my dogs however I do have a car licence lol

rubadub

hdowney wrote: »

but have a tellybox say for the purposes of playing computer games they expect you to fork over more than 150 squids to keep RTE going

Then you should get a monitor or TV with no tuner, my plasma has no tuner on it so is exempt. It might actually cost a bit more for one with no tuner due to economies of scale, but in the long run it could work out cheaper. I knew a guy who had a monitor and dvd in a holiday home, rather than pay 160 for 2 weeks use per year.

If you have the techy know-how you might be able to disable the tuner bit in your tv and you should be exempt.

Nanazolie wrote: »

So I put the TV away in a wardrobe.

I heard some rumour about taking the plug off the TV so it is technically "unfit to receive a signal".

Just found this post, hes a mod in the TV section too.

bk wrote: »

So it would seem that if you have a TV in the house, even if you DO NOT use it, you still need a licence

Yes, unless you take the plug off the TV and just store it, that is OK AFAIK.

Or potentially if you pour glue in the antenna socket, thus crippling it's ability to receive TV.

I posted before...

In 2002, the rate of licence-fee evasion was estimated at 12%.[6] In the Dublin region in that year, approximately 21% of detected evaders were summonsed for prosecution (6,000 cases);[7] approximately one third of these cases resulted in fines, averaging €174.[8] Only 4% of fined evaders followed up three months later had purchased a licence.[9]

Its utterly ridiculous, 99% of homes have one so it should just be in normal taxation, it is unfair to single people when you could have a house with 5 professionals living in it paying the same for the same "service" the admin costs in collecting/fining/chasing/registering has got to be huge.

It would be like having a free bus service and everybody paying the same amount whether they use it or not. Why not have a cooker licence and send out meals to people each day? eat it or bin it, you have no choice if you own a cooker you are legally obliged to have a licence.

It is not a vital service, and many countries get by fine without it.
# 3 Countries where the TV licence has been abolished

* 3.1 Australia
* 3.2 Belgium (Flemish region)
* 3.3 Cyprus
* 3.4 Gibraltar
* 3.5 Hungary
* 3.6 India
* 3.7 Malaysia
* 3.8 Netherlands
* 3.9 New Zealand
* 3.10 Portugal

# 4 Countries that never had a television or broadcasting licence

* 4.1 Europe
o 4.1.1 Andorra
o 4.1.2 Estonia
o 4.1.3 Liechtenstein
o 4.1.4 Luxembourg
o 4.1.5 Monaco
* 4.2 North America
o 4.2.1 Canada
o 4.2.2 United States
* 4.3 Asia
o 4.3.1 China (mainland)
o 4.3.2 Hong Kong
o 4.3.3 Iran
o 4.3.4 Vietnam
o 4.3.5 The Philippines
Let the people decide for themselves, with a subscription service just like any other TV company like sky have to do.

Magic Beans

There's that many repeats on you could probably get away with showing the inspector last year's licence.

crazygeryy

rubadub wrote: »

Then you should get a monitor or TV with no tuner, my plasma has no tuner on it so is exempt. It might actually cost a bit more for one with no tuner due to economies of scale, but in the long run it could work out cheaper. I knew a guy who had a monitor and dvd in a holiday home, rather than pay 160 for 2 weeks use per year.

a plasma is a tv no matter what way you look at it.and ..................if you have a tv you must have a tv licence.

rubadub

crazygeryy wrote: »

a plasma is a tv no matter what way you look at it.

you might consider it a TV, but the law does not. I said it has no tuner so its classed the same as a computer monitor, otherwise any business with a pc monitor or display signs/info on display screens would have to buy a tv licence.

I could buy a plug in tuner if I wanted, and then I need a licence, or if its connected to a dvd recorder with a built in tuner.

(I do have a licence anyways as I have other tvs, but was just making the point that it is exempt)

longpuck

Read in the paper last week that the government spend something like €7 million a year giveing free TV licences to OAP's with all there talk of saving money etc would this not be a reason to just get rid of TV licences?

rubadub

longpuck wrote: »

like €7 million a year giveing free TV licences to OAP's

jaysus I hope they do not plan on literally giving them licences, i.e. squandering more money on admin, postage etc handing out bits of paper when they could just make them exempt.

Saw the greens wanted it gone, I though great until I actually read their plan

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2011/0216/1224289936267.html

The Green Party would change the television licence fee if it becomes part of the next government, Dublin South TD Eamon Ryan has said.

Mr Ryan said the licence fee was an outdated and ineffective method of funding for public sector broadcasting.

The internet had rendered it “close to obsolete, overly bureaucratised and ineffective. Good journalism, whether on the television, radio, in print or online costs money”, the former minister for communications said.

“Equally, while subscription firewalls work for certain types of content, we should be careful not to dilute the freedom of information on the internet.

“. . . One approach to the financing of public sector broadcasting, including the possibility of other media, involves some small charge on the volume of data. This funding model “would fund public service content and be much easier to charge and cheaper to operate than our current licence fee collection system”, he said.

A move towards such a model would require consultation and the answer to the question: How do we fund newsrooms while maintaining absolute editorial independence?” he said.

hdowney

rubadub wrote: »

jaysus I hope they do not plan on literally giving them licences, i.e. squandering more money on admin, postage etc handing out bits of paper when they could just make them exempt.

um yep. they do this ^^^ each year the send out a new tv licence to the people entitled to the free one. hilarious isn't it

Pacing Mule

Here's an interesting one. You have a TV who's tuner etc has been decommissioned as mentioned above making the set not require a licence. You have an Xbox 360 attached to it. Through the Xbox you receive live Sky TV. Does the connection of the Xbox now mean you require a TV licence ?

ShooterSF

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

Here's an interesting one. You have a TV who's tuner etc has been decommissioned as mentioned above making the set not require a licence. You have an Xbox 360 attached to it. Through the Xbox you receive live Sky TV. Does the connection of the Xbox now mean you require a TV licence ?

(The following is only my opinion)
No it would be the same as if you hooked up a computer to the TV and watched 4OD on it. It's not about watching TV shows it's about a TV signal.

charlemont

superfish wrote: »

I dont really mind Id like to see them get past my german shepherds to even get near my house

Dead right too..

dev100

Guillaume wrote: »

I have to pay my TV Licence. BUT I am thinking about giving away or selling it. Question : If I pay my TV licence now then few days or weeks later get rid of my TV, should I get a refund or something ?

Soon enough the TV license will change its current format to where it becomes a media license eg tv pc laptop radio etc. They are coping on to people getting rid of tvs and watching stuff from net instead

Magic Beans

dev100 wrote: »

Soon enough the TV license will change its current format to where it becomes a media license eg tv pc laptop radio etc. They are coping on to people getting rid of tvs and watching stuff from net instead

A tax on knowledge.

keithclancy

crazygeryy wrote: »

a plasma is a tv no matter what way you look at it.and ..................if you have a tv you must have a tv licence.

No - No Tuner = Monitor

Although if you have a VCR with a Tuner and no TV then you need a TV License.

If its capable of recieving an RF Signal then its classed as needing a TV License.

Nanazolie

Magic Beans wrote: »

A tax on knowledge.

Next, you'll be taxed for reading books or doing crochet

Wertz

I wonder how the digital switch over in 2012 will effect the current TV licence (assuming it hasn't changed to media/web/phone licence by that stage)...

For instance, someone with fairly new tv that has no saorsat tuner, which they won't be replacing for a while...after the DSO the current tuner will be rendered obsolete and for the purposes of watching broadcasts will be defunct, so the tv will be a monitor at that point; is it still going to need a license?

On topic: no, no refund. You can get a refund on your car tax, even your income tax in certain cases...but for the RTÉ ransom fee, no refund regardless.

Pacing Mule

Wertz wrote: »

I wonder how the digital switch over in 2012 will effect the current TV licence (assuming it hasn't changed to media/web/phone licence by that stage)...

For instance, someone with fairly new tv that has no saorsat tuner, which they won't be replacing for a while...after the DSO the current tuner will be rendered obsolete and for the purposes of watching broadcasts will be defunct, so the tv will be a monitor at that point; is it still going to need a license?

On topic: no, no refund. You can get a refund on your car tax, even your income tax in certain cases...but for the RTÉ ransom fee, no refund regardless.

My understanding of it is that:

If the TV is capabale of receiving a signal even from an RF input (for example NTL etc) then it is liable for a licence.

If you connect a device to the TV which is capable of tuning in a TV signal - for example an NTL or Sky Digital satellite receiver then it is liable for a licence.

What I don't understand though is where the definition of "capable of receiving a signal" stops. Hence my question about an Xbox console.

Wertz

Pageant Messiah wrote: »

What I don't understand though is where the definition of "capable of receiving a signal" stops. Hence my question about an Xbox console.

AFAIK the 360 does sky over IP, not through a broadcast medium...now if it were playTV for the PS3 then that uses a broadcast signal so is currently liable, but the 360 shouldn't be (as things stand)...

Cork24

If your TV does not have a build in Tuner or anything that can allow you to get a Signal then you do not need a TV Licence.. i have a TV but do not use it that much. wouldnt mind to sell it. I download all my Programs and watch them on the Laptop.

DanWall

It's a long story but I ended up in court because I tried to get rid of the TV for the summer months, I was told that even though I did not have a TV, if I had an aerial I could still receive a signal

Wertz

I'm no lawyer, and don't know the precise letter of the broadcasting act but AFAIK the licence is for the receiving equipment (TV, tuner card, sat box, VCR/HDD recorder)only and NOT for the aerial, since the aerial could be merely for radio reception, or a legacy from a previous owner or installation, that you neglected to have taken down.
None of those stupid ads say anything about "If you have a TV aerial you must have a TV licence".

Run_to_da_hills

Guillaume wrote: »

I have to pay my TV Licence. BUT I am thinking about giving away or selling it. Question : If I pay my TV licence now then few days or weeks later get rid of my TV, should I get a refund or something ?

You could ask them if they could trade it in for a dog license and get a dog instead.

slimjimmc

DanWall wrote: »

It's a long story but I ended up in court because I tried to get rid of the TV for the summer months, I was told that even though I did not have a TV, if I had an aerial I could still receive a signal

I'm sorry but who ever told you that was telling you rubbish. The relevant statute defines a TV set as any device or combination of devices which can receive and display a television broadcast (not one or the other, it must do both). An aerial on it's own can receive, but it cannot possibly display a broadcast so does not require a licence.

DanWall

This was local the postmaster that told me, I actually took the aerial down, but still ended in court

Wertz

Are you sure you didn't end up in court for failing to return the statuatory declaration form or soemthing? I can't see how any judge could convict or fine you for having an aerial, since that's not what the law states...

johnmcdnl

rubadub wrote: »

Then you should get a monitor or TV with no tuner, my plasma has no tuner on it so is exempt. It might actually cost a bit more for one with no tuner due to economies of scale, but in the long run it could work out cheaper. I knew a guy who had a monitor and dvd in a holiday home, rather than pay 160 for 2 weeks use per year.

If you have the techy know-how you might be able to disable the tuner bit in your tv and you should be exempt.



I heard some rumour about taking the plug off the TV so it is technically "unfit to receive a signal".

Just found this post, hes a mod in the TV section too.



I posted before...

I though you had to pay even if the TV was broken so it's technically unfit to receive a signal wouldn't cut it... becuase you could fix it again and then it'd receive a signal...

f your household, business or institution possesses a television or equipment capable of receiving a television signal, you are required by law to have a television licence. Even if the television or other equipment is broken and currently unable to receive a signal, it is regarded as capable of being repaired so it can receive a signal and you must hold a licence for it. Failure to produce evidence of a television licence to an inspector can result in a court appearance and on conviction, you can receive a substantial fine. People who have been fined and who have breached court orders directing them to pay their television licence can be imprisoned.

from citizens information there...

so - yeah you'd still have to pay even if you took the tuner out because that'd technically be a broken tv... :mad:

CramCycle

Wertz wrote: »

I'm no lawyer, and don't know the precise letter of the broadcasting act but AFAIK the licence is for the receiving equipment (TV, tuner card, sat box, VCR/HDD recorder)only and NOT for the aerial, since the aerial could be merely for radio reception, or a legacy from a previous owner or installation, that you neglected to have taken down.
None of those stupid ads say anything about "If you have a TV aerial you must have a TV licence".

Wrong, the law states that if you have ANY device capable of receiving a signal you must have a TV license.

slimjimmc wrote: »

I'm sorry but who ever told you that was telling you rubbish. The relevant statute defines a TV set as any device or combination of devices which can receive and display a television broadcast (not one or the other, it must do both). An aerial on it's own can receive, but it cannot possibly display a broadcast so does not require a licence.

Doesn't matter, the law states receive.

Jesus Wept

I ****ing hate RTE, propaganda wing of the government, cosy cartel with many useless arseholes constantly being given tv shows. They can **** off. Make it a subscription service and see how they get on.

dudara

OK - I think the OPs original question has been addressed here. This is not a forum for discussing the rights or wrongs of TV licensing.

dudara