Just been issued with a Search Warrant for Tv license?

-Vega-

Hey guys,

just received a search warrant from an Post about tv license. Says inspector called around and didnt receive co operation and they have a search warrant issued to search the premises.

We dont have a tv license first off obviously. I have a few questions.

I have computer monitors, 2 of them for my pc. Do they count as tv?

Usually how soon do they search the premises after issuing the letter?

We have a gentleman staying in the apartment who has a kinda of a stand alone room, self catering, but we all pay rent together and share bills. He may have a tv, I dont know, he has not been here in a few weeks and we dont really speak. Does 1 tv license cover the entire premises for multiple televisions?

Thanks

MarkAnthony

It depends on if he has a lock on the door IIRC, I could be talking out of my backside but if he's a TV in there you'd want a licence.

Sounds a bit like a scare tactic but I'd make sure my ducks were in a row.

As long as the PC monitors don't have tuners, no they're not TVs.

Prenderb

-Vega- wrote: »

Does 1 tv license cover the entire premises for multiple televisions?

Yup.

bmm

Who will be doing the search, the Garda , or the TV licence inspector ?

haveringchick

OP why didn't you bring the inspectors into see the PC monitors?
It would have saved you all this bother
Surely you didn't think that by not cooperating that would be the end of it?

MarkAnthony

OP has every right not to allow someone without a search warrant into his gaffe.

haveringchick

MarkAnthony wrote: »

OP has every right not to allow someone without a search warrant into his gaffe.

Yes but, if he had allowed the inspector in and straightened things out, then he wouldn't be anticipating a more formal visit now?

ezra_pound

Yes. I used to get the annual visit from the license' inspector. Always welcomed him in for a brief moment and showed him in. I never got any search warrants or searches for that matter. He just glanced at the monitor I was watching a movie on and moved on.

ezra_pound

MarkAnthony wrote: »

OP has every right not to allow someone without a search warrant into his gaffe.

He has a right to do lots of stupid things.

0ph0rce0

As a licence holder myself. Any inspectors doing their job or not try to come into my house they will be pushed straight back out the door or met with a slap. **** that. Could be anyone trying to get into your house.

When they ask here have you got a licence I say yes and close the door. Nothing more. I don't show it either.

Losty Dublin

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

As a licence holder myself. Any inspectors doing their job or not try to come into my house they will be pushed straight back out the door or met with a slap. **** that. Could be anyone trying to get into your house.

When they ask here have you got a licence I say yes and close the door. Nothing more. I don't show it either.

You may have missed about they having a search warrant

0ph0rce0

Unless they have the guards with them that issue me a warrant. They won't be coming in.

Sure I can print off a warrant on the Internet. Would you let me in with that.

I have a warrant from An Post here let me in. Hahaha no sir

ezra_pound

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Unless they have the guards with them that issue me a warrant. They won't be coming in.

Sure I can print off a warrant on the Internet. Would you let me in with that.

I have a warrant from An Post here let me in. Hahaha no sir

It's from the Courts.

golondrinas

my humble opinion on this would be,

1. don't have to have a tv to need a tv lic. Any receiving apparatus that can receive tv signal qualifies.

2. tv lic inspector must be accompanied by member of an garda siochana with a valid warrant before entering premises uninvited.

3. each self -contained flat needs separate lic.

4. the lic you possess does not cover the caravan you have in courtown with the portable tv.

hope this helps

aphex™

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

As a licence holder myself. Any inspectors doing their job or not try to come into my house they will be pushed straight back out the door or met with a slap. **** that. Could be anyone trying to get into your house.

When they ask here have you got a licence I say yes and close the door. Nothing more. I don't show it either.

They wouldn't come to your door if you had a valid license as they have a database of who has one and who doesn't. You might wanna check the address on the one you have.

GavMan

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

As a licence holder myself. Any inspectors doing their job or not try to come into my house they will be pushed straight back out the door or met with a slap. **** that. Could be anyone trying to get into your house.

When they ask here have you got a licence I say yes and close the door. Nothing more. I don't show it either.

P. Breathnach

aphex™ wrote: »

They wouldn't come to your door if you had a valid license as they have a database of who has one and who doesn't. You might wanna check the address on the one you have.

While I don't condone 0ph0rce0's unhelpful spirit, there are circumstances where an inspector might not know if a licence is held for a certain house. Rural addresses often don't identify particular buildings.

The use of Eircodes on TV licences might be a good idea.

aphex™

P. Breathnach wrote: »

While I don't condone 0ph0rce0's unhelpful spirit, there are circumstances where an inspector might not know if a licence is held for a certain house. Rural addresses often don't identify particular buildings.

The use of Eircodes on TV licences might be a good idea.

TV license inspectors work for An Post so have access to the geodirectory/local knowledge of that organization.

They've also heard all the excuses, and none of them work.

dalta5billion

P. Breathnach wrote: »

While I don't condone 0ph0rce0's unhelpful spirit, there are circumstances where an inspector might not know if a licence is held for a certain house. Rural addresses often don't identify particular buildings.

The use of Eircodes on TV licences might be a good idea.

We have a TV licence. Our house has 2 valid addresses (name change). Soon after Eircode was launched we received one of the TV Licence demand letters with a slightly inaccurate variation of the 2nd address, which is also what is listed on the Eircode website as our address. Seems they're already using it.


We ignored it and then we got the postcard slip through the door after an inspector called while we were out. I did a bit of searching and it seems under the Broadcasting Act 2009 you're legally obligated to return that slip with your existing licence number.

-Vega-

aphex™ wrote: »

They wouldn't come to your door if you had a valid license as they have a database of who has one and who doesn't. You might wanna check the address on the one you have.

Sorry what?

what is the point of the job then? If they know I dont have a license..why are they sending someone around to inspect a license that they know doesnt exist?

LionelNashe

-Vega- wrote: »

Sorry what?

what is the point of the job then? If they know I dont have a license..why are they sending someone around to inspect a license that they know doesnt exist?

Presumably they want to see if you have a TV

esforum

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

Unless they have the guards with them that issue me a warrant. They won't be coming in.

Sure I can print off a warrant on the Internet. Would you let me in with that.

I have a warrant from An Post here let me in. Hahaha no sir

what is this gibberish?

leavingirl

aphex™ wrote: »

TV license inspectors work for An Post so have access to the geodirectory/local knowledge of that organization.

They've also heard all the excuses, and none of them work.

I'm from Poland. Not a word of English.

esforum

And the lesson here is?

if a reasonable and nice person asks a reasonable question in a nice way, its usually better to answer than
trying to be Billy big balls and end up with a number of individuals scouring their home room by room while waving search warrants

Carawaystick

What is the law on an post getting a search warrant?

If you're at home when they search, what things you could legally do in the privacy of your home if there are no searchers present?

usernamegoes

I wonder what the reasonable suspicion is for issuing a warrant? Not letting him in to have a look around surely isn't enough?

esforum

Carawaystick wrote: »

What is the law on an post getting a search warrant?

If you're at home when they search, what things you could legally do in the privacy of your home if there are no searchers present?

Sorry, I have read that 3 times, still dont get what you are asking. are you asking if theres limits on what you can and cant do while they are searching?

usernamegoes wrote: »

I wonder what the reasonable suspicion is for issuing a warrant? Not letting him in to have a look around surely isn't enough?

I would assume they also produced old records and frequency information.

Firewalkwithme

As an aside here, I recently had to go to court for non payment of my license. I wasn't trying to avoid it, only that circumstances made it difficult to get the money together. I eventually did and everything was fine and dandy.

One thing I noticed though while I was in the court the when going through each of the cases, the Inspector seated in the witness box and sworn in stated that he had observed an unlicensed TV appliance at whatever the address was.

Now, in my case this was how it went. The Inspector came to my door and asked me if I lived here. I said yes and he told me he was a TV license inspector before asking me if I had a TV license. I said, no I don't so he got my name and the bill was issued.

At no point during our conversation was I asked if I had a TV and the Inspector most certainly did not observe a TV at my home. When I was listening to him repeating this line over and over in the court I was severely tempted to challenge him on it when I got called up. Just on principal mind you, I always intended to pay.

As I see it, he was effectively lying under oath repeatedly. Any opinions?

MarkAnthony

He/she shouldn't be lying under oath obviously. However one can see the realities of the situation.

XsApollo

T.v license inspector cannot enter your property unless you invite him in.

If they got a warrant to search your house the inspector will be accompanied a Garda.

Firewalkwithme

MarkAnthony wrote: »

He/she shouldn't be lying under oath obviously. However one can see the realities of the situation.

Ah but he was. I wonder how the Judge, An Post's Barrister, and the Inspector would have dealt with that had I said something?

MarkAnthony

Well I suspect you'd have had a rather unpleasant experience in the form of a cross examination, then it's very possible the case could have been struck out. You had every right to make such a challenge.

Firewalkwithme

MarkAnthony wrote: »

Well I suspect you'd have had a rather unpleasant experience in the form of a cross examination, then it's very possible the case could have been struck out. You had every right to make such a challenge.

I sure it would have been unpleasant, hence I kept my mouth shut

MarkAnthony

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

I sure it would have been unpleasant, hence I kept my mouth shut

Unpleasant or not you're unlikely to crack under cross examination if you're telling the truth, which I'm not for one second doubting. You probably did the right thing but it's fair to say justice wasn't served.

satstheway

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

As an aside here, I recently had to go to court for non payment of my license. I wasn't trying to avoid it, only that circumstances made it difficult to get the money together. I eventually did and everything was fine and dandy.

One thing I noticed though while I was in the court the when going through each of the cases, the Inspector seated in the witness box and sworn in stated that he had observed an unlicensed TV appliance at whatever the address was.


Now, in my case this was how it went. The Inspector came to my door and asked me if I lived here. I said yes and he told me he was a TV license inspector before asking me if I had a TV license. I said, no I don't so he got my name and the bill was issued.

At no point during our conversation was I asked if I had a TV and the Inspector most certainly did not observe a TV at my home. When I was listening to him repeating this line over and over in the court I was severely tempted to challenge him on it when I got called up. Just on principal mind you, I always intended to pay.

As I see it, he was effectively lying under oath repeatedly. Any opinions?

He might have seen equipment capable of receiveing broadcasts. Eg dish or aerial.

Firewalkwithme

satstheway wrote: »

He might have seen equipment capable of receiveing broadcasts. Eg dish or aerial.

No dish or aerial on the building.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

degsie

0ph0rce0 wrote: »

As a licence holder myself. Any inspectors doing their job or not try to come into my house they will be pushed straight back out the door or met with a slap. **** that. Could be anyone trying to get into your house.

When they ask here have you got a licence I say yes and close the door. Nothing more. I don't show it either.

You are making this up. Why would an inspector call if they know you have a licence?

Firewalkwithme

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Actually I was co-owner of a property which was on the market for a while with no one living in it. We were told that we must have a license because of the aerial on the roof despite the fact there was nobody occupying the house at the time.

Maybe he was looking to have his palm greased, I don't know but it wasn't much of a job to take the aerial off the roof

The Randy Riverbeast

In my experience it takes a long time to go from search warrant notice letter to actual search warrant. We never got to the searching part after a few months and we moved out.

bpmurray

The TV licence is an intelligence test: only morons who ignore the endless list of warnings and attempts to see the licence end up in court. Don't be one of them - just go down to the post office first thing and buy one.

Firewalkwithme

bpmurray wrote: »

The TV licence is an intelligence test: only morons who ignore the endless list of warnings and attempts to see the licence end up in court. Don't be one of them - just go down to the post office first thing and buy one.

And there are also people like me and many other who through various circumstances find it difficult to come up with 160 quid at the drop of a hat. As a result, a 2 minute appearance in court along with 50 other such people is well worth the 2-3 months extension that a Judge will always grant.

Calling people morons and implying a lack of intelligence because of having to go to court to secure more time to pay the license fee is highly ignorant and condescending of you.

Let me put it this way, I had a choice. No food for three weeks or go to court and get an extension to the allowed time I would have to pay. I fully intended to pay all arrears anyway so when I payed was ultimately irrelevant.

So tell me, in the circumstance I found myself in, do you think I was a moron for going to court or would it have been a better decision for me to not eat for three weeks?

Losty Dublin

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

And there are also people like me and many other who through various circumstances find it difficult to come up with 160 quid at the drop of a hat. As a result, a 2 minute appearance in court along with 50 other such people is well worth the 2-3 months extension that a Judge will always grant.

Calling people morons and implying a lack of intelligence because of having to go to court to secure more time to pay the license fee is highly ignorant and condescending of you.

Let me put it this way, I had a choice. No food for three weeks or go to court and get an extension to the allowed time I would have to pay. I fully intended to pay all arrears anyway so when I payed was ultimately irrelevant.

So tell me, in the circumstance I found myself in, do you think I was a moron for going to court or would it have been a better decision for me to not eat for three weeks?

I've mine on monthly direct debit. It's a no brainer if stumping up €160
is an issue. I understand you though; as priorities go it's not going to top all of our lists if you are short.

aido79

Cartoon_Head wrote: »

And there are also people like me and many other who through various circumstances find it difficult to come up with 160 quid at the drop of a hat. As a result, a 2 minute appearance in court along with 50 other such people is well worth the 2-3 months extension that a Judge will always grant.

Calling people morons and implying a lack of intelligence because of having to go to court to secure more time to pay the license fee is highly ignorant and condescending of you.

Let me put it this way, I had a choice. No food for three weeks or go to court and get an extension to the allowed time I would have to pay. I fully intended to pay all arrears anyway so when I payed was ultimately irrelevant.

So tell me, in the circumstance I found myself in, do you think I was a moron for going to court or would it have been a better decision for me to not eat for three weeks?

How is it 'at the drop of a hat'? You have effectively a year's notice from when you pay your last tv licence fee to when you pay your next. Maybe you need to reassess how you manage your money and save yourself a trip to court next year.
I am not calling you a moron...I just think you need to come up with a better system than - wait for a bill to come...try to scrape money together at short notice...repeat. A tv licence costs around 3 euro a week so why not put that money in a jar or something each week instead of trying to come up with the money all at once plus the inconvenience of having to go to court.

Carawaystick

esforum wrote: »

Sorry, I have read that 3 times, still dont get what you are asking. are you asking if theres limits on what you can and cant do while they are searching

Yeah it's badly phrased.
I mean stuff from smoking a cigarette to being naked to masturbation to watching porn on a *monitor* to having full sex to having a food fight to having a placard defaming one of the searchers

Basically being a completely obnoxious bas&*#rd but also possibly making their working conditions unlawful I.e. The working in a smoking environment or being defamed at work

Firewalkwithme

aido79 wrote: »

How is it 'at the drop of a hat'? You have effectively a year's notice from when you pay your last tv licence fee to when you pay your next. Maybe you need to reassess how you manage your money and save yourself a trip to court next year.
I am not calling you a moron...I just think you need to come up with a better system than - wait for a bill to come...try to scrape money together at short notice...repeat. A tv licence costs around 3 euro a week so why not put that money in a jar or something each week instead of trying to come up with the money all at once plus the inconvenience of having to go to court.

You don't need to lecture me on budgeting, I'm actually rather good at that. I have no desire or need to tell you or anyone what the exact circumstances were that led me to be in a position where I was unable to pay the license fee in time but suffice to say that there were unforeseen circumstances that led to it.

.300 WinMag

Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room here, why should we pay it, the national broadcasting agency to whom our fee is supposed to go has been degraded so much over the last number of years, it is biased in its reporting, it's hosts getting paid ridiculous salaries for a few hours work, the loss of great shows, and don't start on the gombeens presenting the kids programs, my kids hate it.
I haven't sat down to watch rte in at least a year, and I pay another broadcasting agency for a better class of service, I'll do time repeatedly before I pay the TV licence

Firewalkwithme

.300 WinMag wrote: »

Let's acknowledge the elephant in the room here, why should we pay it, the national broadcasting agency to whom our fee is supposed to go has been degraded so much over the last number of years, it is biased in its reporting, it's hosts getting paid ridiculous salaries for a few hours work, the loss of great shows, and don't start on the gombeens presenting the kids programs, my kids hate it.
I haven't sat down to watch rte in at least a year, and I pay another broadcasting agency for a better class of service, I'll do time repeatedly before I pay

You'll be in an out in an hour or two like Wallace and Daly.

Have you been to court yet yourself?

goz83

Answer door bollock naked. They may decide that an inspection is not worth the risk.

.300 WinMag

That was wrong on so many levels, typical of this country tho, waste waste waste, yeah I've been in there for various reasons, none criminal thankfully (although in this country, define who is actually the criminal :-)

paulmclaughlin

goz83 wrote: »

Answer door bollock naked. They may decide that an inspection is not worth the risk.

I think I seen a video on the internet similar to that scenario :pac: