Wednesday, July 19, 2006
TV License Tax. New offensive planned?
I wont describe in detail the UK television "license"; suffice to say, you own and watch a television, you pay money to the BBC; even if you never watch the BBC.
The BBC is responsible for collecting this money, but because it likes to spin itself as some great body, it has sub-contracted this to TV Licensing, thereby not sullying themselves with something so base as collecting money. It could affect their socialist principles you know.
Now being the only person in the country without a television, I don't need a license, and consequently I would expect to have no dealings with TV Licensing. Just as I don't have a fishing license, don't go fishing, and consequently have no dealings with whoever provides fishing licenses.
In reality I receive a monthly letter, hardly couched in the politest of terms, informing me that my address is unlicensed and I may be committing an offence and all such manner of apparatchikisms. Of course at first I tried informing them that I didn't have a television and for a while, that was sufficient. Then they decided that they would have to look round my property to confirm for themselves that there was no television. I explained to them that they were out of order and have since then simply ignored their letters. Naturally the've never been in my property to confirm the situation, and accordingly I've downgraded my view of them from nuisance to "yapping lapdog" (makes a lot of noise but can be safely ignored, can't bite).
They even went so far as to send recorded delivery letters, that I had to go and collect from the post office. Clearly they were trying to work out if anyone still lived at the address, so I was happy to collect them, safe in the knowledge that I don't pay them anything and the more money they spend harassing me, the less they'll have for "quality" television.
Now I'm concerned (not really), the monthly letter has failed to arrive, have they gone out of business? Have they finally decided to give up on my property? (In which case I could go and buy a television, (a process which involves giving your name and address) give it away, and watch as they attempt to self-rightously chase me, convinced that I'm an offender, but safe in the knowledge I'm doing nothing wrong). Have they perhaps, thought up a new tactic of harassment and should I be quaking in my clogs?
Or is it quite simply that as the "license" can no longer be paid for at the Post Office, they don't have any valid stationary on which to print these letters?
Time will tell, but with this bunch of "administrators" my money's on the last option. Can't even get stocked up on your stationary can you?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
The BBC is responsible for collecting this money, but because it likes to spin itself as some great body, it has sub-contracted this to TV Licensing, thereby not sullying themselves with something so base as collecting money. It could affect their socialist principles you know.
Now being the only person in the country without a television, I don't need a license, and consequently I would expect to have no dealings with TV Licensing. Just as I don't have a fishing license, don't go fishing, and consequently have no dealings with whoever provides fishing licenses.
In reality I receive a monthly letter, hardly couched in the politest of terms, informing me that my address is unlicensed and I may be committing an offence and all such manner of apparatchikisms. Of course at first I tried informing them that I didn't have a television and for a while, that was sufficient. Then they decided that they would have to look round my property to confirm for themselves that there was no television. I explained to them that they were out of order and have since then simply ignored their letters. Naturally the've never been in my property to confirm the situation, and accordingly I've downgraded my view of them from nuisance to "yapping lapdog" (makes a lot of noise but can be safely ignored, can't bite).
They even went so far as to send recorded delivery letters, that I had to go and collect from the post office. Clearly they were trying to work out if anyone still lived at the address, so I was happy to collect them, safe in the knowledge that I don't pay them anything and the more money they spend harassing me, the less they'll have for "quality" television.
Now I'm concerned (not really), the monthly letter has failed to arrive, have they gone out of business? Have they finally decided to give up on my property? (In which case I could go and buy a television, (a process which involves giving your name and address) give it away, and watch as they attempt to self-rightously chase me, convinced that I'm an offender, but safe in the knowledge I'm doing nothing wrong). Have they perhaps, thought up a new tactic of harassment and should I be quaking in my clogs?
Or is it quite simply that as the "license" can no longer be paid for at the Post Office, they don't have any valid stationary on which to print these letters?
Time will tell, but with this bunch of "administrators" my money's on the last option. Can't even get stocked up on your stationary can you?
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.
