I am making this public on a blog that gets several thousand hits a day because as far as I am concerned this is plain harassment by TV Licensing and I am making developments known here so others can be warned.
I am so angry right now. I've gone over this before but here is a recap: But then we have TV Licensing.
In the UK if you own and use a TV set you pay an extortionate licence fee. This is the important highly legal stuff: if you DO NOT have a TV set then you do NOT need a TV licence.
People who know me know I do not watch TV -there is absolutely nothing I'm interested in and I tend to work all day. So, in May, I had no TV set and no TV licence. Someone from TV Licensing called and I explained this to him. I denied him his perceived 'right' to enter and search my property (even the police need a warrant). So he wrote down that I had no TV set and no TV license. Read it back to me. No problem. I signed the statement.
MY BIG MISTAKE
Every day, morning, afternoon and evening 3-4 calls every day up until August telling me I had no TV licence. Now,by July I HAD gotten a small portable TV set and I HAD a licence. I contacted TV Licensing and asked for an explanation because I was getting what was harassment -phone calls every day and doorstep callers.
Apparently, their caller "must have forgotten to process" the documents. So, to up-date things I did as requested and sent a copy of my new TV license to them.
Nothing. Must be sorted then.
October I receive a court summons as I am being prosecuted by TV Licensing for operating a TV set without a license. WHAT???
I try to sort this out. December 2013-May 2014 no, I had no TV set and no TV licence. Sooo? Well, it seems that my doorstep caller falsified and added to the signed statement. "You admitted to have been using a TV set which was plugged-in to a freeview box and had been using this for up to six weeks" I thought "What??" I NEVER said any such thing and I still DO NOT have a freeview box (in fact I do not currently have a TV!) and I have pointed this out in writing and on the form and the response? "You signed the form" -it does not matter if it was added to, falsified later (after THREE MONTHS) it is their "agents" word against mine and he has a signed form.
I explain to the courts. "That might be correct BUT you signed the form. You can't prove anything was added to it because you never had a copy of the document you signed. The court will go by the signed statement." Solicitors....ditto. Oh, and then the great advice "NEVER EVER EVER signed a document on the doorstep -even if you are given a carbon copy there and then. You are not legally obliged to do any such thing."
And then I was told: "You seem a very honest person. Intelligent but honest. Honest people are always the ones who get screwed over in these cases"
There are other things but I'm not going into those here. I just want the maximum number of people to know what goes on and also, for the Post Office, to cause the maximum amount of embarassment. I've not really started yet but about 5-6000 people being "made aware" is a start.
I've always been fair, honest and stuck to the law. This is what I get.
In case you cannot tell -I am very VERY pissed off. I now await my County Court fine for not having a TV set...nor a TV licence.
I put the whole matter before the court in writing which was totally ignored.
So I got a £70 ($130) fine....plus cost (because I put up a defence) so its £250 ($500+).
And NOW, I have the fine and the TV licence (though I am not watching any TV, and what do I start getting again? Phone calls from TV licensing saying I have no TV licence -three calls so far. This is just pure harassment!!!
In the UK if you own and use a TV set you pay an extortionate licence fee. This is the important highly legal stuff: if you DO NOT have a TV set then you do NOT need a TV licence.
People who know me know I do not watch TV -there is absolutely nothing I'm interested in and I tend to work all day. So, in May, I had no TV set and no TV licence. Someone from TV Licensing called and I explained this to him. I denied him his perceived 'right' to enter and search my property (even the police need a warrant). So he wrote down that I had no TV set and no TV license. Read it back to me. No problem. I signed the statement.
MY BIG MISTAKE
Every day, morning, afternoon and evening 3-4 calls every day up until August telling me I had no TV licence. Now,by July I HAD gotten a small portable TV set and I HAD a licence. I contacted TV Licensing and asked for an explanation because I was getting what was harassment -phone calls every day and doorstep callers.
Apparently, their caller "must have forgotten to process" the documents. So, to up-date things I did as requested and sent a copy of my new TV license to them.
Nothing. Must be sorted then.
October I receive a court summons as I am being prosecuted by TV Licensing for operating a TV set without a license. WHAT???
I try to sort this out. December 2013-May 2014 no, I had no TV set and no TV licence. Sooo? Well, it seems that my doorstep caller falsified and added to the signed statement. "You admitted to have been using a TV set which was plugged-in to a freeview box and had been using this for up to six weeks" I thought "What??" I NEVER said any such thing and I still DO NOT have a freeview box (in fact I do not currently have a TV!) and I have pointed this out in writing and on the form and the response? "You signed the form" -it does not matter if it was added to, falsified later (after THREE MONTHS) it is their "agents" word against mine and he has a signed form.
I explain to the courts. "That might be correct BUT you signed the form. You can't prove anything was added to it because you never had a copy of the document you signed. The court will go by the signed statement." Solicitors....ditto. Oh, and then the great advice "NEVER EVER EVER signed a document on the doorstep -even if you are given a carbon copy there and then. You are not legally obliged to do any such thing."
And then I was told: "You seem a very honest person. Intelligent but honest. Honest people are always the ones who get screwed over in these cases"
There are other things but I'm not going into those here. I just want the maximum number of people to know what goes on and also, for the Post Office, to cause the maximum amount of embarassment. I've not really started yet but about 5-6000 people being "made aware" is a start.
I've always been fair, honest and stuck to the law. This is what I get.
In case you cannot tell -I am very VERY pissed off. I now await my County Court fine for not having a TV set...nor a TV licence.
I put the whole matter before the court in writing which was totally ignored.
So I got a £70 ($130) fine....plus cost (because I put up a defence) so its £250 ($500+).
And NOW, I have the fine and the TV licence (though I am not watching any TV, and what do I start getting again? Phone calls from TV licensing saying I have no TV licence -three calls so far. This is just pure harassment!!!
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