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A comment on Please do not write below the line. Parent comment

Re:Please do not write below the line by renjimen on Monday October 21, 2024 @07:11PM (#41909522)
It's only an offense if you watch live TV [1]. They could have just lumped it in with your taxes, like they do in many other countries with state TV, but this approach in theory lets you opt out, even if they like to check up on you all too regularly. I suppose one downside of the BBC approach is tax is usually proportional to your income, while the TV license fee is not, and in fact you need to pay it even if you have no income. We had great games of hiding our TV in the closet as students whenever the license people came down the street.

[1] https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/t...

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Re:Please do not write below the line by hypeatei on Monday October 21, 2024 @08:50PM (#41910119)
> hiding our TV in the closet as students whenever the license people came down the street

There are people going door-to-door to check TV licenses? Are they cops, what kind of power do they have? Seems extremely annoying and dystopian.

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Re:Please do not write below the line by _Wintermute on Tuesday October 22, 2024 @04:49AM (#41912402)
They have zero power, it's just a man with a clipboard asking to have a look around your house, the correct response is to shut the door in their face.

They rely on a uniform and vague threatening language to trick people into thinking they have any authority.

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Re:Please do not write below the line by Doxin on Tuesday October 22, 2024 @05:09AM (#41912509)
Not a UK citizen, but from previous discussions on the topic:

> There are people going door-to-door to check TV licenses?

yes

> Are they cops?

no

> what kind of power do they have?

none. I mean write you a fine if you admit to illegally watching TV I guess. But as far as I've been told you can have the TV on and visible to the guy and go "nah that's an aquarium" and be fine.

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Re:Please do not write below the line by cardiffspaceman on Monday October 21, 2024 @10:57PM (#41910775)
What happened to the vans with antennae that scanned for operating TVs (there’s an IF oscillator in there I guess) to find unlicensed receivers?
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Re:Please do not write below the line by mr_toad on Tuesday October 22, 2024 @12:31AM (#41911211)
The BBC has never offered any proof or explanation of how they worked, and there is some suspicion that they are fakes used for their psychological effect.
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Re:Please do not write below the line by hoseja on Tuesday October 22, 2024 @03:20AM (#41911974)
You can absolutely listen for the TV heterodyne leakage.
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