Comments on: The (TV) Taxman Cometh

By: Alexis

Alexis — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:53:24 +0000

When I studied abroad in London, our tuition went to the school and they were supposed to pay rent and other expenses. However we got SEVERAL letters in the mail saying that we were watching TV illegally and they were going to come take our TV away…I put the letter in my scrapbook.

By: Toby Bo

Toby Bo — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 06:54:33 +0000

The science behind the van is simple.The van broadcasts a television signal to sets in a small area.Special audio playing from the set speaker is detected by microphone.There was no return on the investment in vacuum tube rolling television stations.Brits are so ignorant of science that the van only needed to display cheap stickers.A practical process would be in an office cross checking computer databases and flagging mismatches for sticker inspection.Brit celebrities are quizzed about the current cost of the license fee to expose a Tory with tatoos.

By: Colin GG

Colin GG — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 03:16:48 +0000

I used to live in London and my British roommates never took the letters from the TV license people seriously. The freeview thing is a good deal though – you pay Â£30 for a box and nothing more, and it’s upwards of 100 channels (though like in the US a lot of them you’d never watch).

By: Nikki

Nikki — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 22:35:28 +0000

It has been shown in court that the TV Licensing company won’t show how their ‘surveillance vans’ work and therefore it is not used as evidence. Most of us Brits regard them as a myth nowadays and I in fact have not heard mention of them for quite a few years.

I find the TV Licensing company extremely rude. When I was at university I received a barrage of letters telling me they ‘knew’ I had a TV. I did not. I eventually got hold of them and they said they’d send someone round to check my premises. I have no idea if they ever did as I lived in halls with no outside bell!

By: Dom

Dom — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:38:55 +0000

I’d trade Â£140 a year for not having to put up with the constant ad breaks which appeared to interrupt telly in the US.

This pays for 7/8 channels, a similar number of radio stations, and probably the best news website in the world.

By: alice

alice — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:35:34 +0000

@Lindsey, most people in the UK use either freeview (which is a box that gives you a fair amount of channels) Sky TV (which is like dish network) or Virgin, which is cable.

By: Lindsey

Lindsey — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 21:18:02 +0000

“an American who assumes that television should be free”

-It’s been my experience as an American that if you want to watch more four channels, you’re going to have to pay for TV. And considering my cable bill, (even with the exchange rate) 140 pounds a year sounds like a steal. Unless you are additionally paying for cable or something similar.

By: Steven

Steven — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:54:25 +0000

In the Monty Python “Fish License Sketch,” there is reference to the “cat detector van.” From the “Ministry of Housinge,” “their equipment could pinpoint a purr at four hundred yards.”

By: Hyacinth

Hyacinth — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 18:10:05 +0000

Living in London for a couple years long ago, I had a TV but didn’t pay the tax. I guess it was on occasionally because that’s how I got hooked on Keeping Up Appearances (note the moniker). I lived in an apt. building so maybe back then they didn’t have the technology to pinpoint which apt. had the TV on.

By: alice

alice — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:18:16 +0000

Ranger, the only people in the UK that don’t watch the BBC don’t have TV’s. Also, the people in the UK look on the BBC with a lot of pride, they’re pretty happy to pay the fee. Also, you can pay the license fee in monthly installments.