Polish TV licence (abonament) - almost no-one I know pays

VarsovianThreads: 91 Posts: 568 Joined: Nov 23, 06 ♂	Mar 30, 10, 14:08 #1
I'm amazed TVP can still function as an organisation. Mind you, they do have adverts. In the UK, you simply can't get away with it if you live anywhere on a permanent basis. During my first year of married life I had better things to do than watch TV, and the TV inspectors came round 5 times. We were out every time - working, you see. That fooled them.

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Mar 30, 10, 23:17 #2

Varsovian:

During my first year of married life I had better things to do than watch TV, and the TV inspectors came round 5 times.

Not one prosecution has ever succeeded on the basis of those 'detector vans' - in fact, if you bother to read up on how TVL operate, they rely on people admitting all to the 'inspectors' - if you simply tell them to get lost, there's absolutely nothing they can do - judges are very reluctant to award search warrants on the basis of "i fink they're watching telly guv'nor".

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Mar 30, 10, 23:21 #3

Hopefully over the next few years the whole idea of needing a TV licence will be left in the past. In the UK it's really strange how the government pushes the idea of every house contain broadband, while they still make us pay for television. Lining the pockets of the BBC and making a little bit more tax for the gov top waste.
This is the modern world, the TV licence should be left back in the 20th century.

jonniThreads: 26 Posts: 4,181 Joined: Nov 27, 07 ♂	Mar 30, 10, 23:24 #4
I never had a TV licence in the UK and certainly not here. There's very little they can do except harass people.

dtaylor5632Threads: 49 Posts: 4,459 Joined: May 2, 09 ♂	Mar 30, 10, 23:30 #5
jonni: I never had a TV licence in the UK and certainly not here. There's very little they can do except harass people. Snap! And now when you buy a TV you must buy a TV licence with it. I was astonished when I bought a new tele for my cousins Christmas only to be asked my address and I.D for them to check if I had a TV licence already bought. Pure cheek of it!

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Mar 31, 10, 02:03 #6

dtaylor5632:

Snap! And now when you buy a TV you must buy a TV licence with it. I was astonished when I bought a new tele for my cousins Christmas only to be asked my address and I.D for them to check if I had a TV licence already bought. Pure cheek of it!

ID?! I'd tell them to get lost - it's not the law to provide ID when buying a telly, though it is the law for you to supply a name and address. You could even go one further and point out that the only acceptable form of ID in the UK is the passport - which has no address.

General rule when buying something like this is to always write nonsense, just to mess up their database that little bit more.

dtaylor5632Threads: 49 Posts: 4,459 Joined: May 2, 09 ♂	Mar 31, 10, 02:08 #7
That's what I did, gave them a Polish name and an address of a house that had now been demolished, 2 seconds later they checked the records and gave me a form to fill as database didn't have me down as owning a licence. This new system is basically set up to suck the last of the cash out of licence payers as they know that the licence will cease to exist for much longer.

time meansThreads: 9 Posts: 2,306 Joined: Apr 21, 08 ♂	Edited by: time means Mar 31, 10, 13:32 #8
dtaylor5632: And now when you buy a TV you must buy a TV licence with it. . I bought a new tv a month or so back and nobody asked for anything like that.

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Mar 31, 10, 13:44 #9

dtaylor5632:

Snap! And now when you buy a TV you must buy a TV licence with it.

Really? I thought they just notified the licencing people about you...

time means:

I bought a new tv a month or so back and nobody asked for anything like that.

You dont, but you fill in details when you purchase a TV and these are sent on to the licencing people.

delphiandomine:

ID?! I'd tell them to get lost - it's not the law to provide ID when buying a telly,

Yes it is, but you could always pay with cash and give the address of a friend with a TV licence.

Personally I pay my £150 a year, Id rather not break the law - its just one less pair of shoes!

dtaylor5632:

licence payers as they know that the licence will cease to exist for much longer.

Dont count on it, its a nice little money earner they're not about to get rid of any time soon, TV advertising isnt as lucrative as it used to be since the internet became so popular.

VarsovianThreads: 91 Posts: 568 Joined: Nov 23, 06 ♂	Mar 31, 10, 15:51 #10
I was harrassed because I was the only one on the street not to have a licence! No great philosophy behind that. They just assumed I had a telly and came to check me out. Size 10 footprints in the flower bed as they peered in through the window.

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Mar 31, 10, 17:09 #11

Amathyst:

Dont count on it, its a nice little money earner they're not about to get rid of any time soon, TV advertising isnt as lucrative as it used to be since the internet became so popular.

Well it will certainly seem pointless that now ( i think) that the law has changed in the EU and you can access British TV throughout the EU.

Amathyst:

its just one less pair of shoes!

Oh NO!!!! not the extra pair of shoes! :) I have the picture of the new Specsavers advert, you walking around Manchester being followed by a pair of Gucci shoes, thinking "If only I didn't pay my TV licence" :D

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Edited by: delphiandomine Mar 31, 10, 17:42 #12

Varsovian:

I was harrassed because I was the only one on the street not to have a licence! No great philosophy behind that. They just assumed I had a telly and came to check me out. Size 10 footprints in the flower bed as they peered in through the window.

It doesn't mean a damn thing

The golden rule with TV licence inspectors - never, ever allow them into your property. You can actually entirely legally put a notice up saying that representatives of Capita are banned from your property - and you're perfectly entitled to use reasonable force to remove them if they turn up.

They would never get a search warrant on the basis of seeing a television turned on, particularly as you only need a licence to watch live TV.

Think Twice	Mar 31, 10, 18:08 #13
Polish TV licence (abonament) - almost no-one I know pays Don,t blame them , TVP is crap and run by morons. eg. M Jak milosz ( sorry can,t spell in Polish ) given preference over live football. Back in UK pre-recorded programs are screened later in such circumstances.

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Apr 1, 10, 22:11 #14

dtaylor5632: I have the picture of the new Specsavers advert, you walking around Manchester being followed by a pair of Gucci shoes, thinking "If only I didn't pay my TV licence" :D

You bar steward!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Thanks for reminding me!!!!!! Not quite Gucci at a £150 (I wish! its hard to find Jimmy Choo's in the sales that low!)

Back on track

dtaylor5632: i think) that the law has changed in the EU and you can access British TV throughout the EU.

You still need a licencing number.

delphiandomine: The golden rule with TV licence inspectors - never, ever allow them into your property. You can actually entirely legally put a notice up saying that representatives of Capita are banned from your property - and you're perfectly entitled to use reasonable force to remove them if they turn up.

You are evidently unaware of the law Delph! If you are breaking the law which you are by not buying a TV licence (the term is evading), then you are liable...and the £1,000 fine you are culpable for - so if they pursue a fine and then pass on to a debt company it esculates, its rather not worth it. As I said, I pay mine, rather than be a scum bag that enjoys the benefits rather than paying...Call me old fashioned but I'd rather abide by the law in the country I live, like all my family do...silly me for not breaking the rules! You lot who did are obviously so rock 'n' roll! :D <sarcastic tone implied>

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Edited by: TIT Apr 1, 10, 22:22 #15

Amathyst: You are evidently unaware of the law Delph! If you are breaking the law which you are by not buying a TV licence (the term is evading), then you are liable...and the £1,000 fine you are culpable for - so if they pursue a fine and then pass on to a debt company it esculates, its rather not worth it. As I said, I pay mine, rather than be a scum bag that enjoys the benefits rather than paying...Call me old fashioned but I'd rather abide by the law in the country I live, like all my family do...silly me for not breaking the rules! You lot who did are obviously so rock 'n' roll! :D <sarcastic tone implied>

was getting these funny letters for over a year, nothing happened, no sod came to my house

SeanusThreads: 22 Posts: 30,158 Joined: Dec 25, 07 ♂	Apr 1, 10, 22:25 #16
Pull the Scottish trick and switch off the colour when he comes round ;)

SeanBMThreads: 41 Posts: 8,727 Joined: Mar 10, 08 ♂	Apr 1, 10, 22:26 #17
In Poland they said they were thinking of doing away with the T.V. licence. After that anyone who was paying stopped, that was about a year and a half ago.

TITThreads: 9 Posts: 353 Joined: Jan 7, 10 ♂	Apr 2, 10, 02:07 #18
Amathyst: the Brits kep the car industry in Germany hahhahahahahahahahaha serously?

delphiandomineThreads: 42 Posts: 9,954 Joined: Nov 25, 08 ♂ [Suspended]	Apr 3, 10, 13:10 #19
grubas: I don't know.But I am sure I won't see it in PL. True, Poland doesn't pay out to people that don't live or work here. grubas: True, but no sales tax,low property and state tax. DE See also : hideously expensive universities which require taking stupidly large loans, no state healthcare system, most states have high property and sales taxes...you really can't compare.

landoraThreads: 1 Posts: 191 Joined: Oct 14, 09 ♀	Apr 5, 10, 23:51 #20
They sent me letters when I was living in the student halls. I didn't have a tv, so I didn't reply. Finally a Great Scary Warning came through, so I called them and shouted at them, and they never sent me anything again.

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