TV Licensing PR harlots have been pounding the holiday beat and warning campers about the perils of using of television receiving equipment in their tents without a valid TV licence.
Across the land TV Licensing goons are staking out hedgerows adjacent to campsites. They are equipped with the latest technology, which allows them to detect the merest flicker of television light through translucent tent walls. According to TV Licensing their equipment, which has never been used evidentially in court, is so advanced it can distinguish between a tent and caravan from as little as 50 yards away.
Or so they'd have you believe anyway.
Newbie TV Licensing PR gobshite Dualta Redmond appeared on Andy Comfort's Breakfast Show on BBC Radio Humberside this morning (available for a limited time on iPlayer, about 1 hr 53 mins into the programme). He's a pretty hesitant speaker, which is reflected in the transcipt below.
Having listened to the piece a few times we have some concerns about the accuracy and completeness of Redmond's comments - for example, if TV Licensing called on a holiday cottage and found guests using an unlicensed TV, it would be those guests and not the cottage owner liable to prosecution.
Having listened to the piece a few times we have some concerns about the accuracy and completeness of Redmond's comments - for example, if TV Licensing called on a holiday cottage and found guests using an unlicensed TV, it would be those guests and not the cottage owner liable to prosecution.
A full transcript of Redmond's patter appears below:
Andy Comfort (AC): Campers in East Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire are being urged to make sure they have correctly (sic) licensed for watching television while on holiday this summer.
With many campsites now offering internet access an increasing number of campers are keeping up to date with their favourite programmes live on their tablets and their smart phones.
Well, Dualta Redmond joins me now from TV Licensing. Morning.
Dualta Redmond (DM): Good morning Andy.
AC: So let's get this straight. What are the rules about watching television while you're camping? What can and can't you do?
DM: Yep, well, erm, so, erm the good news is that the majority of people who are going camping this summer will already be covered by their home licence. So that's people who are staying in caravans or who have their touring mobile home hitched up to the back of their car. They will generally be covered by their home licence.
People who are going to stay on campsites where their (static?) is or mobile home, they will also, generally speaking, that's usually the responsibility of the campsite owner to make sure that there are television licences for those. But if you own your own caravan - sorry, static home or caravan - you may need to purchase a second licence or, if all the family are going on holidays with you, you may also be covered with your home licence.
What we'd ask people to do there is go onto the TV Licensing website and kind of just fill in a very short declaration to tell us that all the family will be going to, you know, the static caravan, wherever it may be, and then you'll be covered by that home licence.
AC: So it's as simple as that? Then they don't then have to pay any extra?
DM: No, no, not at all. Erm, the only instance where they may have to pay extra is if the static caravan or mobile home is considered as a second home, so you know, if you go there very frequently and there will be people still left in the family home, and you're back and forth, then it will be considered as a second home. That's only the very small instance where you might have to purchase a second licence, but the vast majority of people, as I say, will be covered by their home licence.
AC: And people who are going away say for a fortnight in a cottage somewhere, what about that? I mean, is the cottage owner then liable to have a TV licence?
DM: Generally speaking, yes - the cottage owner will be liable for that. If the cottage owner hires it out with the purpose of, you know, renting it out to holidaymakers throughout the holiday season, then it will be the responsibility of that cottage owner. But, you know, if there's no television in the cottage and people bring - as a lot of people bring on their holidays now, you know their tablets, mobile phones and that kind of thing - they don't have to worry about a TV licence for those because they'll be covered by their home licence for those as well.
AC: Is it difficult for you to police all of this?
DM: Erm, we police it much in the same way as we police anything else, whether it's, you know, other kind of, whether it's, you know, boats, or residential homes, or campsites, whatever it is. What we do is we try to get the message out there to as many people as possible about their licensing requirements. So, as I say, a lot of people are already covered by their home licence, but we would work with, you know, camping and caravan clubs throughout the UK, campsites, and give them information so that they can in turn give their guests the required information and make sure that they know if and when they need a licence. You know, it's very simple, we get the message out there and most people - around the UK it's 95% of people who are correctly licensed, so the vast majority of people have their licence anyway, so when they go on holiday that doesn't really change.
AC: Dualta, thanks a lot for your time this morning. Dualta Redmond there from TV Licensing.
8 comments:
Thanks for the transcript: listening to someone else's local radio is nobody's idea of fun.
He's on from 1:53.00 to save you suffering someone else's old local radio breakfast news.
Well spotted Anon. Will add that info into post.
I must admit that I basically live in a caravan on various Caravan Club sites across the UK between May and September each year before going back home to South East Asia.
I've never seen a BBC Licensing goon, but if I did then they would get the same treatment at my motor home door as they would if I still had a house in the UK, namely "On your way, slam".
Motor home is Swiss registered to me at my parents home in Zurich as is my Caravan Club membership.
What are the BBC Licensing goons going to do? Get a search warrant?
Don't make me laugh!
Yes, you know, it's all crystal clear, you know?!
I replied:
"OK, I quote from your Dualta Redmond:
http://tv-licensing.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/tv-licensing-camping-it-up-on-bbc-radio.html
"AC: And people who are going away say for a fortnight in a cottage somewhere, what about that? I mean, is the cottage owner then liable to have a TV licence?
DM: Generally speaking, yes - the cottage owner will be liable for that. If the cottage owner hires it out with the purpose of, you know, renting it out to holidaymakers throughout the holiday season, then it will be the responsibility of that cottage owner. But, you know, if there's no television in the cottage and people bring - as a lot of people bring on their holidays now, you know their tablets, mobile phones and that kind of thing - they don't have to worry about a TV licence for those because they'll be covered by their home licence for those as well."
Given that you are now contradicting what your own spokesperson Dualta Redmond said on local radio, can you tell me where in the law it says that I am responsible for telling my guests that I don't have a TV licence for my holiday cottage which doesn't have a TV or broadband, rather than them being responsible for that themselves?"
They replied:
"I'm sorry if my previous explanation was unclear.
If I could explain further to you, if you've paying guests at your holiday home and those guests are using their laptop, mobile phone or tablet, to receive a live TV signal, they would be covered by their home TV Licence as long as the item is running off its own internal battery. The reason for this is the item is mobile and not fixed to one location.
If the same person is using their laptop, mobile phone or tablet to receive a live TV signal, but the item is plugged into a power socket to charge up. As this item is no longer mobile and it's now fixed to one position as its being charged, they would require a TV Licence for the holiday home as their home licence would no longer cover them as they don't own the premises.
In answer to your other question, there is nothing in law that states, if you don't provide any TV receiving equipment and don't hold a licence at the premises you need to inform your guests of this. However I do need to inform you that if you advise the premises isn't receiving a live TV signal, the premises may still be visited by our Visiting Officers. It's unfortunately necessary for TV Licensing to visit homes to confirm there's no television being used as, when we made contact on these visits, nearly a fifth of people were found to require a licence. If your guests where to be using TV receiving equipment as mentioned above, they may be liable to a £1000 fine.
I hope this has now clarified the situation and thank you again for contacting me."
Thanks for your comment PeterinScotland. I note TV Licensing's response that: "If your guests where to be using TV receiving equipment as mentioned above, they may be liable to a £1000 fine."
That does directly contradict what TV Licensing's "spokesman" Dualta Redmond said on the Andy Comfort Show on BBC Radio Humberside on 22nd July 2013.
There's no grey areas with that. Redmond incorrectly said: "If the cottage owner hires it out with the purpose of, you know, renting it out to holidaymakers throughout the holiday season, then it will be the responsibility of that cottage owner."
I have removed one in PeterinScotland's comments at his request, so I can make a slight edit.
The new version is quoted below:
I emailed TVL thus:
"Do you know, your lady on the phone about [address redacted] just told me the exact opposite of what Dualta Redmond said on BBC Radio Humberside - http://tv-licensing.blogspot.co.uk/2013/07/tv-licensing-camping-it-up-on-bbc-radio.html regarding a holiday property without a TV provided where people may bring their own mobile phone. I think you need to know what your staff are talking about. I'm not going to go nagging my guests about what they may or may not bring with them."
They replied:
"Thank you for your email of 22 October, which has been recorded under your complaint reference 573784. Please use this number if you wish to contact us again.
I'm sorry you've been given conflicting information about the need for a TV Licence at a holiday home.
If I could explain to you, if you own a mobile home, caravan or a static caravan, as this is a movable structure, you may be covered by your home licence. To be covered by your home licence, the whole family unit must be visiting the holiday home and there must be no simultaneous use of equipment at the home address and the holiday home.
If you own a cabin, lodge, or any other type of permanent structure as a holiday home, as this is a permanent structure and can't be moved, you would require a separate licence as this would be classed as a second home.
With regards to owning a holiday home that you rent out, as you're the landlord, whether it's a movable structure or a permanent structure, you'd be required to purchase a licence for the premises if you provide any TV receiving equipment.
If you didn't provide any TV receiving equipment, as long as you inform your guests that you don't provide a licence, it would be their responsibility to ensure they are licensed. They wouldn't be covered by their own home licence as they aren't the owner of the holiday home.
I hope this has explained the situation for you and thank you for contacting me."
Thanks admin for editing this.
Just to make clear to other readers, The edited comment is the start of the conversation with TVL and was written before the other one.
Post a Comment