There's been a recent drought of TV Licensing goon videos, so we are somewhat relieved that our noble colleague BanTheBBC has just uploaded new footage to his YouTube channel.
Details are patchy about this one, so we'll try to fill in the gaps sometime in the future.
The Scottish-sounding occupier, who does not legally require a TV licence, claims to have been harassed by TV Licensing on numerous previous occasions. His dialogue with the goon conveys his frustration at TV Licensing's arrogant assumption that he should have prove his innocence.
To his credit, the beanie-wearing goon acts in a civil enough manner throughout, although towards the end he is clearly uncomfortable with the occupier's line of questioning. We highlight his opening salvo that his mission was to get the premises set up with a TV licence it doesn't require.
Below, for educational purposes, we have transcribed the short encounter between goon and occupier:
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Occupier: You don't mind that I'm videoing this? Yeah, what's the problem?
Goon: So, it's just that we sent some letters out to you and I'm just following up on them to get the premises set up with a TV licence.
Occupier: First of all, why are you here harassing me?
Goon: I'm not harassing you. I'm allowed to knock on your door, but if you don't want me here I am more than happy to leave. It's not a problem. Thank you. Bye.
Occupier: No. Come here. What's all this? [holding a hand full of TV Licensing threatograms]
What's with all these threatening letters?
Goon: I don't send the letters or anything Sir.
Occupier: No, you represent the company that send these letters. That's why you're here.
Goon: I'm just here to try and get the licence sorted out. That's all...
Occupier: No, you're here harassing me.
Goon: I'm not harassing you. If you don't want me here, then I'll leave.
Occupier: Right, can I ask you one question?
You need a licence to have a firearm. If you're suspected of having a firearm, the police would be at my door asking to see the licence. Right? [Goon nods]
I don't have a firearm, so the police don't come to my door harassing me.
Goon: I'm nothing to do with the police or anything.
Occupier: But I get harassed about maybe having a television and not having a licence for it.
You understand my point?
Goon: I understand, but it is the law to have a licence for the television if you're having live television streamed into your property. It's the law. It's like...
Occupier: It's the law that I'm allowed to be harassed on suspicion?
Goon: Well, according to this [gestures with handheld device] you haven't got a TV licence, so it's not suspicion.
Occupier: Because I maybe don't have a television!
Goon: Well if you don't all you have to do is inform us and we won't hassle you... once it's been confirmed.
Occupier: So it's my duty to reply to all this crap that you send me? I've got better things to do than that.
Goon: If you don't have a TV you just inform them that you don't have a television and they will send someone around to confirm with you and then that will be the end of it.
Occupier: Don't bother. I don't want harassed. It's as simple as that.
Goon: I'll report it back to them that you don't want any...
Occupier: Report it back to anyone.
No-one is getting in my door to see if I've got a television without a search warrant...
Goon: That's fine.
Occupier: ...and it'll be a search warrant every single time.
Goon: Okay.
Occupier: I've told you this for the fucking 15 years that I've lived here.
Goon: Have you? You've not told me.
Occupier: Yous have been in my house to check on numerous occasions and you've seen that I don't have a television set.
It's as simple as that. Stop coming to my door harassing me on suspicion of something I'm not fucking doing.
Goon: Okay. Well I'll put that into it, that you don't have a TV set and you don't want harassment.
Occupier: Yes. I don't want letters, I don't want door visits, I don't want harassment.
Goon: Well obviously...
Occupier: It's my fucking right as a human being not to be harassed.
Goon: Well obviously I can't... all I can do is put that down. Okay?
Occupier: How have you got the nerve to come to people's doors demanding to see evidence of some fucking crime they're maybes not committing?
How can you do that?
Goon: Who? Me as a person?
Occupier: Yes.
Goon: Quite easily.
Occupier: How?
Goon: Because I've got to live, like everybody else. And everyone has to earn a living.
Occupier: So you feed on harassment of other people.
Goon: I don't harass anybody.
Occupier: You do. You're standing here harassing me right now.
Goon: I've said to you, I'll go away.
Occupier: You come to my door without any evidence.
Goon: Listen, I said to you I would leave a little while ago, but you wanted to keep me here asking questions. I was being polite...
Occupier: You've come to my door without any evidence.
Goon: I was being polite by staying.
Occupier: You're harassing me without evidence.
Goon: Thanks for your time. [Goon turns to walk down garden path]
Occupier: Harassing me without evidence. That's the bottom line.
Don't come back. Wanker.
____________________
It is clear that the occupier in this video is quite confident in dealing with TV Licensing.
Anyone who lacks the confidence to tackle them head on, should say nothing and close the door.
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3 comments:
Looks like another case of "wrong place, wrong time" for the TVL man. I only hope more people start taking that homeowner's stance and don't just give in to TVL's demands.
I think the Capita guy comes off rather well in that transcript. (I didn't watch the video.) I can understand the occupier's frustration, but he did not present his case well and he appears to have lost his temper. The Capita guy, on the other hand, seems to have behaved impeccably throughout. I know, I know, I know he's Evil Empire and all that. It's like finding a Storm-trooper that kicks your door down at 3am as quietly as he can so as not to wake the kids, and then wipes his feet on the mat before coming in. Bottom line, he's still a Storm-trooper, but I don't think I'd call him a "goon". I think he's just someone who hasn't (yet) thought through the morality of what he's doing for a living.
As a foolish wise man over on one of the more popular TV licence resistance forums would say "Too verbose!" from the homeowner.
The problem with whipping out your Pears soapbox and giving the caller a piece of your mind however well deserved is you run the risk of losing your temper as your reasoning will be wasted on them and you may as well try and reason with a brick wall for all the good it will do you.
Far better to just close the door and say nothing the minute a caller identifies themselves as being from Capita/TV Licencing.
Of course if everyone followed this advice we'd have no YouTube videos of Goon encounters to entertain us :-)
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