Hot off the press at Mumsnet today:
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TV Licensing guy turned up on doorstep and was very aggressive. I was so frightened I just answered his questions.
We'd moved very recently and have a TV licence, just hadn't notified TVL. I checked with them and that's no problem. The guy found the licence but then didn't seem able to control himself and began to ask me questions and fill in what I now realise was a caution sheet. Thankfully two people who were quoting for works to the flat turned up otherwise he would have entered the property. He asked me all kinds of personal questions in front of them. I know it sounds pathetic but I was just so frightened and confused by the whole thing, I signed the sheet of paper which I didn't even know was a caution sheet. I called TV Licensing and they said once he knew I had a licence he should have stopped.
I reported him to the Police and they were shocked I'd been questioned under caution when I'd committed no offence. I was in tears. I also feel such a fool for not having understood what was going on and allowing myself to be intimidated.
I read up on it afterwards and discovered that BBC outsource this to Capita. The DG of the BBC ordered an investigation into their tactics last year. But it looks as though they are still operating in same way and they actually target vulnerable people. I've always been a supporter of the BBC but this experience has shocked me. Should the BBC really be allowed to outsource to Capita knowing how they operate?
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Having established that Mumsnet user mainlymoderate held a TV licence, albeit having forgotten to transfer it from her previous address, we're struggling to see what this particular TV Licensing goon was hoping to achieve by interviewing her under caution.
What he should have done, in accordance with the TV Licensing Visiting Procedures, was transfer the licence across to the new address.
Technically speaking a TV licence is only valid for the property whose address it displays. That being the case, mainlymoderate may have inadvertently committed an offence by using TV receiving equipment at her new address before the licence was transferred. Even so, there would be no public interest whatsoever in pursuing such a case. Any attempt by TV Licensing to prosecute in these circumstances would be sheer vindictiveness.
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3 comments:
it's likely that the Clown-Goon was only interested in getting a code 8 to keep his Boss-Goons happy. It's clear they target people that they regard as vulnerable in some way - I just ignore them and they haven't bothered me for years.
It strikes me that this Mumsnet user has a good chance of getting some compensation from the BBC over this - especially if she complained and said something like "I'm going to contact my MP". The BBC will be very nervous of adverse publicity at the moment with the Over 75s TV Licence consultation still going (the consultation is going until Feb 12.) It's clear that the BBC is planning to pick the pockets of the elderly.
It's interesting that the BBC has provided the following freepost address for the Over 75's TV Licence consultation:
Freepost, BBC Consultation.
The BBC will have to pay the postage of all submissions sent to this address. They'll also have to pay for the submissions to be opened, scanned and processed.
If everybody had a phone a friend agreement nobody would be isolated that way tvl would be dealt with by an assertive 3rd party they wouldnt like that at all.
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