On Feb 7, 11:38*am, Charlie Hulme
wrote:

Mizter T wrote:

On Feb 7, 12:36 am, David Hansen
wrote:

On Sat, 6 Feb 2010 21:43:54 -0000 someone who may be "Yokel"
wrote this:-

Argos does as well, resulting
in me having to fill in a form at the counter, not on their pay terminal,
when I bought a TV from them.
Why fill in a form with an address when buying a television?

Telegraphy Act of 1967 (as amended).

I had to fill in such a form when I bought a video recorder from
Tesco.

Does the law also apply to to USB Freeview gadgets, I wonder?

I think it does, yes - the law covers all 'television receiving
apparatus' (or some such) - not saying that retailers necessarily
abide by this though.

But of course the whole issue is becoming far less clear than it once
was - a computer and indeed other internet connected devices can be
used to get television streamed 'live' (the BBC streams BBC1 and 2 and
the news channel), for which a licence fee is a technical requirement.
However the details of people buying computers or other such devices
aren't passed to TV Licensing. Regardless of other issues re the
licence, the simple question of how applicable and relevant it will be
over time, given the advancing and merging of technologies, has to be
asked. Of course I rather suspect that no government of the future is
going to be wildly keen to open the pandora's box that is television
licensing and BBC funding.

On Feb 7, 1:05*pm, wrote:

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 12:03 +0000 (GMT Standard Time),
(Paul Cummins) wrote:
[snip]
Since that day, I have never, and will never, renewed my TV licence.

To be honest I rather have the BBC for all its faults than some of the
alternatives and think the fee is good value compared to them. Its
just their collection agents who need shooting. Cannot be too far away
from the stage when all receiving equipment sound and vision could be
fitted with a card slot or similar. Then we can get rid of the
licence.
People like me can still pay for it ,them who think it is poor value
or claim they only watch Sky or ITV or listen to commercial radio can
avail themselves of them instead.

The BBC's strategy with Freeview, after the collapse of the ondigital/
ITV Digital pay service, was to get lots of digital television kit out
there that didn't have any capability for pay TV - i.e. no card slot,
no decoder etc. Anyone now proposing that the BBC goes subscription
would have to deal with this fait accompli - the installed user base
is simply not equipped for subscription TV, and any attempt to move
the BBC onto a pay TV model would be met with this massive problem.
Greg Dyke et al knew what they were doing with Freeview - they were
guaranteeing the future of the free to air model of broadcasting.

On Sun, 07 Feb 2010 13:05:21 +0000 someone who may be
wrote this:-

To be honest I rather have the BBC for all its faults than some of the
alternatives and think the fee is good value compared to them.

I agree. Less than buying the Scum newspaper every day apparently.

It is the arrogance of the BBC in collecting their subscription, in
particular the threatening unsolicited marketing materials they send
out demanding an answer, which needs to be sorted. I don't have a
subscription for all sorts of things and none of them bombard me
with threatening pieces of paper.




--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000...#pt3-pb3-l1g54

On Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:56:44 +0000, David Hansen
wrote:

It is the arrogance of the BBC in collecting their subscription, in
particular the threatening unsolicited marketing materials they send
out demanding an answer, which needs to be sorted. I don't have a
subscription for all sorts of things and none of them bombard me
with threatening pieces of paper.

But how many of these subscriptions of which you speak are backed by
an Act of Parliament?

Sticking your head in the sand and calling it a conspiracy shouldn't
make it go away.

On Sun, 07 Feb 2010 17:09:20 +0000 someone who may be Ivor The
Engine wrote this:-

It is the arrogance of the BBC in collecting their subscription, in
particular the threatening unsolicited marketing materials they send
out demanding an answer, which needs to be sorted. I don't have a
subscription for all sorts of things and none of them bombard me
with threatening pieces of paper.

But how many of these subscriptions of which you speak are backed by
an Act of Parliament?

Quite a few of them.

The nearest to the BBC are the Performing Rights Society. However,
they do take "get lost" for an answer. The BBC breaks various rules
and regulations by continuing to threaten people who are not
interested in receiving the marketing materials they pour out.



--
David Hansen, Edinburgh
I will *always* explain revoked encryption keys, unless RIP prevents me
http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2000...#pt3-pb3-l1g54

On Feb 6, 10:26*pm, MIG wrote:

Living in London, I have trouble with the ones that insist on a county.

You just put London in again, I think

Living in a Unitary Authority, I have trouble with the ones that
insist on a county (I put the UA name in again). Worse, some assume
that the previous County still exists and insert that automatically.
Then there is the Health Centre one that spells my street name wrong...

On Feb 7, 5:47*pm, ticketyboo wrote:

On Feb 6, 10:26*pm, MIG wrote:

Living in London, I have trouble with the ones that insist on a county.

You just put London in again, I think

Not if there's a drop-down list and it's not there!


Living in a Unitary Authority, I have trouble with the ones that
insist on a county (I put the UA name in again). Worse, some assume
that the previous County still exists and insert that automatically.
Then there is the Health Centre one that spells my street name wrong...

Simply because the county council no longer exists, doesn't mean the
county doesn't exist any more - e.g. Berkshire continues to exist as
an administrative entity (specifically as a non-metropolitan county),
albeit one without a county council. Other places that have UAs
continue to sit within ceremonial counties - e.g. the Borough of
Middlesborough and City of Tork are both UAs, but are within the
ceremonial county of North Yorkshire.

With regards to postal addresses, the situation is different again -
postal counties were in routine use until 1996, and many continue to
use them - see:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postal_county

In article
,
(Mizter T) wrote:

Berkshire continues to exist as
an administrative entity (specifically as a non-metropolitan
county),
albeit one without a county council.

fx: Panto Oh no it doesn't :-)

--
Paul Cummins - Always a NetHead
Wasting Bandwidth since 1981

In message
David Hansen wrote:

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 02:09:54 -0800 (PST) someone who may be MIG
wrote this:-

If you haven't got a TV licence and give your address at Comet or
wherever, you get a letter from the TV licence people PDQ,

Even when there is a licence at a particular address people often
get one of these threats from the BBC. Like all letters from the BBC
the best thing to do with it is use it for compost or shred and
recycle.


You are all mouth David, for a start the letters don't come from the BBC.

--
Graeme Wall

This address not read, substitute trains for rail
Transport Miscellany at www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail
Photo galleries at http://graeme-wall.fotopic.net/

In message
David Hansen wrote:

On Sun, 7 Feb 2010 03:23:13 -0800 (PST) someone who may be Mizter T
wrote this:-

Yes, I know it doesn't make any sense in the context of things -
apologies, yesterday had been a long day.

No problem, most of us have these occasionally.

FWIW, given the keenness for retailers to put one onto their marketing
database, I can well understand wanting to sidestep this somehow.

Hence giving them the BBC television licence address, or the false
flats above the Circle Line, House of Commons, or one of the other
suitable addresses.




Which, of course, can render you liable for prosecution.

--
Graeme Wall

This address not read, substitute trains for rail
Transport Miscellany at www.greywall.demon.co.uk/rail
Photo galleries at http://graeme-wall.fotopic.net/