How long do we have to put up with the BBC wasting our license fee money?

Re: One last go

What bothers me about the BBC are the threatening letters they send out repeatedly if you do not have a TV licence, regardless of whether you watch TV or not. Whilst I was a student I didn't watch TV for the whole 4 years of my course as I'm not particularly interested in it. However, I got close to a 100 letters telling me in increasing degrees of anger to buy a licence. They seem to have a cycle that when you reach the end of it resets.

First, you get a black and white letter saying they don't seem to have you registered, would you like one?
Second, you get a red and white letter saying you don't have one and you need to get one.
Third, you get a red and white letter telling you that if you don't get one you will have to go to court as you are breaking the law.
Fourth, you get a pamplet entitled something like 'legal advice for when you are taken to court'. No letter with this one, just the advice and then a page at the back saying 'to prevent this buy a TV licence immediately.

On some of those letters it does say in tiny (and I mean tiny) letters that if you do not watch TV that you should contact them and then they will come around to your house and check that you are indeed not watching TV. However, that is not on all of their letters, and when it is it is in tiny writing at the back (whereas how to pay is all over the thing). If I had been of weaker (or thicker) disposition I might have felt intimidated enough to get one to stop the 'investigations' however, I had my pride and more importantly, I didn't watch TV!

They presume that everyone does unless you tell them differently. Yes, I could have stopped these letters by telling them I don't watch TV, but to be honest I didn't see why I should, I never gave them any indication that I did. After they had completed the cycle above it began again with the first letter.

 

Re: So you believe all the b****cks in the Daily Mail?

Over the last few years it's becoming more and more the case. Manchester has seen a lot of financial service firms relocate some/all of their functions from London to here.

 

Why would you want to feed your TV raw meat?

 

Re: Because the BBC dont turn out tripe at peak time?

I'm glad you brought up Channel 4, seeing as they also are subsidised by the licence fee!

 

Re: I dont know why Im bothering with this

The BBC did not create that culture, that culture was basically part of the attitudes of the 1970's, it is a reflection of what was going on at the time, thereby a large organisation is going to reflect what was happening. People in the public eye are generally seen to be untouchable, the BBC employ people in the public eye. That is a coincidence, not a cause.

 

Re: One last go

Try being self employed & dealing with the Inland Revenue you would really soil yourself then.

If they were soft on collecting money then folks would be complaining only some people bother to pay it.

 

Re: Because the BBC dont turn out tripe at peak time?

Please disregard this - they aren't. Sure I recall seeing years ago that they were.

 

Re: Because the BBC dont turn out tripe at peak time?

I don't watch much TV. Some comedy central. Some Dave. The odd movie and a bit of football. Most of that isn't the BBC. But I gladly pay my £15 because of Radio 4 and test match special.

 

Re: One last go

But they didn't have to collect anything from me as I didn't watch it, it's guilty unless proven innocent with them. Inviting me to join I understand, sending me pamphlets with legal advice for when they take me to court for my £1000 fine, I don't.