this post was submitted on 19 Dec 2024
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Ah ok, same as in Germany then. Though they are getting more and more liberties, to the point of signing you up by themselves and then it's on you to prove you don't own a TV. And since a few years, even a laptop or phone qualifies since you can use those to access public broadcasting channels through their website, making it really hard to prove you got absolutely nothing, unless you can somehow convince them to be both blind and deaf.
In Germany you can eventually get in trouble for not paying it, but afaik that’s not the case in the UK.
Yeah I managed to dodge them for a solid decade and then eventually moved away. Back then it was alright, they had no rights to demand entry just like in the UK, plus if you moved house you could instruct the city hall where you register your residency to put an address block in place (usually used for stalking victims and such, but there is no law forbidding average citizens from using one). That put your name on a blacklist denying access to your whereabouts to anyone but electorate campaigners and the tax office. So the TV fee people knew that I moved (since previous mail bounced), but had no means of getting my contact. I believe nowadays since they qualify as an actual tax they might be legally able to get the data regardless.
Youre allowed to own a tv or other device for gaming and streaming. You just have to show them that you dont have an aerial or dish connected to receive live tv. Bbc iplayer also requires a license. You need to declare that you dont watch live tv or iplayer though, which is pretty easy to do on their website. Ive been declaring no license needed for about 10 years, ive never had an inspection, but I work most days in the week so that doesnt necessarily mean they havent tried.