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[UncleUB]

Yesterday a smartly dressed lady knocked(well actually she hammered)on the front door..

Are you Mr Dawson........No I replied,who are you?.I'm from the Tv licensing Dept about you not having a TV license.  

First of all I'm not Mr Dawson and secondly I have always had a license which is paid for by direct debit.

Is there a Mrs Dawson........ NO,no one here by that name.

How long have you lived here........11 years I replied.

Well according to my Sat Nav this is where it has brought me.. No ** *********** Drive.

We live on the Close.

With that her face went scarlet and she went into issuing a grovelling apology

She won't need the Sat Nav to find her way home,my foot would have sufficed.

[AdrianH]

Oh how I wish I could have been there    I hope you had your hobnail boots on 

[sevenlayermuddle]

Based on a few previous encounters with TV licensing, I'm surprised they didn't stand their ground and insist that your own perception of your own address was wrong.
 

[roseway]

I've had an unpleasant encounter with TV Licensing too. When my sister died, as her executor I informed them of this and told them that her home would be empty until further notice. Three months later a letter arrived from TV Licensing demanding immediate payment of the licence fee and making threats about what would happen if I failed to do so.

These people act as though they have unlimited powers, even though they're just collecting money for the BBC.

[stevie]

A small family run company I worked for a while back, only 6 employees.

One of the partners purchased a TV from Makro`s for his Nieces birthday and the TV licensing Dept were obviously informed that a TV was purchased at this address.

I worked for the company for 5 years and ever so often a letter came through the post saying according to their records we had a TV. No matter what the company did (letters/explanations/phone-calls) the letters arrived regular as clockwork.

I get letters at home saying I do not have a TV license, but the license is in my wife`s name, which funnily enough happens to be the same surname as mine. We haven`t had a visit as yet.

I believe that its also the case that if you live somewhere you must have a TV or the TV licensing dept work on that principle irrespective of whether you do or don`t have or watch TV.

Still I guess it keeps folks in a job.

[sevenlayermuddle]

I get letters at home saying I do not have a TV license, but the license is in my wife`s name, which funnily enough happens to be the same surname as mine. We haven`t had a visit as yet.

That's my situation too, and any time I buy a new freeview box, or maybe a USB TV stick, the threatening letters start arriving.  A shop assistant  salesman once suggested I give a false address, apparently most people do, but I refused on principle.

My response is always the same... I write a polite letter, offering to explain whether or why  I do or don't need a licence, but explaining that I will charge a fee of £20 to cover my administrative costs of disclosing the information.  I also make it clear that I won't necessarily tell the truth for £20, and that I would charge a fee of £100 to tell the truth.  My letter closes with an offer of a prompt payment discount of 25% for either service if a cheque arrives within 7 days.

Despite the fact it's happened at least half a dozen times, they've never yet turned up with a court order to search the premises.  Sadly, I've still not received any cheques either.

[robinsteele]

Uncle,I normally let them door-knockers get one free question in.

Then after the next question I say "WTF has it got to do with you".

[renluop]

In my ~3/4 century of existence and several residences, I've never had them call
, nor have I ever seen a van. So how do they do their targetting; some kind of area profiling, or perhaps totally chaotic record keeping?

The one contact I did have with them was about our upcoming free licence. I applied, as one could, because my wife is 75 soon, as her 2 month toy boy , result chaos. But one forceful letter mentioning parliamentary representative and it was sorted with compensation.

My bet is on chaotic, disjointed record keeping and organisation.

[roseway]

My bet is on chaotic, disjointed record keeping and organisation.

You're very probably right.

[UncleUB]

My bet is on chaotic, disjointed record keeping and organisation.

You're very probably right.

It seems she totally relied on her car Sat Nav to take her to the correct house.

How much a year do these half wits people get...........

[UncleUB]

Uncle,I normally let them door-knockers get one free question in.

Then after the next question I say "WTF has it got to do with you".

I usually save that comment for either TalkTalk or British Gas.

[AdrianH]

Uncle,I normally let them door-knockers get one free question in.

Then after the next question I say "WTF has it got to do with you".

I usually save that comment for either TalkTalk or British Gas.

Snap  oh, and add Sky   

[robinsteele]

Try something else when some "unidentified" person knocks on your door.Let them say a few words and cut in with either

"Is this a religious pitch"

"Is this a sales pitch"

The look on their faces is funny.....


And when I stayed in a flat,my intercom went at about 5.45am.I jumped out of my bed,picked up the handset and shouted

"who the f...s this"

"its Grampian Police CID Mr. N...e"

"WTF do you want"

"its about your car"

A car I sold had been used in a ram-raid and I proved I sold it LOL