I refer to the replies to my recent letter to the Bulletin regarding UK television viewing in Majorca. It seems to me that these correspondents are not aware of recent developments in this matter.
1. People over the age of 75 years are exempt from having a UK television licence. We paid our TV licence fee until we were exempt.
2. The Government in the UK decided in 2015 that they would no longer take people to court for not having a TV licence. Obviously the people who have been taken exception to my letter are not aware of this fact and do not read or listen to the UK news. Therefore, how can I be a criminal or doing something illegal as someone has said? What do they do about their BBC licence? Or don’t they watch UK TV?
3. Spain does not have a TV licence as far as I am aware. The fact that the BBC might be going off air - that was not my argument. I am not concerned if it does go off the air - my concern is that they disrupted the independent channels who lost a lot of revenue from their commercials. They do not receive any part of the BBC licence revenue when their programmes are interrupted.
The BBC shows as many repeats as they can, including quiz shows,antique roadshows etc... and I am sure I would not miss it if the BBC disappeared!
Yours truly
C Crane,
Palma
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Just to let you know,C.Crane that you are also wrong about the government changing the law on prosecutions for not having a valid tv licence,the UK government DID NOT decide NOT TO take people to court for not having a valid tv licence,they proposed to make not having a valid tv licence a civil offence rather than a CRIMINAL OFFENCE but with the court appearance, fines and costs still imposed on those convicted of not having a valid tv licence,this WAS REJECTED by the House of Lords in February 2015 and IT REMAINS A CRIMINAL offence of which over 190.000 people are convicted in the UK EVERY YEAR,do try and get your facts right.
Wrong again,C.Crane,in Grimsby alone since December 2015,54 people have been fined a total of over £12000 for watching or recording LIVE tv without a valid licence,their names,ages,offence and amount fined have been published in the Grimsby Telegraph,do look it up on line. Over 400 other people have also been convicted since December 2015 of watching or recording LIVE UK tv without a valid tv licence,names,offence and the amount fined are published in the local newspapers quite legally,do look it up before launching into print,the figures are all on line. The offence they have committed and been convicted of is watching or recording LIVE tv without a valid tv licence,it is not watching or recording BBC tv programmes without a valid licence,nobody has ever been charged with or convicted of that,but watching or recording ANY LIVE tv programme without a valid licence,that is the offence,do look it up.
First and foremost,people ARE still being prosecuted for not having a valid tv licence and watching or recording LIVE tv,ask the 16 people who were prosecuted in Grimsby alone in January 2016 and were fined up to £500 each plus costs,look it up on line and many other cases throughout the UK. At no time did you state you were over 75 and exempt from having to buy a tv licence but most of those watching and recording LIVE UK tv are under 75 so have no such legal exemption,the fact that Spain does not have a tv licence is irrelevant,if you are watching or recording LIVE UK tv. The offence IS NOT watching the BBC without a valid tv licence but watching or recording ANY LIVE tv channel without a valid tv licence,that is the Fact of what people are charged with and convicted of.