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Post by Emily on Jun 12, 2006 10:49:14 GMT
I hatehatehate them! Sins of the tv license company
1) it only pays for the BBC, so why do you HAVE to have it? you even have to have one to own 'tv receiving equipment', so lets say you had a set to play your playstation on, but it wasn't tuned in, they can still fine you!
2) Harassing and victimising persons (ie myself) who did not have a TV in halls, with threatening letters, and not believing me when i repeatedly informed them of my not owning a TV. Also for putting scary 'big brother is watching you' facist adverts on the television.
3) Ignoring people who DID have a tv and no license in halls.
4) Failing to notic that one house has two tv licenses in different names: i) in Tim's house where they had been taking some poor woman's money by direct debit for lord knows how long before he noticed and told them she didn't live there anymore. ii) in our house where they started harrassing us about our previous occupant's license expiring despite the fact we'd bought one of our own.
5) Turning up at Tom's house with a search warrant AFTER HE'D PAID HIS LICENSE, because the correct bit of filing had been sent to the wrong office. luckily he was out when they came by, and had time to correct the mistake before they came back and issued an on-the-spot fine.
6) latest in the string of insults and incompetance, when I went to fill out my license for this year (by cheque, there's no way in hell I'd let them get my bank details) the envelope I have to send it in says "affix stamp here". thats right, you have to PAY for the privelege of sending them YOUR MONEY, because they cant be bothered to send you a postage paid envelope.
I swear, if there was one government agency I could blow up, Fight Club style...
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Post by Ally on Jun 12, 2006 11:30:50 GMT
5) Turning up at Tom's house with a search warrant AFTER HE'D PAID HIS LICENSE, because the correct bit of filing had been sent to the wrong office. Their job is nothing more than moving little pieces of paper around and they still can't get it right...God, they're as bad as the Job Centre (who had me coming in every fortnight to full out the wrong form for SIX MONTHS before they noticed...)
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Post by petrobrad on Jun 12, 2006 11:50:08 GMT
Yes TV license people are evil, in the first yr I kept on getting the 'you don't have a tv license so get one now' letters when I didn't have a TV. How halls were also stupid because even though we lived in flats, you had to get seperate licenses for each room including the kitchen . Complete scabs, don't they get enough money from just one address why did they have to seperate the flats into 7 addresses (6 rooms, 1 kitchen). Fortunately this year I got the license shortly after we moved in so we haven't had any hassle and we just paid in cash at the post office so no problems with paying postage. Also having a stamped copy of the license is handy so I can wave it in front of anyone who comes round claiming we haven't paid.
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Post by Ally on Jun 12, 2006 15:54:51 GMT
Yeah, I think it's harsh they can't just slap the licence fee on the whole building and have done with it. I'm sure the BBC's not THAT short of money...
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Post by Animae on Jun 12, 2006 17:55:51 GMT
Hold on one second. YOU HAVE TO HAVE A LICENCE TO OWN A TV? ? What in the name of gods? You spend like $300 on a tv, and then your supposed to pay a tax on it? and you pay for public tv? which is what I assume the bbc is, I asssume its like CBS, NBC and ABC, and fox. here you only have to pay for cable, and the antenna you need to get reception on your tv.
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Post by Emily on Jun 12, 2006 19:05:23 GMT
Yeah, you have to pay for the right to watch tv here in england, it pays for the BBC, which is our advert free- (sort of) goverment run tv/radio company. I say sort of because the BBC and the goverment don't really get on, after the BBC claimed that the Iraq war was illegal and the government made the headman resign, then it turned out the war was Illegal and tony blair didn't have to resign (this is a very simple version of the whole ordeal), and now the BBC pokes fun at the government whenever possible. here in england your tv options are: Analogue: 5 channels. Digital Freeview: about 25 channels. Cable or satellite: as many pointless channels as you can buy!
You need a license to own a tv, it costs £131.50 a year, which is probably around $200. The tv license company are the scum of the earth.
(aw wow, i'm in your quotes)
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Post by beckini on Jun 12, 2006 19:17:03 GMT
they did that to my friend, they wanted to fine her lots of money when they realised that the liscense had been for the communal TV in my house nad not specifically for her own TV
she was really worried
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Post by Animae on Jun 12, 2006 19:41:33 GMT
Well thats some bullshit right there. what dickwads. If your going to be all fascist about TV of all things, at least do it right and don't harass innocent people.
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Post by Ally on Jun 12, 2006 23:32:13 GMT
I think freedom of information should do exactly what it says on the tin...Fuckers!
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Post by Emily on Jun 13, 2006 15:54:21 GMT
they did that to my friend, they wanted to fine her lots of money when they realised that the liscense had been for the communal TV in my house nad not specifically for her own TV she was really worried Hang on wait a second? Do you have a communal contact for your rent on your house? because unless each room is rented seperately with a seperate contract, seperate electricity meters et c, they shouldn't be allowed to do that. we rent our house under one contract and we each have a tv in our rooms...
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Post by Crazydave on Jun 13, 2006 22:08:24 GMT
honestly, they are scum.
every person in our house got sent 4 different letters during the year, each more bulling than the last... they have this logic that "IF YOU DON'T HAVE A LICENSE, YOU MUST BE STEALING TV". >_>
one of the girls screamed down the phone at some poor woman, and got taken off the mailing list.
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Post by Lu on Jun 14, 2006 14:26:42 GMT
Was visiting hattie in oxford yesterday and she recieved to letters on the same day, one reminding her that she hasnt got a tv license, and one to the affect that there sending the boys round, despite the fact she hasnt got a tv in her room and the house already does have a tv license. these people need bitch slapping
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Post by beckini on Jun 14, 2006 19:28:17 GMT
they did that to my friend, they wanted to fine her lots of money when they realised that the liscense had been for the communal TV in my house nad not specifically for her own TV she was really worried Hang on wait a second? Do you have a communal contact for your rent on your house? because unless each room is rented seperately with a seperate contract, seperate electricity meters et c, they shouldn't be allowed to do that. we rent our house under one contract and we each have a tv in our rooms... no it was a uni house, everything happenned in one bit as in u just paid one bit of rent etc
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Post by Ally on Jun 19, 2006 17:47:00 GMT
As we're institution-bashing...
I fucking hate the NHS! They are possibly even more incompetent than the TV licence people!
- They've tried to prescribe me steroids for EVERYTHING I've been to them about ("Little lumps on your wrists? Take these! Sure, they'll make you gain 4 stone and bugger up your fertility, but who cares?" - I refused them, btw)
- I won't go into much detail on this one or Stu will be scarred for life, but let's just say some of my organs don't know what the fuck time of month it is...
- The whole fiasco with them not even letting Em have a PARACETAMOL after her accident.
- When my grandma went to A&E about a nasty splinter in her hand, they stuck her in a room for 12 hours without even a drink of water, then eventually told her they couldn't do anything, kicked her out and left her to make her own way home (very dehydrated and confused)
- And finally, they've now decided that my mum (who has been an insulin-dependent diabetic for the past 30 years) has to prove that she needs her insulin. The Nazi bitch of a nurse wouldn't even have given her this month's supply if a doctor who knows my mum hadn't happened to walk past. I can't decide if it's a ploy to free up NHS funds by bumping off the diabetics, or just gross stupidity.
Aaaand I'm done. (Although I'm sure other people will have their own horror stories)
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Post by Emily on Jun 19, 2006 20:03:11 GMT
one of my friends at uni gets tension related headaches, her doctor tried to put her on ANTI DEPRESSANTS. She picked up the prescription, read the accompanying leaflet and deigned that there was no way she would willingly ingest one of the damn things.
Anti- depressants are one of the worst things that ever happened to society in my opinion. "Why solve a psychological problem when you can sweep it under the rug with emotion numbing drugs. All you have then is people with depression AND an addiction.
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Post by Ally on Jun 19, 2006 22:34:16 GMT
It's like trying to tackle violence on TV by pressing the mute button.
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Post by Animae on Jun 19, 2006 22:59:13 GMT
I'm quite fond of my anti anxiety drugs.
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Post by Emily on Jun 20, 2006 9:37:47 GMT
wouldn't you feel better if you just didn't feel anxious in the first place though?
I for instance had the psychological problems back in the days when you could still get proper counselling. Sure, I loathed my psychologist but now I'm not a nutter. comparatively speaking.
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Post by Lu on Jun 20, 2006 10:22:03 GMT
Anti- depressants are one of the worst things that ever happened to society in my opinion. "Why solve a psychological problem when you can sweep it under the rug with emotion numbing drugs. All you have then is people with depression AND an addiction. Granted most people with depression should be having councelling rather than drugs but do realise that for some people its a chemical problem within the body that no amount of talking to will solve. can also be dietary in which case anti depressants or therapy wont fix it
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Post by Ally on Jun 20, 2006 11:28:42 GMT
But surely they should only give the antidepressants to the people who have that chemical imbalance? Of course, that would make the companies less money...
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