600 caught without TV licence in Shrewsbury and Telford
Wednesday 20th July 2011, 5:16PM BST.
More than 600 people have been caught watching TV without a licence in Shrewsbury and Telford since January, new figures revealed today.
Nearly 500 were caught on their doorsteps in Telford, with about 190 in Shrewsbury receiving visits from inspectors over the six-month period.
The figures reveal 140 were also caught in Oswestry as it showed nearly 200,000 were caught out across the UK during the first half of the year.
TV Licensing’s West Midlands spokesman, Mark Whitehouse, said: “While the vast majority of people in the UK pay their licence fee, to be fair to those who pay, we have to be firm with those who try to get away without paying.
“We take TV Licence evasion very seriously and we will not hesitate to prosecute if people continue to break the law.
“We would always prefer people to buy a TV Licence than risk prosecution and give people every opportunity to pay.
“However, we do understand some people may find it difficult to pay their licence fee in one go, which is why we offer numerous ways to spread the cost, including a weekly cash payment plan, a savings card and monthly direct debit scheme.”
Mr Whitehouse said the average evasion rate remained at a low of just over five per cent, meaning that almost 95 per cent of properties were correctly licensed.
Carol Siarkiewicz, executive director at the Institute of Money Advisers, said: “Lots of people struggle with their finances.
“But if you choose to watch TV without being correctly licensed you’re breaking the law and risk making it worse.
“We welcome the ways in which TV Licensing makes it as easy as possible for people to spread the cost of their TV Licence and make payments online.
“But if you’re having trouble, we urge you to give TV Licensing a call or seek help from a free money adviser in your area.”
A colour TV Licence costs £145.50 and is required by anyone watching or recording TV programmes as they are shown on TV, whether they are using a TV set, computer, or other equipment. Anyone watching TV illegally risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000.
By Wayne Beese
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500 in Telford, 190 in Shrewsbury, 140 in Oswestry.Well done Telford top once more,
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Yawn
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Memo to self:
Must not feed the troll…..
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Another pointless and predictable comment from our “bigoted” friend in Shrewsbury.
If you take into account the populations of the 3 towns in question, Telford circa 163,000 Shrewsbury circa 70,000 and Oswestry circa 15,000 then you would expect Telford to be a higher figure.
If you work out as a percentage of the population then it is roughly the same for both towns.
And before “Johnny” tries to correct me the TV licence is per household but population would give a reasonable comparison.
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I believe your assumption is flawed.
I am willing to wager that the average number of people per household in Telford is substantially higher than in Shrewsbury.
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More people in Telford granted, but i bet if you just did a head count the numbers would be similar in Shrewsbury
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So you are trying to say they checked the TV licences for Shrewsbury back in the 1950s when the population was 70,000?
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The recorded population on 1/2/2011 was 70,689.
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Most of the Shrewsbury ones from Harlescott
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It really is about time this archaic licence was scrapped. I don’t see why I should pay it when I am bombarded with highly irritating and far-too-frequent adverts for products and services for which I have no interest whatsoever, on channels that I don’t wish to watch. In fact, many adverts are so annoying that I have made the deliberate decision to never buy that product or otherwise support the company concerned.
The BBC should be funded by subscribers buying a smart card or whatever other method is suitable. I confess that I’d probably buy one, but at least I’d then have the choice. Now THAT would make the BBC perk up, cut the number of their channels by half and improve the quality of their programmes instead of being able to sit back and watch the licence money pour in regardless of what c**p they put on.
As for cable/satellite services, well ’nuff said. The appalling level of repeats, American sourced total braindead programmes, and the extra proliferation of advert breaks leave you dumbstruck. Why the heck do they have to synchronise advert breaks? I’m already paying the subscription, aren’t I?
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I couldn’t disagree more.
If the licence fee was scrapped, then you really would be bombarded with highly irritating and far-too-frequent adverts for products and services for which you have no interest whatsoever.
As it is, the BBC is free from advertising and does not have the same commercial pressure the other channels do, which enables it to produce a diverse range of quality programming.
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obviously you haven’t listened to the bbc local radio recently, it’s full of trailers for their own stuff, the only thing is they are getting paid by the licence payers to do it rather than a commercial entity.the bbc really is the greenest of companies, try going an hour without hearing them recycling something that was said earlier in the day or week.
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Not at all jake , make all bbc channels pay per view, and scrap the licence.
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A ludicrous idea. Without a steady and predictable amount of annual revenue being generated via the licence fee, it would be nigh on impossible for the BBC to produce the type of (generally excellent) programming that it does currently.
Did you know for example that only 75p of your licence fee pays for 40 local radio stations? That’s a bargain. Personally I don’t listen to them, but I still think it’s money well spent and don’t begrudge a single penny of it.
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Let BBC do advertising & get rid off the licence fee. I don’t watch BBC & still have to pay. More money they got. What next? Paying to walk the streets. (Don’t they mint read it and think good idea. xD)
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As I read this news story, I can’t stop thinking how antiqated the whole system is. I can not believe something so simple as watching TV can be made such a big issue. I remember paying for my TV licence every year and recieving threatening warnings when you forget its due. Its quite bizare.
I no longer have to worry about the TV licence and havent for many years, so reading this seems quite alien to me now. In Canada we have the CBC, which is very similar to the BBC, great programming, excellent news coverage, but yes we do have ads. It took a while to get used to, for example Coronation street here has three ad breaks, but they are shorter. What is a pain is the ads are not different every break and sometimes they run the same ad twice in the same break. The simple answer we found was to buy a PVR and watch the show when we wanted to.
I could not go back to a licence scheme, especially as most of our shows come through netflix. The BBC do some great stuff, but to be honest, is it really fair to all the other stations that have to go and seek revenue to exist. In todays society with new technology will the privately funded BBC be the only broadcaster left, as others go out of business as we continue to seek entertainment through other devices.
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Scrap the license- CARS GETTING CRUSHED/BURNT IN TOP GEAR? == YOUR MONEY,
BUYING ANTIQUES FROM ANTIQUE DEALERS IN BARGAIN HUNT AND THEN TRYING ‘TRYING’ TO SELL THEM AT AUCTION (( WHERE THE DEALERS WOULD OF BOUGHT THEM ORIGINALLY!)) FOR A PROFIT?? MONEY LOST == YOUR MONEY?? WHY THE NEEDLESS WASTE?? RADIO 1 DOES ENOUGH INOFFICIAL PRODUCT PLACEMENT/ADVERTISING IN ITSELF? SO MAKE THE BEEB PAY!
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I agree R Richie, we pay for a licence when Top gear “plays football” with perfectly good cars which become right offs at the end! TV companies have endless pots of cash. Sadly, the average working class viewer does’nt…
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So, 600 people at about £50 each is £30000 (ish) how much has it cost to chase them, How much does the ‘spokesman’ cost? what is the point??
I pay my licence and would rather we all did, if we have to, but it seems that the cost of finding the none payers is greater than the ammount not paid – jobs for the boys???
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At £50 a time it’s still nearly £100 cheaper than buying one….that’ll really stop them won’t it?
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stopped paying licence, now just watch dvds and read news on the net. There’s a whole new world away from the box, just suprised we don’t miss it that much. ( mind you it means having real conversations with the missus and eating a civilised meal at the table!!!)
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Confiscate all their TV’s and sell them, rather than wait for the fine to be paid at £2 a week!
No licence, no excuse, then no TV! Now that is what I call a deterrent.
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One way to solve it all SCRAP BBC scrap the licence BBC is a load of rubbish anyway
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Why have a TV Licence
You can use iplayer,itv catchup and more without having a tv licence. More people using a ps3,xbox,wii are giving up the licence costs and still viewing the delayed programs.
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For the love of God , don’t scrap the Beeb or the licence fee . Trust me , over here in the good ole US of A you can see the results . The only thing really worth listening to is NPR or PBS , the closest we can get to an impartial source of information . The alternative is 24 hours of turgid rubbish , Celebrity Nappy Changing , Shag my Trailer Trash Daughter and the like . Oh , and you can get it all from Mr Murdoch , but that seems to be the level we are dropping to anyway , Kevin et al ….
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There is some strong evedence to suggest the BBC is anything but impartial.
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Because if it can receive a tv signal, by law you are required to have a licence and the government are aware most honest decent people would do this whether they agree it is justified or not.
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your wrong andrew, see the bbc website.you can have as many tvs as you like as long as your not watching live tv.
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Does it not depend then on what the implement you are watching tv on is,? a computer which is able to receive a tv needs a licence was not a guy prosecuted the other week ?
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There was a time when a TV licence – and indeed a “radio” licence, (AND a car “radio licence” -who remembers that?) could be justified.
That is: In the EARLY days of Broacasting, relying SOLELY on a network of Radio and TV transmitters – that is using electromagnetic waves to broacast – there was a need to fund the development of that network, and provide a program source (The BBC) to do it.
BUT .. we’ve moved on .. A LONG way.
We have terrestial broadcasting, Sattelite, and of course the internet.
We can argue that we need an independant broadcaster – that is the “BBC” – that is “independant” by way of funding – but really – how relevant is that in these modern times when the world has shrunk to the size of a laptop or even a mobile phone!
The fact is, in my opinion, that the licence fee is totally outdated, and REALLY only serves as an excuse for another TAX.
AND – also – I believe its PRIMARY PURPOSE to fund a pretty far reaching data base of every post code and address in the land!!
(AND … isn”t THAT the reason why the fine for avoiding it is so high at £1000????)
Come on … viewing TV “as it is broadcast” as opposed to watching it via ITV catchup or whatever.. is HARDLY the crime of the century is it?? – Oh yes .. TV licensing can say its “unfair” as everybody else pays it …but …Would YOU pay it if you had the choice ? … now come on ..BE HONEST??
And WHY are the guys from TV licensing SO ARROGANT? WHAT IS IT with them that gives them this “high and mighty attitude that “we need to know”… YOU are breaking the law etc etc becuase you are watching TV at an “unlicensed address” (since when did I have to “license my address???)
Good Grief! …
We get threatening letters every now and then from them at our business address (where of course there isnt a TV) and when you ring them up – they demand to know if you have a TV on the premises.
And my reply?
“Can you tell me if it is a legal requirement in the UK to own a TV or simlilar device which requires me to by a TV licence”
The guys at TV licensing squirm at this – they dont like answering it … until you force them into saying
“no there isnt” .. at which point I then say
“Then you dont need to know” – as I havent got one” so its no business of yours !!
BUT STILL they wont give up … “oh but we need to know if you havent got a tv!!!
To which I jsut repeat the earlier question
And the best bit!!
then you tell them:
“Stop sending me letters – and then they say
“we need your post code !!!”
To which of course the reply is
“you’ve got this wonderful data base which tells you all the addresses which dont have a TV licence.. so you already know where I and all the others are!! – so just stop sending them !!!
Its about time this antiquated system, which is only an excuse for another tax was abolished.
There is more than adequate technology to fund the BBC by way of a monthly subscription..
AND THEN.. if the BBC is as good as it says it is.. we wont mind [aying, and.. if you dont pay.. then you cant watch it!!!
Simples !!
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Some BBC ouput is terrific (eg Radio 4 and the World Service)but, sadly, the licence fee is a regressive tax.
Kat
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