h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Does everybody have to pay the licence in Britain?
Or only those, who own a TV set?
Do you have to pay one fee per household or per person?
Is the licence some kind of a tax?

Reading the different threads, I am not sure about what the licence fee is like in Britain. However, I can add something from Germany: Over there, there is the GEZ (short for "Gebühren-Einzugs-Zentrale" = "Headquarters for the collection of (TV and radio) licence fees"). You have to pay one fee per household per month. If you listen to radio only, the fee is approximately €6,-; with TV it is appr. €18,-. If you have a radio or TV set you are obliged to report that to the GEZ. The money collected by GEZ is then shared among the stations that belong to ARD (Germany 1), and ZDF (Germany 2). ARD is the association of the former "local" TV stations like WDR, NDR, SWF, MDR, etc. (nowadays local Germany 3s). Other (private) stations do not get any money from the GEZ.

Now, I am making a very strange and annoying experience with this GEZ: I moved to a place where there isn't any possibility of receiving TV programmes (no cable, no satellite or conventional reception possible). So I reported to the GEZ to unsubsribe my TV set, and that I am only going to use it to watch movies from my VCR. Now, they refuse to unsubscribe (is this the correct term to use here?), because (they say) the fact only of having a device that is capable of receiving TV programmes, is sufficient to have/make me pay the license.

Still in negotiations

HP
»--.

how annoying of them.

well, if it were me i wouldnt pay it. it seems it would cost them a lot to pursue their claim......but don't take my word for it, i'm not a lawyer.

i think the rule in the uk is one license per household with a colour tv. i think black and white tv's are either free or have a cheaper license. every now ang again there is a debate over whether they should charge a license per tv because some people seem to have tv's for all their kids and one in the kitchen and living room and dinning room as well.