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

Kelli, I'm not sure about this, but I seem to remember that if you use a tv away from your principle residence, unless it's battery powered, you end up paying two licences... I think all the information should be printed on the back of your current licence.

Thought that might be the case

I haven't seen my actual licence for ages (I pay by DD) - I heard somewhere that if your address has a licence then they are very unlikely to send somebody round to knock on the door and demand to see it. New TV purchases usually lead to a visit though, I heard (from nebulous unnamed sources) that the shops take your name and address and pass the info on to the licencing folk. That might have been paranoia though - and they just visit addresses with no licence after christmas to make sure you didn't get one from santa.

I bought a brand-new tv last year, and got no visit.

I pay my licence by DD - 1st monthly, have done for years, I always get a new licence in the post every year. If you don't get one, you should ask for one. Keep it under your tv set...

I don't know about the TV set retailers passing on information automatically to the licencing authorities, but I suppose its like anything nowadays, the moment you fill in your name and address on a form, unless you tick the little tiny box somewhere near the bottom of page 147 of the small print, they've the right to sell your name and address to marketting companies... buy a new tv and three weeks later you'll get advertising through your door offering you a special deal on a new Video/dvd/cable hookup etc. The licencing authorities would be fools if they didn't make the most of this information and buy the addresses.

They may be required by law to pass that information on. Pretty easy way of keeping things reasonably smooth running, in my opinion.

Yes, they do pass the info onto the Licensing Authority and they just have to do a database check to see if your property is covered by a license.

Hmm, wonder if they've got round to figuring out that you don't need a TV to watch TV anymore.... TV tuner cards for PCs are getting very very cheap.

But what if some untrustworthy person would give the wrong address when buying a new tv? Wouldn't that mean that the controll guys gets sent out to the wrong address?

I really need to check if my licence is still listed on my previous flat...

Monitor size very very small.

Tv tuner cards, and such. Computer retailers (such as a World that sells PCs ) take your name and address when you buy this kind of thing too! At least, they did when I worked there. And they database on the tills system checks postcodes and stuff to make sure the address is valid!

There is no escape ....unless you go to a computer fair

Whisky, about the little tick in the little box on page 1202, or where ever it is, I know that there is a company around that will take your name off all (in theory) mailing lists and so on in the UK. I learned this from working in the wonderful world of telesales.

Xanatic, don't worry. All is fare in love and internet. I have never had my own tv licence seeing that it has always been my flatmates or family members who have owned a tv, I have never had the occasion to find out the rules regarding licensing. I am beginning to suspect that I am what some people refer to as a cheep g*t. example; I walk everywhere within one hours distance because I don't want to pay the £1 for the bus.

Yours with a smile, the creature sometimes know as ebert.

Pay for mine by stamps at the moment whilst I'm at uni.

Even if you don't own a TV, you need a TV licence if you intend to watch DVDs on your PC. I know it's crazy but its true, a friend of mine at uni got fined because he didn't have a TV licence and was doing just that.

If the legislation gets the go ahead, UK citizens may have to own a TV licence if they intend to watch streaming media files over the Internet, for what the rest of the world gets for gratis

Yes we pay

which miffs me no end, now the bbc have started showing more and more adverts, expecially for the program about to be shown.

But it's still no adverts, since they don't actively try to make you buy something (except for the Radio Times and all those damn gardening books) like regular adverts do.
And there is no way you can call a trailer an advert as they only give you information on what will be showing and what might be of interest to the viewers. It's still just a trailer.

There was a particularly annoying trailer after ER on sunday on E4. The program left you with the cliffhanger 'Has Mark's tumour come back' (incidentally, a more unlucky couple cannot be found in the world than Mark and Elizabeth - even people in eastenders have a better time of it). The trailer that followed showed the specialist telling him that there was definite regrowth.

*waves to Kaz*

Well, okay, that's just piss poor planning to put the trailer for next week's show just after the show you just watched. And to have the answer to the cliffhanger in the trailer is also just stupid, but isn't that pretty much the same as the TV listings papers here telling everyone what'll happen "this week" in all the soaps? You don't even have to watch it to follow the story...

Cheers, Kelli. Hadn't seen the trailer, but now I know anyway.
Probably won't help those watching on Channel 4 either as they are about a month behind anyway...

I think they actually put the trailer over the closing credits so you couldn't miss it.

Ooops

Sorry!

Erm, have some and a .
I was lying and made up the example. Erm.

Well, in that case, Kelli, it's not the fault of Channel 4, it's part of the closing credits shown in the US as well. It's meant to be there.

No great harm done. As I already knew who has signed for the next series, it wasn't a great surprise...