# UK TV licence - No TV but a shelf of VHS... **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2002, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076 "2002-10-13T10:44:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/1 "2002-10-13T10:44:00Z")
My TV hasn’t been switched on for months, I’ve watched no more than 10 hours in the last year (mostly around 9/10 actually). I got a letter from TV licensing asking for £100+ for another year of having a TV sat under a table so I’m getting rid of it (it’s an old portable 9" TV). I have a VCR and a self of DVD’s and VHS cassettes. I’m not getting rid of these, someday I will invest in a big TV/projector for watching movies on. If an inspector came (as they’ve said they will if I tell them I do not have a telly) and sees I have videos - can I be fined? I think not, as I won’t have ‘TV recieving equipment’ - They can’t get me on circumstantial evidence can they? CAN they? ---
**Author:** ![Armilla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e19b73/32.png) [@Armilla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Armilla)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 11:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/2 "2002-10-13T11:02:53Z")
The license is for any device that receives TV signals and either records or displays them. So if you have no TV but still have a video recorder then you’re still liable for the fee. Just having video cassettes and DVDs does not mean you have to pay. If you had a DVD player and a projector that could not receive TV transmissions then I think you’d be exempt. Have a look at [www.tvlicensing.co.uk](http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk). If all else fails ring the number on that site and ask them. I’m sure they’re good people and wouldn’t stick your name on the “trying to avoid paying” list and harass you into an early grave. ---
**Author:** ![flapcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@flapcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flapcats)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/3 "2002-10-13T11:40:10Z")
Damned VCR. Oh well, I can sell that too. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/4 "2002-10-13T12:02:04Z")
Maybe I live under a rock, but I never knew that in the UK you need a licensce for a TV (or eqiupment for recording TV). I noticed something odd on that page though. Why is it that students don’t need a licensce for a TV that is powered soley by it’s own batteries? Why is that any different? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 12:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/5 "2002-10-13T12:05:20Z")
Good lord, if they tried to tax TVs here in the US, there’d be riots in the streets… ---
**Author:** ![glee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/b5a626/32.png) [@glee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/glee)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 12:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/6 "2002-10-13T12:53:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by An Arky \* > Good lord, if they tried to tax TVs here in the US, there’d be riots in the streets… By contrast, if there were 10-12 advertising breaks an hour on TV here in the UK, there would be polite protests and letters written to Parliament. 😃 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/7 "2002-10-13T14:21:59Z")
It’s not so much as a TV tax (in theory, at least), more as a way to pay for BBC channels and radio stations away so that they can produce high-quality broadcasting away from short-term commercial pressures. Well, that’s the theory anyway. ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/8 "2002-10-13T14:35:23Z")
Most European countries have similar set-ups to finance PBS services. Some of them have limited advertising on their publicly-funded stations, some (like the BBC) have no advertising. To address the OP, I don’t think you’d need to sell your VCR - just box it away out of view. As long as it’s not switched on the licensing people would have no way of knowing you had it. They tend to make housecalls to people who are on their “no licence” list and where the monitoring equipment shows a receiver is currently operating. On the off chance that they called by anyway and saw your tapes you could tell the truth about not have a TV - there’d be no circumstantial evidence to contradict you. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/9 "2002-10-13T15:12:54Z")
What about computers? If you have a TV tuner on your PC, can you get away with it? Or will the TV detector man insist on searching your computer for a tuner? ---
**Author:** ![An\_Arky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/87869e/32.png) [@An\_Arky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Arky)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/10 "2002-10-13T15:17:29Z")
**Glee wrote:** > [@](#): > > By contrast, if there were 10-12 advertising breaks an hour on TV here in the UK, there would be polite protests and letters written to Parliament. Well, I guess that now that I think about it, I’d gladly pay a tax to not see so much advertising. Of course, now that I’ve typed such blasphemy, I’m going to have to hide from the lynch mob…:rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/11 "2002-10-13T15:23:35Z")
> [@](#): > > Well, I guess that now that I think about it, I’d gladly pay a tax to not see so much advertising. Hell, I pay $50 (£32) for my teevee, and it’s _still_ loaded with commercials! Someone ought to clue the cable providors in on the concept. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![everton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ecb155/32.png) [@everton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/everton)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/12 "2002-10-13T15:39:10Z")
I think this thread deserves a link to [a bit of Python](http://www.stone-dead.asn.au/tv-series/sketches/fc-23/fish-licence.html). Yes you do need a licence to watch TV on your PC. I don’t know anyone who has a TV tuner card but no TV, but there has been some controversy over the fact that people can use such devices to watch BBC programming _outside of the UK_ without buying a UK TV licence. The TV detector equipment is installed in a van that drives round your neighbourhood periodically and can detect tuner activity from the street - including channel recognition and an estimate of which room the set is in. There have already been some threads here about it (I’ll have a search for them if you like). ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2002, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/13 "2002-10-13T15:52:00Z")
A few years ago ( when VCRs were expensive ) you could buy a device which would play your pr-recorded tapes but did not have a TV tuner or recording facility. If you could get hold of one of them you would not need a licence. I doubt if you can buy new models of these because VCRs are so cheap now that they all come with a tuner. The other possibility is to disable the tuner in your present VCR . ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/14 "2002-10-14T11:03:09Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Joey P \* > \*\*Maybe I live under a rock, but I never knew that in the UK you need a licensce for a TV (or eqiupment for recording TV). I noticed something odd on that page though. Why is it that students don’t need a licensce for a TV that is powered soley by it’s own batteries? Why is that any different? \*\* It’s a cut-off point for the odd genuinely portable TVs you get, which are covered by the domestic license of the owner (or, in the case of students, the owner’s parents). If I’m wandering the streets with my 2" battery-powered LCD-screen pocket TV, I’m licensed to receive broadcasts on it, because I pay for the license for my home address. (I guess students get this little loophole because they’re supposedly still partially dependent on their parents.) Dunno if the terminology is the same in the States, but over here a “portable” TV is a mains-powered appliance that’s somewhat smaller than a normal set (14" rather than 20" screen, that sort of thing). A standard “portable” wouldn’t get the exemption. Something that’s “portable” in the sense that you can carry it around with you, on the other hand, would. (Obviously, such devices have to be battery powered. Or have a _really long_ extension cord.) ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/15 "2002-10-14T11:26:41Z")
Recent TV licensing advertisments (adverts! on the BBC) seem to imply that students **do** require a TV licence (although under what conditions was not mentioned). ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_Wright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@Steve\_Wright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_Wright)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/16 "2002-10-14T11:31:25Z")
They do if they have mains-powered sets… nothing new about that, I got the standard warning about this when I moved into the university halls of residence back in 19_coughcoughcough_. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/17 "2002-10-14T11:32:01Z")
The web site mentioned above doesn’t have all the fine print. You CAN have a TV and VCR without paying a fee, you just have to send them a letter basically saying “yes, I have a TV, but I promise not to use it to receive broadcasts”. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 11:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/18 "2002-10-14T11:35:52Z")
**kferr** : You can bet that if you did that, the detector vans will make regular passes by your house. ---
**Author:** ![Aro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b3f665/32.png) [@Aro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aro)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/19 "2002-10-14T14:33:57Z")
One of the threads **Everton** mentioned is [found here.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=132500&highlight=television+licence) Lots of discussion on the issues mentioned, for your pleasure. ---
**Author:** ![kferr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/71e660/32.png) [@kferr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kferr)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2002, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076/20 "2002-10-14T17:36:02Z")
I agree **Mangetout** , declaring that you aren’t actually using your TV would almost guarantee a visit from the van. Actually, you are even supposed to fill in a form for them even if you don’t have a TV at all. I’ve never had a TV, and have never sent in the form, so get mail from them regularly. Sometimes it’s clever stuff disguised as advertising, other times it’s heavy handed “pay up or we’ll be kicking in your door” type letters. I’m still waiting for the visit. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/uk-tv-licence-no-tv-but-a-shelf-of-vhs/132076.md?page=2)