£49 for a B/W television licence?

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I watched a B/W television up until about 1999.

Can you still get black and white TV's and if so can the television detector vans detect that it is black and white?

It's f*****g disgusting how they can get away with charging people an extra £100 for a bit of colour.

I got threatened with a £1000 fine earlier this year for not having a tv licence, I almost felt bullied into getting one.

I must say, I was more than a little perturbed.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-26546570

Just found this, I thought I'd throw it in.

http://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/j ... 3000-homes

I'm on a quest now.

If you don't use your TV to watch broadcasts as they're being transmitted, you don't need a license. Ownership of any device merely capable of receiving these broadcasts does not require a license.
Threats from the TVL are just bluffs - they have no legal clout whatever. Ignore them.
Also, TVL is a trading name for the BBC itself - they outsource all the licensing stuff to Capita.

This site is a real eye-opener:
http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

Oh, thanks for that Cornflake.

No problemo!
That's a fantastic site, loaded with information. I'm considering dumping my license completely - I only watch a couple of programs and the odd news broadcast; the cost is already outweighing any real value I get from paying it.

It's a complete rip off. I've just cancelled my direct debit.

The thing is, is that I do love the old idiot box, but it's just typical of this country to tax people for a bit of fire gazing after a hard days hunting.

Well they can shove it up their arses!

Make sure you let them know via the website that you no longer watch TV and don't require the license - you could be up for a refund, too.
Then stand by for the stream of threatening letters saying you "may" be committing an offence by not having one.
http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-y ... unds-top7/

What's bittorent?

This: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent

Far too many Americans use the idiot box as a babysitter. So even if you use an antenna you have to pay this license fee? TV broadcast over the air should be free.

Off topic: Is it true that apartments or flats in Britain have electric meters that tenants have to put money into in order to prepay for electricity?

No - it's a question of intent and whether you actually view broadcasts received by it as they're transmitted.

Generally, no - but it depends on the apartment.
There is always a meter recording the electricity used by the property, for obvious billing purposes, and that's normally just a straightforward meter - but some smaller apartments (sub-let as part of a larger house by a resident landlord, say) may have individual payment meters fitted to them.

If you can avoid paying a licence for not watching live TV, can you circumvent the issue by recording the shows you want to DVR, and then watch them later?

No, because in order for them to be watched later they must first be recorded while they're being transmitted. Technically, you'd be viewing them as they're transmitted - even though eyeballs only meet content later.

I dumped my TV a few years ago, and I'm perfectly happy about it. I'm in America, so I don't have to pay for a TV license, but recently the USA switched to digital television, and everybody had to buy new TV sets since the old ones no longer worked. I bought a digital TV. and the over the air signal was so bad that I sold it. The slightest hint of wind or rain will kill the signal. At least they could have been honest, and simply declared that everybody had to get cable, like the Netherland govt did, but no, they had to force everybody to buy new TVs. I suspect that the TV makers greased a lot of palms in Congress.

My gods, that's frightening, I thought all that licensing and "detector vans" was just another absurdist joke Monty Python made up! You have to have a license to watch signals being broadcast over the air? Do they tax your toilet paper by the square, as well? That's just Government-Run-Amok Uber-Orwellian Totalitarian insanity.

I'm so glad we had a revolution.

If you don't pay the toilet paper tax you can end up in deep s**t.