OT Totally, and a little bit rude... The side effects of fixing empty buildings...

A distant family member has no TV. A few years ago, they sent a letter to him to apply for one with a return-paid envelope. There was a box to tick to say you didn't have a TV, so I ticked that and sent it back. They wrote back saying thanks, and they'd check again in 3 years.

3 years later, a similar letter came, except it had no option to indicate you didn't have a TV, and no return-paid envelope. There might have been a premium rate number, but that would have been ignored, so they simply got no response. For several years since, they keep writing and keep saying they'll come around, but without providing a no-cost method (or just even just a geographic phone number), they aren't going to get any response, so they continue to waste their time/money. No one has actually ever come around to check.
Reply to
Andrew Gabriel
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Reply to
Onetap

Implication is that no legal body (e.g. company, partnership, etc.) can withdraw that common law right as they do not have individual names.

Also, the wording suggests that *they* are withdrawing the common law right where it is actually you.

Reply to
Rod

You can email them now (via a form on their web site) - seems to work just as well as a paper letter ;-).

Reply to
John Rumm

Why didn't you just encrypt the screen? Hee hee

Reply to
Peter Scott

As satisifaying as it is to vent in this way, you should maybe be careful about responding to their childish letters when you are feeling so (understandably) angry. The line between "rude" and "offensive and threatening" is a very fine one, and the last thing you would want is criminal charges against you

- particularly when your reaction is so understandable.

Mark.

Reply to
mark.hannah

snipped-for-privacy@totalise.co.uk coughed up some electrons that declared:

:)

Like I said - IMO we're too reserved about giving stick in this country to those who deserve it.

OK - I'm not advocating going quite as far as "Falling Down". As far as I'm concerned, I've met offensive with offensive. If they don't like it, then I don't care - let them bring it on.

Reply to
Tim S

tv/monitors leak

screened so no

Tempest screening they called it - everything in a Faraday cage - and hard to read screens through the fine mesh!

AWEM

Reply to
Andrew Mawson

mine knows what an abusive pain in the arse I can be

Her (eventual) investigation into the problem at our local sorting office were partly due to me hassling her

Reply to
geoff

However a crt will. An LCD won't. I don't know about a plasma.

Reply to
dennis

That has been done. It is quite easy to make a screen where one person can see the contents while someone standing next to him sees something else. I think you can even buy the kit quite cheaply these days as it has been used in some games and cad packages.

Reply to
dennis

They did the whole building, mesh in the walls, floors, windows, etc.

Reply to
dennis

geoff coughed up some electrons that declared:

"If you want anything done in this country, you have to complain until you're blue in the mouth"

Reply to
Tim S

but why bother ?

Reply to
geoff

Why the insincerely? Surely you meant it!

Reply to
<me9

Arse covering...

Once you have told them that until further notice no license is required, and you have no intention or responding to any future communications from them, then you can relax and let them bleat all they like.

Reply to
John Rumm

Exactly. Why bother unless it is for free? The lack of a free phone number or prepaid envelope to say that you have no TV is rude and invites you to ignore their letters.

I do not have a shotgun but I do not have to notify the police every year that I do not need a shotgun licence, nor do the police write letters every month asking if I own or use a shotgun. My Grandad has no car or driving licence and the DVLA do not come around looking for a car or proof that he has driven a car and they do not ask him to them write every year to say that he does not drive a car.

The TVLA/CAPITA are companies that I do not do business with and therefore I do not have to reply to (certainly not if it costs me a stamp) any of their rude letters.

TVLA and CAPITA are nothing but companies and you do not have to use their services (such as they are) if you do not want to.

Adam

Reply to
ARWadsworth

ARWadsworth coughed up some electrons that declared:

I think it's partly the fact that they're operated by Crapita that makes me despise them more.

You know, it's funny - somehow I can stand ineptitude and some degree of rudeness from a "proper" civil service outfit. Shouldn't, but maybe it just feels more "British".

But when some bunch of private corporation arse munchers come along with a proven track record of utter and reliable dickheadery, and then deems that it will attack me, then I get *very* angry.

I think it's partly because, somehow, they've developed the art of being jerkoffs into a profit making venture at my expense (in every sense), so their board of directors can take home big juicy salaries. Don't get me started on the shareholders.

It's a bit like when a copper gives you a parking ticket for a minor infringement verses when some bunch of private-venture arseweeds gives me a PCN at the station because their grunt-monkey is too illiterate to read the ticket on display in the windscreen. yes I'm talking about you, Central Parking System (oh, did you lose the contract with the railways recently - boo hoo - perhaps it was all the commuters you pissed of, complaining).

Anyway, somehow the latter irks more. Anyone else feel the same?

[I apologise for the foul language, but I'm on a roll]

Anyway - did sending a letter to Crapita make me feel better. Well, yes it did. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

8->

Now, I'm off to do productive things like setup ModX Content Management System on my new webserver for SWMBO. Her lot at work want to use it - and she promised to re-do our mouldy out of date website if I do, for the practise...

And I want a photoblog for the Bungalow work which looks like an (hopefully easy) option in ModX.

And I want to shut down that ancient howling server I built in 2000-ish that's grating my brain off from behind my head. Got DNS, DHCP, kerberos, TFTP, IMAP, Web, and Postgres off it and on to two new servers (well, one new and one recycled desktop) - just printing and exim mail to go...

Cheers

Tim

Reply to
Tim S

It's a neat idea and seeing as I've a sensitive lab' spectrum analyser racked about 30cm away from the TV aerial (haven't we all), I took a look. Nothing, nada, zilch! is coming back out of the aerial. It's a TV card inside the PC (LCD monitor), fed via a 5mtr aerial lead from a Philips SBC TT 650/05 (powered) indoor aerial facing out of the window.. The aerial preamp would naturally reduce any signal backfeed four or five times but there's still nothing there to be seen. Maybe I'll try again using the normal house CRT TV and roof aerial. (yep, got a licence :)

Reply to
john

Crapita are the outfit that will be taking over from CORGI on April 1 this year. What joy. Apparently the HSE gave them the job because they were "experienced with enforcement" i.e Tv licensing. So they'll know just how to chase down illegal gas work!

Sending the letters back unopened with No TV here. R.t.s. BS98 1TL should work.

If everyone without a TV did this they would be swamped with returned junk mail. It might make them change their policy. The average time someone stays in residence at a given address is several years.

Does anyone know the exact chapter and verse about TV licensing?

AFAIK you must pay the license if you have 'equipment capable of receiving colour TV broadcasts'. That means you must pay if you have a VCR or DVD recorder even if you only use it to watch videos or DVDs.

Does iPlayer count as 'broadcast' and therefore any Laptop, PC, games console, iPhone etc. count as 'equipment'?

It's all a bit academic as I have and TV and a license. Enforcement against a deluge of interoperable digital toys is effectively nil.

Reply to
Ed Sirett

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