Do You Need The BBC?

[truman]

The TV detector vans have always been a myth.

 

Not true..in a previous life I worked for a company who looked after Capita's IT systems...Capita used to do the "enforcement" (even back then) .. I was shown around a detector van and it was proved to me that they worked..

[Cyclone]

See post #441

[alchresearch]

People talk about the bullying tactics of the doorstep investigators, but I don't think they're as half as scary as the old TV ads:

 

 

[max]

Not true..in a previous life I worked for a company who looked after Capita's IT systems...Capita used to do the "enforcement" (even back then) .. I was shown around a detector van and it was proved to me that they worked..

 

See my post #440, people don't like facts due to denial syndrome.

[Cyclone]

You've made up denial syndrome.

[altus]

Don't worry, they'll probably be able to detect when you've been watching live TV via smart meters soon.

 

They can already tell different appliances apart using non intrusive load monitoring. There's even open source software to help people developing such applications.

 

Variations in the power consumption of TVs as the picture changes could be compared with reference data recorded as the TV signals are broadcast and used to identify what you've been watching and when.

 

Think this is fanciful? The police already do something similar with variations in mains frequency to validate audio recordings.

[Car Boot]

Don't worry, they'll probably be able to detect when you've been watching live TV via smart meters soon.

 

They can already tell different appliances apart using non intrusive load monitoring. There's even open source software to help people developing such applications.

 

Variations in the power consumption of TVs as the picture changes could be compared with reference data recorded as the TV signals are broadcast and used to identify what you've been watching and when.

 

Think this is fanciful? The police already do something similar with variations in mains frequency to validate audio recordings.

 

Why go to all that bother?

 

TV Licensing uses a large database that has every licensed property in the UK on it - and then sends threatening letters to, and very occasionally visits, those properties that don't have a valid TV licence.

[melthebell]

Why go to all that bother?

 

TV Licensing uses a large database that has every licensed property in the UK on it - and then sends threatening letters to, and very occasionally visits, those properties that don't have a valid TV licence.

its called technological advancement, its called narrowing things down, its called using different services to survey those they need to survey

[Cyclone]

Why go to all that bother?

 

TV Licensing uses a large database that has every licensed property in the UK on it - and then sends threatening letters to, and very occasionally visits, those properties that don't have a valid TV licence.

 

Why bother? Because then people can't close the curtains and simply refuse entry.

If they can prove through your electricity usage that you were watching broadcast TV and you have no license, then they can simply issue court proceedings.

[Car Boot]

Not true..in a previous life I worked for a company who looked after Capita's IT systems...Capita used to do the "enforcement" (even back then) .. I was shown around a detector van and it was proved to me that they worked..

 

The TV detector vans 'evidence' of people watching TV illegally was never once used in a British court of law to try and gain a conviction, according to the BBC.

 

I wonder why that was, if they were really so effective at pinpointing TV licence fee evaders, especially those watching 'Columbo' on BBC1...