The BBC - Keep it or 'Whack it'?

Monty Pigeon

Monty Pigeon

Striker
For me, the BBC - like the NHS - is one of the jewels of our country.

Now the Tories have decided to 'whack it'. They want to get rid of local BBC radio and much of the online presence, reducing it to 'a few TV stations and a couple of radio stations'.

Good idea or not?

www.theguardian.com

No 10 could scrap BBC licence fee in favour of a subscription model

Source claims Boris Johnson is ‘strident’ about broadcaster’s reach being scaled back
www.theguardian.com www.theguardian.com
 


If they go down that route, they'll end up having to try to appeal to the masses. It'll be Like ITV
 
How would a subscription model work over the radio airwaves?

It's about as non-sensical as building bridge supports in 300m deep water.
 
The TV Licence was introduced in 1947 when the BBC was the only broadcaster. If you owned a TV in 1947 then fair enough it could only be used to watch BBC broadcasts. TV technology has moved on rather a lot since 1947 and the ownership of a TV alone is not evidence that you are using it to watch BBC broadcasts or even broadcasts from stations that use a BBC transmitter.

This then is an discussion about the TV Licencing system and how it is now an outdated and an unfair system for raising BBC revenue. It is NOT a discussion about closing down the BBC or preventing people from watching it as the defenders of the TV Licence system particularly those from within the BBC would have you believe.

TV Licencing who collect the licence fee uses disgraceful tactics to bully people who have TV sets yet satisfy the conditions that don't require them to have a TV licence. They base their approach on the simple principle that everyone with a TV set and no licence is clearly on the fiddle. They use a private enforcement company to do this whose operatives receive a bonus for each transgressor they "catch". Needless to say the operatives are entirely dependent on their bonuses as their flat rate wage amounts to nothing.

In the last couple of days I have discovered that despite me moving home over two years ago TV Licencing has continued to use the Direct Debit Mandate on my old address to charge me for two additional years of TV Licence fees on that address. This is despite the fact that I wrote to them when I moved and claimed a rebate on the licence that I had there. A rebate that they paid to me.

To get the rebate I had to provide them with documented evidence of me leaving my old address - confirmation of my new address and provide the TV licence number at my new address. After allowing the rebate TV Licencing then undertook to end my Direct Debit mandate for my old address which they very clearly did not do. My advice is that if you are moving and have a DD with TV LIcencing don't be a mug like me - immediately end the DD mandate that you have with them yourself. As I was selling a house and moving I agreed to them doing it because I thought that it was one less task but I have learnt the hard way

The bastards didn't even contact me in 2018 and 2019 prior to helping themselves to the annual DD payments for my old address. And do you think that I have ever had any sight of the two TV Licences for my old address that they have charged me for?

BBC broadcasting is one thing but TV Licencing and the licence system that they operate is a f***ing disgrace and to think that these people can get members of the public criminal records- .
 

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