# do i still have to pay a tv licence



## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

I'm moving house in a few weeks and i've decided to get rid of my sky, broadband and my land line. 

I need to save money and i don't really need them any more. Do I still need to pay a TV licence?

 I was told that as long as I have a TV in my house I have to pay, but the telly wont even be connect to an ariel, I don't even want the normal channels like rte/tv3 ect. 

All i will use the telly for is dvd's. 

I thought the TV licence was just if you were watching the TV channels, so i don't think i should have to pay the licence.


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## allthedoyles (18 Mar 2009)

As far as i know , once you have a tv at your address , you need a licence .

As you can also tune in channels using an indoor aerial , you would not be able to prove to a licence inspector , that you have not been using tv for viewing tv channels .


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## woodbine (18 Mar 2009)

why not use a laptop for the dvd's? 

would be worth buying a larger screen laptop so it's easier to watch..


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## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

I thought without an ariel on your roof it was next to impossible to actually get a picture.

If i'm not able to prove to them that i'm not watching the tv channels, how can they prove that i am watching the channels. I know it doesn't work that way but it's very one sided if that is the case.

Edit: I agree woodbine a laptop would be a good idea but they have a wii as well and they'd never be able to play that on a laptop. There not too happy about not having the childrens package with the sky but they understand why i'm getting rid of it. I'm deperatly trying to save money to take them away for a week in the summer, probably wont go abroad but at least do something with them.


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## allthedoyles (18 Mar 2009)

*This is from tv licence website :*

*Terms and conditions *


Any person in occupancy at an address where a television set is held is legally responsible for the licensing of the television set regardless of ownership of either the premises or the set itself.
Under the Wireless Telegraphy Legislation it is a prosecutable offence to be in possession of an unlicensed television set. Fines for a first offence can be up to €634.87 and €1,267.74 for subsequent offences.


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## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

Thanks for that allthedoyles, so bascially it doesn't matter if i'm watching the channels or not i still have to pay. ( not even going to go into the rights and wrongs of that, cause it will get me no where ) 

Just had another thought even if you just had a laptop you can download tv programms anyway, If i miss an episode of eastenders i can go onto the bbc website and watch it.......wouln't be surprised if they had a licence for a laptop these days.


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## lynsalot (18 Mar 2009)

Wait until you get a letter from them about the telly license. We've movede in ages and still not been sent a ltr about getting a license. Gonna wait until we do before we pay for one but either way i think you'll need to get one. Sure you'd be better off paying for it and watching the few programs if you're saving you won't be going out


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## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

even when i wasn't saving i didn't go out, couldn't afford it then let alone now. Would they not backdate it to when you moved in. 

How much is a tv licence these days? Never had to pay it before was always dealt with by the ex ( wouldn't be surprised if he never paid it lol ) Can you still buy those stamps instead of having topay for it all up front.


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## allthedoyles (18 Mar 2009)

monthly direct debit is an option


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## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

I'll have to do that then, last thing i need is a day in court. Thanks allthedoyles


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## lynsalot (18 Mar 2009)

yeah that'd be very embarassing remember the ads oh the shame of it lol


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## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

haha yeah the ads were great, the one i remember the most is the one where they pretend the telly is a microwave and have a recording of a chicken being cooked lol 

A few years ago i would of stood my ground and insisted that i shouldn't have to pay, gone to court and probably be locked up for insulting the judge and everyone connected to the tv licencing. Thankfully i've mellowed a bit and these days it's anything for a quiet life.


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## Canny39 (18 Mar 2009)

SJ - current cost of TV license is 160 Euro. If you have a current license it is possible to get it credited to your new address for the rest of its term. If you are keeping the telly think of getting a good quality indoor aerial as reception can be suprisingly good, I had one for a few years when all I had was a portable tv and picture was fine. When I treated myself to a widescreen tv, I got an ariel erected in the attic and I have great reception for the 4 Irish stations which I find quite enough. Might be something to think of.


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## lynsalot (18 Mar 2009)

Do u remember the ad with Frances from fair city (Pnot that i watch it or anything) and she lets on she's on wife swap and calls her mother even though she's 90 10 lol or the one where yer man comes in and they pretend to be foreign - hilarious ads i think. They kinda make a mockery of the system a bit but oh well. why don't u just get a dodgy box?


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## samanthajane (18 Mar 2009)

160 euro i may yet stand my ground.....i'm seriously out of touch i was thing it was around 90 euro. I've never watched the irish channels they are never on time.... every time i went to record something i'd miss either the start of the finish. 

There's actually an ariel on the roof in the new house and it's all connected up, i would of taken it down if it meant i didn't have to pay but either even if i did that i'd still have to pay. Oh it's all money, money, money. 

My only other option is to get rid of the telly out of the house, the kids can take their wii to their dads house and just play it when they are their, that was my oly reason to keep the telly in the first place.


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## Canny39 (18 Mar 2009)

Funny, due to shift working I video most things I want to watch and if I add 5mins to either end of the scheduled programme time I rarely miss anything


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## samanthajane (19 Mar 2009)

sorry for confusion canny39, i was talking about recording with my sky plus. eastenders was with rte and emmerdale tv3. I wasn't able to add 5 mins to the start or end of the programm and got fed up of missing the ends so i changed over to the english channels and that stopped the problem.


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## samanthajane (19 Mar 2009)

jaybird where were you 3 years ago when i needed this advice???

I never knew you could do that.....all those cliff hangers that i missed never to be seen again.


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## lynsalot (19 Mar 2009)

Right, paul whose patrick's son is dead, janine is back, tony was abusing whitney and he's in prison now, peggy's running for election, ian's still a sap, jane was learning poile dancing and tried out comedy, and lots of other doom and gloom love it. 

Andy was bating up Jo and daz and victoria fancy each other. Debbie's in prison and andy has sarah. Jack passed away and val is trying to get dianne to sell the pub... 

hmmmmm i can do a bit of home and away for you aswell if you like


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## samanthajane (19 Mar 2009)

ILMAO oh lynsalot you are a funny one. 

No need to worry yourself i dont watch home and away.....but i did miss steve and becky's wedding.......


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## SparkRite (19 Mar 2009)

Hi Samanthajane,

Just get hold of a monitor with a scart and/or AV inputs and use that for your DVD player and Wii. Make sure your not using a DVD recorder, which will have a tuner in it.
You do NOT need a licence for this setup.

Another option would be to get the tuner removed from your TV set, thus rendering it unable to receive any broadcasts.


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## shesells (22 Mar 2009)

Do you not remember the ads "if you have a television set you must have a television licence" how much simpler can it be?


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## bullworth (22 Mar 2009)

i think even if you have any kind of wireless aerial that despite having no TV you are legally obligated to pay the license, is this true ?


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## bobo (28 May 2009)

How can a TV licence inspector prove you have a TV in the house?
Since they've no right to enter how can they detect a television set within the house?
Also why is it called a licence? Licence is a term generally associated with the use of some controlled equipment to minimise hazards to others, e.g. driving licence cause you could kill someone without proper training, a gun because of the obvious, an Xray machine cause you could harm others etc etc. I think it should be renamed a TV TAX.


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## cleverclogs7 (28 May 2009)

allthedoyles said:


> *This is from tv licence website :*
> 
> *Terms and conditions *
> 
> ...


 

Agree.once you have a tv you need a licence.better to just put it in a box and watch dvds on your pc.


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## McGrath (28 May 2009)

I looked at this a few years ago when a friend of mine with a Sky box hooked it up to a projector and watched TV projected against a white wall. He wondered if he needed a licence for this set up as he was not using a TV.

As far as I remember, the legislation defines "TV" as any apparatus or system that can receive and display broadcast programmes. Therefore the Sky box and projector was a "TV"

On the flip side, as Sparkrite says, if your system is specifically disabled from receiving broadcasts, technically it may not be a "TV" for licensing purposes any more


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## onq (28 May 2009)

samanthajane said:


> I'm moving house in a few weeks and i've decided to get rid of my sky, broadband and my land line.
> 
> I need to save money and i don't really need them any more. Do I still need to pay a TV licence?
> 
> <snip>.



Yes, so long as you have a "television" in your dwelling it must be licensed.
And I think that even a computer with a TV tuner card qualifies as a TV.

But fear not!
You can watch over 3,000 channels online!

http://wwitv.com/portal.htm

Unfortunately only 10 are Irish, and most are news/Oireachtas-related.
Ho hum.


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## samanthajane (28 May 2009)

onq said:


> Yes, so long as you have a "television" in your dwelling it must be licensed.
> And I think that even a computer with a TV tuner card qualifies as a TV.
> 
> But fear not!
> ...


 
So do all computers/laptops have this TV tuner card? 

Dont tell me i need to get that removed. 

As it turns out i couldn't be bothered with all the hassle so i just took my telly out of the house.....only problem i have now is getting the landlord to remove her telly that is currently in the house. 

Had a knock at the door about the licence ( they were quick) and i told them i dont have a telly in the house.... and what was sitting at the bottom of the stairs...yep her telly which has been there for weeks. Only just managed to get out of that one by explaining the situation, even showed him every room in the house to prove i had no other tellys. Not sure if he believed me or not, sure i'll find out if a fine comes in the post.


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## markpb (29 May 2009)

Wasn't there a change in the legislation lately meaning that if you have an internet connection, you must have a TV license even if you don't have a TV? I presume its because RTE now let you watch old shows online. 

Don't have a link, thought I read about it here or on boards.ie.


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## krissovo (29 May 2009)

I use a laptop and a projector so no TV and watch internet channels & movies on that.

I have a question though, do I need a licence if I watch the online RTE player programs?


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## onq (29 May 2009)

samanthajane said:


> So do all computers/laptops have this TV tuner card?
> 
> Dont tell me i need to get that removed.
> 
> <snip>



I don't believe they do.

There was a fad a few years back where they were offered.


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## cleverclogs7 (29 May 2009)

tvshack online is super.watch all the missed lost episodes and lots of movies.great when nothing on tv .


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## onq (30 May 2009)

cleverclogs7 said:


> tvshack online is super.watch all the missed lost episodes and lots of movies.great when nothing on tv .



Wow.

Do you know I've never seen this?

Excellent.

onq


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