FAQs

"But the plans were on display ..."
"On display? I eventually had to go down to the cellar to find them."
"That's the display department."
"With a flashlight."
"Ah, well the lights had probably gone."
"So had the stairs."
"But look, you found the notice didn't you?"
"Yes," said Arthur, "yes I did. It was on display in the bottom of a locked filing cabinet stuck in a disused lavatory with a sign on the door saying 'Beware of the Leopard'.

So goes part of the conversation between Arthur Dent and Mr Prosser in the opening episode of the legendary "The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy". And so it is with the facts surrounding TV Licensing, i.e. the granting of permission by the State for you to receive live television broadcasts. The facts are available, even on the TV Licensing(TM) Website, but you have to ignore the 'Beware of the Leopard' sign and dig around to find them.

Now the good people of the TV Licence Resistance Forum are setting out to remedy this situation by producing an easily-accessible list of Frequently Asked Questions. It's a laudable project which I hope comes to fruition. So, preparatory to this, your humble scribe did a bit of research on the TV Licensing(TM) Website which, as you know, is registered to the BBC for an example of how the truth is indeed "out there" - but carefully hidden.

On the Terms and Conditions page of that Website, under the Who issues the TV Licence? section you'll see the answer given is:

TV Licences are issued by TV Licensing of 100 Temple Street, Bristol BS1 6AB on behalf of the British Broadcasting Corporation in its capacity as the Licensing Authority.

See how the BBC is keen to maintain the fiction of "TV Licensing(TM)"? They say TV Licensing(TM) issues the licences from its premises at 100 Temple Street, Bristol. However, if you go to the FOI: Licences Facts and Figures page you'll discover the truth. FOI, you'll remember, stands for Freedom of Information and relates to information that the BBC must truthfully reveal under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000. Under the question What are the names and addresses of the companies who may hold information about over 75 TV Licence holders on behalf of the BBC? we have the following answer:

The names of these companies are as follows:

Capita Business Services Ltd
Proximity London Ltd
iQor UK Ltd
Fishburn Hedges Boys Williams Ltd

The BBC also holds this information, and it may be accessed by staff employed in the BBC's TV Licensing Management Team. The addresses of the BBC and these companies are listed below:

The British Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcasting House
London W1A 1AA

Capita Business Services Ltd
100 Temple Street, Bristol, BS1 6AG

iQor UK Ltd
33-34 Winckley Square, Preston, Lancashire, PR1 3EL

Proximity London Ltd
191 Old Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5DW

Fishburn Hedges Boys Williams Ltd
77 Kingsway, Holborn, London, WC2B 6SR

The Data Protection Act 1998 governs how the BBC and its TV Licensing agents process personal information. Our Privacy Policy sets out in detail how TV Licensing collects and processes personal information, in accordance with the Data Protection Act, for the purposes of administering and enforcing the television licensing system.

So the BBC is happy to say that the non-existent TV Licensing(TM) occupies 100 Temple Street, but when the truth must be told has to admit it is in fact Capita Business Services Ltd which resides at that address.

The BBC is in the business of bluster, intimidation and misinformation. This is the same BBC that brings you "BBC News" and whose Director General Mark Thomson said would aim for "the best journalism in the world". Yeah. Right. It can start by reporting truthfully on The Great TV Licensing Scam.

Remember, the TV Licensing Authority (TVLA) is the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). "TV Licensing" is a trademark of the BBC and has absolutely NO independent existence. The company entrusted with the administration of the TV Licence system is Capita Business Services Ltd, a public limited company with as much authority as Marks & Spencer. Don't be intimidated.