Here is my complaint to the tv licensing department of the government here :
Hopefully that provides you with some entertainment :-)Complaints :
1. When I phoned up your contact number 08448006720 today I listened carefully to my options and chose 6, whilst one of the first 6 options was for "over 75's" this was repeated again in the second menu, it was in fact the only option, so I chose 2, your system then informed me that there were no available operators and proceeded to cut me off. I found this rude. It is normal procedure to place someone in a queue if there is no one available at that time. As an experiment I chose to redial and try another option (surely their can't be that much demand for permission to watch mind numbing entertainment?) and pressed 1 for "buy a license", then I pressed 1 for "pay with direct debit", following that I chose 2 for "new license", immediately the phone started ringing, and within 1 second a friendly staff member was tending my call. I DO NOT accept that there were no operators available during my first call. I am not naive enough to think that there is no correlation between the financial significance of the options that I chose and the probability of my call being answered. I will not let this slide, and will be following it up and taking it further until I can dial that number press options that mean that I will NOT give you any money, and still have my call answered. All responses claiming that this situation has been remedied will be met with me checking that this is the case.
2. Since August 2007 you have been sending me extremely rude letters that strongly imply that I DO waste my time in the most mind numbing fashion by participating in the rather disgusting social disease that is "watching TV". Had the first letter asked in a suitably polite tone whether or not I watched TV rather than implying that I do without any knowledge of my personal habits, I would have responded in a timely fashion to let you know that I am not that sad an individual as to bother with such a largely pointless activity. Instead I have been most disturbed to find the letters getting more and more rude and insulting over time and beginning to try to intimidate the reader into handing over the cash whether they are a user of the BBCs services or NOT. For example, the second sentence in the latest letter reads as follows : "This is because there is still no record of a TV License at this property, despite our previous letters." should this not read "...TV License or lack of TV..." ??? The last sentence in the same letter reads as follows : "If you have recently purchased a TV License, you need take no further action as our database will be updated automatically." should this not read "If you have recently purchased a TV License OR let us know you don't have one..." ??? In the letter before last is an even worse example of blatant intentionaly misleading information : "...to determine whether equiptment such as the following is being used illegally:
A colour or b&w tv
video or dvd recorder
set-top box
A computer"
... fine so far ...
"If evidence is found that any such equiptment is being used on your property without a license, you may be cautioned and your statement will be taken....criminal law."
This is very very VERY FAR from OK! It is NOT illegal to use any of those devices at all. It is ONLY illegal to use them to watch or record TV at the SAME TIME that it is being broadcast. This sentence is totally and utterly wrong. It is misleading and it is intimidating. I find this totally unacceptable.
3. Upon phoning up to make my complaint the kind gentleman informed me that there was no complaints department (considering the tone in your letters, I thought it may have been one of your larger departments) and that he would be happy to listen to what I had to say. I told him my thoughts and he recorded them in the computer along with the fact that I DO NOT own a television or use ANY other equiptment to view TV at the time it is being broadcast. After this he informed me (as your rude letters also did) that I would receive a phone call, letter, and possibly in-person visit to make sure I wasn't lying about not having a TV. This in itself is highly offensive. If a respectable citizen informs you that the are acting within the law, and you have no information specific to them (statistics that most people are mind numb brain dead fools that watch TV DO NOT COUNT) that indicates otherwise, they should have the right to expect that you will take their word for it.
4. The draconian TV licensing regime was dropped in some of your smaller colonies as long as 8 years ago, see here for an example : http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0011/S00040.htm. Do you not think that in 2008 it is time that britain came OUT of the dark ages and made the BBC what it is in effect, i.e. a public service???
Thank you for your time. I look forward, with great anticipation of the positive changes that you will effect because of my communications with you, to your detailed and acceptable response!
I look forward to their visit.
Fred.