TV Licensing
29th August 2007
TV Licensing
Bristol
BS981TL
Dear TV Licensing People
I am writing to inform you that I do not use TV receiving equipment in flat and have not done so during my period of occupancy there which began in March 2007. It is with some regret that I write to inform you this, as I have been bemused at the aggressive, indeed borderline hysterical, tone of the correspondence I have received from TV Licensing. While I can’t say I have any real desire to find vaguely threatening letters in my mailbox every few months, your letters have always brought a wry smile to my face.
This is almost certainly due to my amusement at the implication that there is some sort of requirement on my part that I have to tell you I do not own something. This certainly sets a very interesting precedent. I note that I do not receive vaguely threatening letters from Essex Police demanding that I write and tell them I am not keeping firearms in my flat. Similarly I am not required to notify the council that I am not keeping a Wolverine as a pet and therefore do not need to purchase a Dangerous Animal License. Nor am I required to write and tell anyone about my intentions not to breed dogs on my premises.
I accept that this correspondence is predicated on the basis that the vast majority of people do own a television, but then the vast majority of people own a car and the DVLA does not write demanding that I tell them about the cars I do not own. Obviously this is a cost saving measure by TV Licensing and I fully understand the need for the organisation to be run in a financially rigorous way. However, I can’t help but think that as this process is partly reliant on the goodwill of non-TV owners such as myself, that the tone of the letters could be, perhaps, a little more moderate.
To return to the original point of this correspondence, I would like to reiterate that I do not have TV receiving equipment in Flat 9 Edmunds House.
Also in keeping with the cost saving spirit of TV Licensing and also as a time saving measure, I’d be grateful if you could inform the relevant organisations about my intentions not to keep firearms, wolverines, dogs for breeding purposes, tigers, chieftan tanks, light aircraft, spitting cobras or a car, at this residence.
Regards
Giles Crompton-Howe
TV Licensing
Bristol
BS981TL
Dear TV Licensing People
I am writing to inform you that I do not use TV receiving equipment in flat and have not done so during my period of occupancy there which began in March 2007. It is with some regret that I write to inform you this, as I have been bemused at the aggressive, indeed borderline hysterical, tone of the correspondence I have received from TV Licensing. While I can’t say I have any real desire to find vaguely threatening letters in my mailbox every few months, your letters have always brought a wry smile to my face.
This is almost certainly due to my amusement at the implication that there is some sort of requirement on my part that I have to tell you I do not own something. This certainly sets a very interesting precedent. I note that I do not receive vaguely threatening letters from Essex Police demanding that I write and tell them I am not keeping firearms in my flat. Similarly I am not required to notify the council that I am not keeping a Wolverine as a pet and therefore do not need to purchase a Dangerous Animal License. Nor am I required to write and tell anyone about my intentions not to breed dogs on my premises.
I accept that this correspondence is predicated on the basis that the vast majority of people do own a television, but then the vast majority of people own a car and the DVLA does not write demanding that I tell them about the cars I do not own. Obviously this is a cost saving measure by TV Licensing and I fully understand the need for the organisation to be run in a financially rigorous way. However, I can’t help but think that as this process is partly reliant on the goodwill of non-TV owners such as myself, that the tone of the letters could be, perhaps, a little more moderate.
To return to the original point of this correspondence, I would like to reiterate that I do not have TV receiving equipment in Flat 9 Edmunds House.
Also in keeping with the cost saving spirit of TV Licensing and also as a time saving measure, I’d be grateful if you could inform the relevant organisations about my intentions not to keep firearms, wolverines, dogs for breeding purposes, tigers, chieftan tanks, light aircraft, spitting cobras or a car, at this residence.
Regards
Giles Crompton-Howe