BBC fined £50,000 over phone-in con and Britain pays for it!

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 09 Jul 2007, 22:48

It's already bad enough we get extremely ripped off buying being forced to pay for a TV license in the first place but "we" now have to pay for the BBC breaking the law.

As for the scam itself the BBC should be ashamed, especially as they were deliberately deceiving children:

http://news.uk.msn.com/Article.aspx?cp- ... id=5481969

£135! WTF! I couldn't believe how expensive it is. For five BBC TV channels (including News 24) and five Radio channels (pretty much). Even by Sky's standards that's a rip off, even if you take into account the quality of some Sky vs. BBC channels. Only then IMO BBC1, BBC2 BBC News 24 are any good. I've said for years Channel 4 is easily the best of the British channels. I don't pay a sausage for that.

Give us bloody adverts on BBC channels, like every other frieking channel. It's outrageous we should pay in the first place. My telephone, broadband, car costs are voluntary, my radio is free yet my TV is compulsory.

To make matters worse "we" have to foot the bill for this all mighty cock-up. The money should come out of the enormously high salaries they pay each other, but it won't.

:shock:

dvdvision · Post by **dvdvision** » 10 Jul 2007, 07:07

It's crazy, first they are fined. OK. On ground that children were "misled". Then the children parents pay for the fine not the BBC. You guys should refuse to the pay your TV tax next year, en masse.

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 10 Jul 2007, 08:02

I agree, the BBC should pay £50,000 themselves! They cocked up, let them pay.
If we had adverts on BBC (aside from the BBC's self promotion) we would pay for the BBC everytime we bought something, it's how we pay for ITV/C4/C5 as advertising revenue funds those channels.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 10 Jul 2007, 09:29

The licence fee is a bad joke played on the public.

It's effectively extortion as you need one to simply own a televsion and all the cash goes to the BBC (Bullshit Broadcasting Corporation).

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 12 Jul 2007, 22:26

To clarify it's not just a UK thing. Germany and Ireland also have a license fee, not that that's the point.

We do get free health care though, the idea of having to pay for medical insurance would be crazy, again not the point but most other countries without a TV license have this instead.

dvdvision wrote:Then the children parents pay for the fine not the BBC.

I know you couldn't make this up.

dvdvision wrote:You guys should refuse to the pay your TV tax next year, en masse.

Nice in theory but in reality "if" you're caught they do send you to jail or at least fine you massively.

grim_tales wrote:They cocked up, let them pay.

The trouble is where from? The BBC is funded by the Government so our taxes or licensing so again us. I don't believe the BBC actually makes any money of it's own.

I wouldn't go this far but I can see this man's point:

http://icsurreyonline.icnetwork.co.uk/s ... _page.html

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 12 Jul 2007, 22:27

Did you guys here the BBC was voted "No. 1 British Brand" with Microsoft "No. 1 Brand" by apparently the "public". I find that very hard to believe, don't get me wrong they produce some excellent programs but then so does Channel 4 and that costs me nothing.

Of course they don't stop this illegal license fee as the Government and BBC knows it would cause them to lose millions, it's a guaranteed income. The other channels have to work at advertising, but not the Beeb.

I wouldn't object so much but they keep putting the cost up, yet the quality remains the same. £135 is quite unbelievable, and to think the BBC wanted to charge us way more before the government stepped in.

Online Petitions:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to change the law to make it illegal for the use of BBC Licence Tax payments to be used to pay fines imposed upon the BBC by Ofcom: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BBCLicenceTax/

Scrap the license fee: http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/BBCTAX/

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 13 Jul 2007, 08:28

I'm glad for the TV license, I'm just bothered by regulators pushing the BBC to get better ratings which results in such shite. C4 isn't too bad in that they occasionally have a decent documentary that isn't taken from The Guardian but that's it. They scrape the barrel in every other way.

bradavon · Post by **bradavon** » 16 Jul 2007, 12:48

You reckon Filmfour is an example of scraping the barrel? Sure they have Big Brother but of the Digital channels at least they're varied. They have like you say decent documentaries too.

BBC 3 is okay, BBC 4 means well but as for ITV 2, ITV 3 and ITV 4 what an utter waste.

Do you pay the TV license Lourdes? I didn't mind it before I seriously considered how much of an out of date expense it is, countries only still pay it as we have to, and no one has seriously challenged it.

Agreed BBC is way better than ITV, but C4 does show what can be done with a commercial station.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 16 Jul 2007, 13:51

If BBC1, 2 and ITV are mainstream then --

BBC3 is for chavs
BBC4 is for intellectuals
Channel 4 is for Guardian readers
Channel 5 is for Heat readers
Sky One is for people who can't read at all.

The TV licence is a disgrace and connecting it to health insurance is just plain wacky.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 16 Jul 2007, 14:33

bradavon wrote:You reckon Filmfour is an example of scraping the barrel? Sure they have Big Brother but of the Digital channels at least they're varied. They have like you say decent documentaries too.

BBC 3 is okay, BBC 4 means well but as for ITV 2, ITV 3 and ITV 4 what an utter waste.

Do you pay the TV license Lourdes? I didn't mind it before I seriously considered how much of an out of date expense it is, countries only still pay it as we have to, and no one has seriously challenged it.

Agreed BBC is way better than ITV, but C4 does show what can be done with a commercial station.

FilmFour only very rarely has a decent film on, the rest of the time it's constant repeats of stupid ones. I do pay the TV license, I'd rather not but I'd also rather not consider the alternative to the BBC Tax.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 16 Jul 2007, 17:26

I agree. Film Four used to be cool when it first started but now it's pretty boring. If they're gonna show mainstream films at least make them good ones (or least stuff we haven't see a million times on other channels).

grim_tales · Post by **grim_tales** » 16 Jul 2007, 17:44

Yeah but that's subjective

romerojpg · Post by **romerojpg** » 16 Jul 2007, 17:53

Thats why I dont watch TV, its shit. Buy the dvd.

Lourdes · Post by **Lourdes** » 16 Jul 2007, 20:03

Markgway wrote:I agree. Film Four used to be cool when it first started but now it's pretty boring. If they're gonna show mainstream films at least make them good ones (or least stuff we haven't see a million times on other channels).

I happen to like watching Made in America every day.

Markgway · Post by **Markgway** » 17 Jul 2007, 02:12