Tin Foil TV

[net1]

A couple who wrapped their television in a parcel of tin foil to try to avoid paying their licence were shocked when licence inspectors knocked at their door.

The believed the silver foil would make their set invisible to hi-tech detector vans.

The lengths householders will go to dodge paying a licence fee were revealed yesterday by TV Licensing. A wide range of weird and wonderful excuses were recorded across the UK over the last year.

One household in the Scotland told inspectors they only used their television for their cat to sleep on because it was "nice and warm". Others said their set was broken and that the standby light was only on to stop the damp getting in.

And one woman claimed she had never seen the television before and her husband must have bought it for their son.

Fergus Reid, a spokesman for TV Licensing, said:
"Wrapping your TV in tin foil is not going to help. You are going to get caught out and no excuse will get you out of it. Technology is developing all the time and we are finding better and quicker ways to catch people who are not paying their fees."

 

[rolfw]

we are finding better and quicker ways to catch people who are not paying their fees

Yes, like a list of addresses which don't have a license.

 

[BarMoo]

Apparently these new detector vans have 'removeable' magnetic signage; i.e., removeable signage allows them to go covert.

Which in BBC speak - allows for them to: meander un-noticed through Knightsbridge, London, or, be seen as a bleedin' obvious detector van when speeding through Mogham Tower Estate, Salford.

Very odd.

Have Fun,

Mark.

Disclaimer: the estate name has been made up. Salford has not been made up yet. Knightbridge is inhabited by people that don't live in houses.

 

[rolfw]

Knightbridge is inhabited by people that don't live in houses.

LOL, that's right, they live in Hyses

 

[net1]

New "invisible" TV detector vans hit streets

A new generation of "invisible" television detector vans has been deployed this week.

The new model, the 10th in almost 50 years, are the first to be designed with removable TV Licensing branding, so they look like "any other white van" on the streets.

"These new vans really are a case of 'now you see it, now you don't'," explained Vanessa Wood, TV Licensing spokeswoman. "Because we are able to remove the TV Licensing logo, licence evaders won't know we're in the area unless we want them to.

"50 years ago you could spot the first TV detector vans coming a mile off as the aerial on top was as wide as the van. This is the first time we have used covert vans and they will be only one part of our activities to target licence evaders."

Last year 440,000 licence evaders were caught. The organisation hopes that the new technology will help catch even more.

"The new vans are so powerful they can tell if a TV is in use in as little as 20 seconds. And once the television is detected, the equipment - which works from up to 60 metres away - can pinpoint the actual room that the television set is in," Wood added.

"However, the technology is so secret that even the engineers working on different detection systems worked in isolation – not even they know how the other detection methods work."

Anyone caught without a licence faces a fine of up to £1,000.