# Voluntary BBC license fee



## Pat-H (Oct 30, 2009)

What a plonker lineker is.
Suggesting the BBC Shoukd be voluntary and higher than it is. 
What does he imagine will happen?
I know. A tiny minority would pay and it woukd collapse.

Gary Lineker says BBC should make licence fee voluntary

https://www.theguardian.com/footbal...-fee-voluntary?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Clipboard


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## Penquin (Oct 15, 2007)

Now, if they said that residents in Europe could pay the same fee and receive their broadcasts and iPlayer they would be pleasantly surprised by the positive response I suspect.

At present, they will not permit us to use iPlayer etc. as to do so would according yo them " be contrary to EU Law which prevents briadcastsing outside national boundaries, or as blouse as they can get..." hence why the satellite signal was reduced in 2014 and why, if I try yo access iPlayer or many of the online material I get a display saying effectively " not in your area" . Even programmes like Desert Island Discs are censored so that only about 10s of each track is played, followed by silence until the speaking recommences.

The only way round is to use a VPN and the BBC constantly tries to locate and block such things as it has done for the last few years.

After January 31 EU Law will supposedly no longer apply, so up the power on broadcasts (a la Radio Luxembourg in the 60's) and tough luck on the EU. 

Paying a fee would bring in considerable income IMO.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

It's sad the BBC is being deprived of income in part due to commercial organisations like Netflix and Sky. Not everyone is able or wants to pay more and Personally I feel OAPs should not have to pay the license as in France.

Ray.


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## dghr272 (Jun 14, 2012)

Netflix and Sky aren’t to blame, they provide a service that lots are prepared to pay for. 

As for the OAPs, you can thank those nice Tories, they’re the ones to blame.

Terry


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Oh, then theres Brit-Box. Grrrr.

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Here in Spain I can get BBC radio via BBC Sounds on my laptop. Should I keep quiet of is that allowed?


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Yes, keep quiet Pat or it will be cut off while 'they' send a bill.

Ray.


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## H1-GBV (Feb 28, 2006)

I would love it if the cost of advertising campaigns by companies was voluntary, as I never (or at least very rarely) watch commercial TV and never read adverts in newspapers.
I also try to avoid looking at advertising hoardings and I think the world would be a better place without them.
Simply knocking 1p off every item which I buy would enable me to give generously to BBC!

Gordon


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Couldn't agree more, Gordon. An old teacher of mine alerted all us students to the evils of advertising. I have been avoiding it as much as I can ever since.

When my daughter was young I used to tell her that our ITV channel was broken so that she was not bombarded with toy adverts for plastic junk.


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

They get you in the end. Just look at the banner and pop up adds online. I hate Amazon as the worst.

Ray.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Would we, I wonder, be prepared to pay a voluntary top up to the licence fee that would cover a free licence for those that really cannot afford it.
I have often wondered about these voluntary top ups. Would they be too unwieldy to administer? Those, for instance, who do not need the winter fuel allowance or the Christmas bonus or, even, the State Pension would be able to tick a box to say "give it to someone more needy".


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## raynipper (Aug 4, 2008)

Ha ha ha can you see the government bowing to your wishes Pat. Especially as the Treasury did all in it's power to stop me getting my rightful compensation and now has lost my contributions so I only get a greatly reduced pension. They are greed bastards trying to withhold payments.!!!

Ray.


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## erneboy (Feb 8, 2007)

I imagine that most of us, myself included would begin to wonder exactly who was getting the pension I had decided to forego. Is it some deserving elderly person, somebody who is ill and needs the assistance or some freeloading ******* who's fiddling the system for all it's worth.

I don't know if it still happens but before Universal Credit I knew one or two who were fiddling small fortunes. New cars, pub every night etc. One who had been a mechanic in the army and was retired early on a disability pension and who had his own full time car repair business which he ran from home doing just cash work. That bloke has just finished building a new house paid for that way. He drives a recent BMW suv.


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## patp (Apr 30, 2007)

Yeah, I take the above points. 
There is an convicted drug dealer who bought a house near us. He never does a day's work but managed to buy the house and do it up. He is supposed to be going straight but I would believe it if he went out to work every day. Another in the area has just bought and renovated a Grade 2 listed farmhouse and has it on the market for £1.5 million. Whatever happened to the proceeds of crime legislation?


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## Pat-H (Oct 30, 2009)

patp said:


> Yeah, I take the above points.
> There is an convicted drug dealer who bought a house near us. He never does a day's work but managed to buy the house and do it up. He is supposed to be going straight but I would believe it if he went out to work every day. Another in the area has just bought and renovated a Grade 2 listed farmhouse and has it on the market for £1.5 million. Whatever happened to the proceeds of crime legislation?


Examples like this are often touted as good reasons to let families starve. 
They are often over exaggerated and investigations often prove the actual cost of this type of fraud is very small.

In 2017 it was estimated to be 1%

The rightwing press will exaggerate the issue to help support reduced access to welfare while under reporting the issues suffering and death caused.

There are also various ways to report suspected fraud and failing to report it is effectively supporting that person's crime.

People could cheat the system if everyone realised its all of our money and they are actually stealing from us and the struggling families.

But ultimately this is a smoke screen to reduce and dismantle our state system.

The poor disabled grandfather who starved to death in a flat with no electricity or gas. Is the cost of the government's policies to dismantle benefits.

And as a country we just shrug. As long as they lower our tax bill we ca accept people die.


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