I am anti-TV licence but I do have a TV licence.

You need to be covered by a valid TV Licence if you watch or record TV as it's being broadcast - this means that if you download or stream programmes, but not as they're being shown that you DON'T need to be covered by a licence. This includes the use of devices such as a computer, laptop, mobile phone or DVD/video recorder.

For a while we didn't have any TV so didn't require a licence as we just flat out refused to be ripped off to the tune of £145 per year - or £45 if you have leaped back in time to the 1970s and have a black and white TV. You can also pay monthly and quarterly (every 3 months.) The best options are to pay monthly and yearly as there is a £1.25 premium that is incurred on the quarterly payments as a premium due to the 'pay as you go' nature of the payments.

A licence covers the place you live in and all receivers at that address. This can be tricky for students or people staying in a house that is spit into rooms and not everyone is covered in this case.

The crazy thing is that officers working for the TV Licensing office can come into your home or work to inspect all TV equipment - but you don't have to let them in. We had a visit from them in our old address (where we didn't have a licence or a TV) and they just came into our living room and then left. Had we been more deceptive we could have wheeled the TV into our bedroom - or had a TV in the bedroom!

What I find disgusting about the licence is the 50% blind concession. This entitles registered blind and severely sight impaired individuals to a 50% off their licence, bringing it to £72.75 for a full colour TV licence and £24.50 for black and white. Oh and the kind old BBC say if you just have a digital box that produces sounds and no TV programmes then you don't have to worry about being covered by a licence.

I think the licence should be made free to those who are registered blind and sight impaired. What a joke!

Oh yes and those over 75 qualify for a free licence, also. Despite retirement age being 65.

The TV Licence is supposed to go back into so-called quality programming but aside a few good CBeebies programmes and EastEnders I fail to see how my tax (as it's a tax) money is being spent to entertain me. More like being sunk into importing all our good TV over to America, being sold off to TV networks out there and of course the money made off the merchandise from all these BBC shows. Where do we get a cut of this? Oh yeah. We don't.

Most other countries like Australia and recently New Zealand have scrapped their TV licences - because people wouldn't have it. And I think it's high time the BBC became commercial like all the other channels and stop sucking off the teet of British citizens in order to fund programming!