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Me vs. The State

S

simeon

No fixed engagements
I shouldn't have to write this. Despite being pretty left-wing in my politics I believe that the role of the state should be limited to doing the kind of stuff that, I imagine, we all think are things that we can't do ourselves. Or that our locally-elected councillors can't provide of us. Such things as maintaining the armed forces, negotiating with other nation states, collecting and distributing national taxes and, I'm sure, lots of other duties too.

Where I start to fall out with the role of government and government bodies is when they start to interfere in my private affairs. What especially pi$$es me off is when they do so in an officious, threatening and bullying way which assumes that they have the authority to direct my life and that I am some sort of criminal.

Let me give two examples from this week: Last Saturday I had a letter from some organisation called askMID. The letter stated that I had a vehicle (a Harley Sportster, in fact) that did not appear on something called the Motor Insurance Database. My first thought was 'scam'. However, I googled it and it turns out to be genuine. The threatening tone of the letter suggests that I will be prosecuted unless I (a) insure my bike, or (b) if it is insured, then contact my insurer and make them put it on the database.

Still with me? Ok, it is insured. I phone Harley Insurance, waited 20 minutes listening to sh1t music and talked to someone. They assured me it would be sorted after the w/end. It wasn't. What do I do now? Apparently I can be prosecuted because my insurance company haven't done as they should have, in spite of direct instructions from me. My natural inclination is f*ck the government and f*ck their stupid laws, how dare they. Take me to court.

Second example: We live on Dartmoor. There is no TV signal here. When we had building work done in 2012 we had to take down the satellite dish the previous owners installed. In spite of having cables installed as part of the building work, we have never attached another satellite dish. An aerial doesn't work here and anyway we haven't got one. We don't stream live TV to any device. Some months back The Lovely Sharon contacted the TV licensing people and said thanks for the renewal notice but we haven't watched live TV for some years and don't intend to do so from now on either. So please cancel our TV licence. There followed a number of reminders culminating in a very threatening letter today. TLS phoned them and gave them a piece of her mind. The response was that they would send someone round to check we weren't watching telly. WTF??!!! Who do these people think they are? They were told that they could send whoever they like but that unless accompanied by a police officer and a court order they would be trespassing. Damn their bastard eyes.

This sort of stuff raises my blood pressure. How do we deal with these people? Complaining seems to make no difference. They have automated scripts that spew out the "I'm sorry you found us all to be f*ck-wits, we do our best to ensure that the piss-poor service we provide is of the highest possible standard", pick-list responses that are meaningless. The only thing I can think of doing is writing to my MP. That way I know that some admin person at the MP's office will forward my letter to the offending organisation with a request for a response. It'll cause them a little bit of grief, make me feel better for having f*cked with them, but ultimately, achieve nothing.
 
Once upon a time my tv broke so I didn't renew my license. When I bought a new Tv I bought a new license and the twats tried to charge me for the three months when i had no Tv. I told them to go away as they had no evidence that I had watched a Tv in the premises. I feel your pain.
 
Irksome but trivial in the scheme of things. Things like these are just part of the pile of shit that one has to wade through when navigating modernity. Life's too short to give it a second thought.
 
I just totally ignore as a rule... let them waste time and money writing me silly letters and making empty threats.... it all just goes in the shredder and they can go **** themselves!
 
Regarding your first issue, the MID database is there as a central record of insurance for the UK. I've not heard of anyone being notified for having no insurance but if this is genuine, surely this is a positive thing to clamp down on uninsured vehicles & drivers. It could also help you because your chosen insurance company says you're insured but are you? I don't doubt Harley Insurance is genuine but there could be other unscrupulous companies out there. And if the police access the same database, they, or an ANPR camera, could clock you as being an uninsured driver and then you could be pulled over or sent a summons through the post. So surely, your complaint should be with your chosen insurer, Harley Insurance ,as they haven't updated the central database as they should.

As for your second issue, I'm sure there are loads of people who don't pay their TV licence but watch TV. As pretty much 99% of the population have tv's, I can understand why the licensing people are dubious and want to check. I'm sure they've heard every excuse going as well as real reasons. If they didn't do their checks, more and more would stop paying and those that do would end up having to pay more to compensate. Surely being 'left wing' as you describe yourself, you understand and agree with everyone contributing to a central service provided for all?
 
You need to form a militia and cut yourself off from the government.

Fill your basement with Pringles and Pop Tarts in anticipation of a long siege by the authorities.
 
I feel for you. The rules and paperwork for obtaining a settlement visa for my American wife (of 15 years with whom I have children) are lengthy, obscure, onerous and full of easy to make pitfalls, each of which will cost you a thousand pounds and a couple of months to resubmit the application. If I have a question I can call some place in India and be charged several quid a minute to speak to someone who can't really give me any answers.

Married for 15 years with kids doesn't strike me as a "marriage of convenience". If I didn't have sick parents in the UK I'd be inclined never to return.
 
simeon said:
I shouldn't have to write this. Despite being pretty left-wing in my politics I believe that the role of the state should be limited to doing the kind of stuff that, I imagine, we all think are things that we can't do ourselves. Or that our locally-elected councillors can't provide of us. Such things as maintaining the armed forces, negotiating with other nation states, collecting and distributing national taxes and, I'm sure, lots of other duties too.

Where I start to fall out with the role of government and government bodies is when they start to interfere in my private affairs. What especially pi$$es me off is when they do so in an officious, threatening and bullying way which assumes that they have the authority to direct my life and that I am some sort of criminal.

Let me give two examples from this week: Last Saturday I had a letter from some organisation called askMID. The letter stated that I had a vehicle (a Harley Sportster, in fact) that did not appear on something called the Motor Insurance Database. My first thought was 'scam'. However, I googled it and it turns out to be genuine. The threatening tone of the letter suggests that I will be prosecuted unless I (a) insure my bike, or (b) if it is insured, then contact my insurer and make them put it on the database.

Still with me? Ok, it is insured. I phone Harley Insurance, waited 20 minutes listening to sh1t music and talked to someone. They assured me it would be sorted after the w/end. It wasn't. What do I do now? Apparently I can be prosecuted because my insurance company haven't done as they should have, in spite of direct instructions from me. My natural inclination is f*ck the government and f*ck their stupid laws, how dare they. Take me to court.

Second example: We live on Dartmoor. There is no TV signal here. When we had building work done in 2012 we had to take down the satellite dish the previous owners installed. In spite of having cables installed as part of the building work, we have never attached another satellite dish. An aerial doesn't work here and anyway we haven't got one. We don't stream live TV to any device. Some months back The Lovely Sharon contacted the TV licensing people and said thanks for the renewal notice but we haven't watched live TV for some years and don't intend to do so from now on either. So please cancel our TV licence. There followed a number of reminders culminating in a very threatening letter today. TLS phoned them and gave them a piece of her mind. The response was that they would send someone round to check we weren't watching telly. WTF??!!! Who do these people think they are? They were told that they could send whoever they like but that unless accompanied by a police officer and a court order they would be trespassing. Damn their bastard eyes.

This sort of stuff raises my blood pressure. How do we deal with these people? Complaining seems to make no difference. They have automated scripts that spew out the "I'm sorry you found us all to be f*ck-wits, we do our best to ensure that the piss-poor service we provide is of the highest possible standard", pick-list responses that are meaningless. The only thing I can think of doing is writing to my MP. That way I know that some admin person at the MP's office will forward my letter to the offending organisation with a request for a response. It'll cause them a little bit of grief, make me feel better for having f*cked with them, but ultimately, achieve nothing.
Click to expand...

Hence my Libertarian stance, provide an ABSOLUTE BARE MINIMUM safety net, beyond that message to Gov.- FO
 
BTW Footnote, the most disgusting, intrusive, threatening body i have ever come across was TV licensing, when my dad had a stroke and couldn't see the TV anymore. I won't bore you with the story, you can guess the rest
 
Martin, if your insurance co has messed up, it's nothing to do with the government.

Re the TV licence, invite them round and then wave goodbye.
 
simeon said:
I shouldn't have to write this. Despite being pretty left-wing in my politics I believe that the role of the state should be limited to doing the kind of stuff that, I imagine, we all think are things that we can't do ourselves. Or that our locally-elected councillors can't provide of us. Such things as maintaining the armed forces, negotiating with other nation states, collecting and distributing national taxes and, I'm sure, lots of other duties too.
Click to expand...
What did you expect from Labour? There is a rather pleasing irony in your post...

Let me give two examples from this week: Last Saturday I had a letter from some organisation called askMID. The letter stated that I had a vehicle (a Harley Sportster, in fact) that did not appear on something called the Motor Insurance Database. My first thought was 'scam'. However, I googled it and it turns out to be genuine. The threatening tone of the letter suggests that I will be prosecuted unless I (a) insure my bike, or (b) if it is insured, then contact my insurer and make them put it on the database.
Click to expand...
The law is that if it is taxed it must be insured. That's all.

It's insured, so ignore them. But getting your insurer to do what they are supposed to is useful, otherwise you are likely to get pulled over by police people using ANPR to look for uninsured/untaxed/unmot'd vehicles. And if you cannot prove to the officer that you have insurance your vehicle may be impounded until you can prove it.

Paul
 
But if you are blind then you get a whole £1 off your TV licence. Isn't that fair?

Simeon, here goes:
(1) Dear Sir, further to youir letter of X, I do have insurance for the vehicle, under p/no XXX XXX, with Company Y. I have a record of payment on (date) to validate this policy. If they have failed to carry out their legal obligations then this is no concern of mine. Nevertheless should you be so foolish as to wish to attempt to prosecute me for another party's failings then I am only too happy to discuss this in court. I will however advise you that I will be hiring a very good solicitor and you will upon losing be charged with both his fee and my daily rate of XXX plus travel expenses. I trust that this meets with your approval and await your further communication.

(2) Dear Sir, I am happy to hear that you wish to verify that I have no TV nor other means of watching live TV. You are free to call at any time. As both my wife and I have told your organisation on numerous occasions, there is no receiving device here. However if you wish to waste your time, then that is your own affair. You may waste as much of your time as you wish. As I own a neither a TV nor a TV licence, it is hardly going to be my money that you are wasting, so you may go at this task with gusto. Do bear in mind that I live in a rural location and your travel plans may be a little more extensive than you had planned for. The best advice I can give you is to avoid the Okehampton road and to come in from the other side, if you see what I mean. Do take care not to miss the unmarked lane just after the abandoned sheep dip, and you will find us at the end of the 3 mile unsurfaced track that is a considerable trial in wet or misty weather. Still, you must do what you must do, so do press on. Upon arrival be aware that the Grimpen Mire is poorly marked on maps of this area so do be careful when stepping out of your vehicle. It was a terribly nasty business with your predecessor who checked our property last year, and I do regret that he hasn't been heard from since. Still, I have no desire to unsettle you. As you approach the buildings I must caution you that the neighbours' dog is often loose. He may be a blind, smelly old thing but he can clear the dry stone wall between their property and ours from a standing start and run down anything slower than a whippet in less than 50 yds. Nevertheless I am sure that you are accustomed to these travails, so I look forward to seeing you shortly.
Kind regards,
Simeon and The Lovely Sharon,
The Bothy,
2, Abandoned Cottage Lane,
The Moor Just Behind Yonder Horizon,
Nr Okehampton,
Devon. (No postcode)
 
The deal is we do what the government and their instituations tell us. We gave up our rights as freemen of the land when we had an NI number stamped on our foreheads.

They have the right to bash our doors down if we dont pay the council tax which is just a poll tax by any other name.

Everything they pretend is a freedom is designed to log, track and pigeonhole us.

If you've ever had a period of unemployment they treat you like scum. When employed they assume I owe way more tax. We even go out every few years like lemmings to vote for them :D

I try not to let it drive me totally insane. Lifes too short as others have said.
 
Minstrel SE said:
The deal is we do what the government bodies tell us. We gave up our rights as freemen of the land when we had an NI number stamped on our foreheads.

They have the right to bash our doors down if we dont pay the council tax which is just a poll tax by any other name.

Everything they pretend is a freedom is designed to log, track and pigeonhole us.

If you've ever had a period of unemployment they treat you like scum.
Click to expand...

Have you been watching Mel Gibson in Braveheart? :p
 
I have to say, it is my understanding that, if you have a computer that is capable of streaming TV, then you need a license. I suspect that, unless you can prove your interweb connection is too slow to stream live TV then they have you by the short and curlies.
 
My nephew was stopped by plod in his insured motor.
They said the database said uninsured.
He argued the case but as he didn't have the papers in the car his car was seized and he was abandoned in darkest Salford at 1am.
Despite proving he was insured the day after he was still charged to get the car out of the pound.
Tried following it up but got nowhere.
His solicitor told him that at any one time around 10% of insured vehicles are not on the database.

This policy is everything to do with government.
 
FireMoon said:
I have to say, it is my understanding that, if you have a computer that is capable of streaming TV, then you need a license. I suspect that, unless you can prove your interweb connection is too slow to stream live TV then they have you by the short and curlies.
Click to expand...

And you would be completely wrong.

Once again
The offence is watching or recording TV as it is broadcast.
Not being able to.

Your argument is akin to saying that because all men possess a penis then all men are rapists!
 
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