Post by Teddy Bear on Dec 14, 2008 23:20:53 GMT
For years the threatening letters that arrive every month from TVL if you don't pay for a TV license have contained statistics that were patently false. One would think that the BBC were aware of the real figures, as previously they had insisted these figures were correct, despite in one case where the same figures were used in a two month period. Following a Telegraph investigation that showed these figures were bogus, to save face the BBC have thrown an 'aghast' and sacked the contractor.
It's great when journalists do an exposee that is truly a service.
I wonder of those that pay the BBC their blood money, how they see what these kind of lying threatening tactics used by TVL, with the sanction of the BBC who its used to support, can possibly benefit society. All the way round the BBC is bad news for any civilisation.
It's great when journalists do an exposee that is truly a service.
I wonder of those that pay the BBC their blood money, how they see what these kind of lying threatening tactics used by TVL, with the sanction of the BBC who its used to support, can possibly benefit society. All the way round the BBC is bad news for any civilisation.
BBC sacks contractor over licence fee warning letters containing false statistics
The BBC has fired a contractor after millions of letters reminding viewers to pay their licence fee were found to contain false statistics.
By Alex Singleton
Last Updated: 10:25AM GMT 14 Dec 2008
The corporation took the action after it was forced to admit, following an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph, that 6.6 million inaccurate letters had been sent by its TV Licensing arm over the past three years.
Zarin Patel, the BBC's Chief Financial Officer, said the corporation apologised unreservedly for the use of incorrect data.
He said: "After an urgent review by the BBC, we have taken comprehensive action. The use of these statistics has been stopped and we have informed Proximity London Ltd that the contract for TV Licensing mailings will be re-tendered. The company has advised us that disciplinary action is being taken."
The letters, which were criticised as "intimidatory" by a senior MP, warned viewers that they faced being questioned in their homes by enforcement officers if they failed to pay their licence fee.
The investigation was launched after one viewer complained that he had received two similar letters from TV Licensing on the same date.
One of the letters stated that 33,781 licence fee evaders had been caught in the previous month, the other gave a figure of 69,838.
Challenged about the conflicting figures, the BBC initially insisted that the 33,781 figure was correct even though it corresponded precisely with the figure used in letters sent to other viewers two months earlier.
The corporation called this "a minor mistake due to human error" and said its processes had, some time previously, been reviewed "to prevent this happening again".
However, after comparing hundreds of letters, this newspaper found that the errors had appeared in letters sent over a period of several years.
The BBC has now admitted that the monthly statistics used between January 2006 and November 2008 were incorrect.
Proximity London, the firm which sent the letters, had previously received industry awards for its work on behalf of TV Licensing - which included a marketing campaign called The Little Book of Excuses, highlighting excuses people use for failing to pay their fee.
This newspaper's investigation also found that all of TV Licensing's mass mailings, which were 'signed' at the bottom with the preprinted signatures of named officials, in fact bore fake versions of the individuals' signatures which varied over time. The BBC initially refused to explain the discrepancy, but has now said that fake signatures were routinely used "to prevent fraud".
John Whittingdale, the chairman of the all-party Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee, accused TV Licensing of behaving "like the Gestapo", employing "tactics that are outrageous".
He said that TV Licensing should use real signatures and criticised the wording of its letters, which wrongly implied that its employees have police-style legal powers to enter homes and interview suspects.
The letters said: "We have authorised officers from our Enforcement Division to visit your home and interview you under caution ... Your statement will be taken in compliance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act."
Mr Whittingdale said: "The tactics used by TV Licensing in their letters are intimidatory and cause genuine distress. Their records are not always correct, but they write letters that assume members of the public are criminals."
The findings of the investigation come as the license fee is coming under increasing scrutiny. The BBC Trust, which regulates the Corporation, has launched a review into TV Licensing's enforcement methods and the "tone of the marketing", after complaints of heavy-handed tactics.
Meanwhile, a growing number of public figures including the television presenter Noel Edmunds and newspaper columnist Charles Moore, have said that they will boycott the fee.
The BBC has fired a contractor after millions of letters reminding viewers to pay their licence fee were found to contain false statistics.
By Alex Singleton
Last Updated: 10:25AM GMT 14 Dec 2008
The corporation took the action after it was forced to admit, following an investigation by The Sunday Telegraph, that 6.6 million inaccurate letters had been sent by its TV Licensing arm over the past three years.
Zarin Patel, the BBC's Chief Financial Officer, said the corporation apologised unreservedly for the use of incorrect data.
He said: "After an urgent review by the BBC, we have taken comprehensive action. The use of these statistics has been stopped and we have informed Proximity London Ltd that the contract for TV Licensing mailings will be re-tendered. The company has advised us that disciplinary action is being taken."
The letters, which were criticised as "intimidatory" by a senior MP, warned viewers that they faced being questioned in their homes by enforcement officers if they failed to pay their licence fee.
The investigation was launched after one viewer complained that he had received two similar letters from TV Licensing on the same date.
One of the letters stated that 33,781 licence fee evaders had been caught in the previous month, the other gave a figure of 69,838.
Challenged about the conflicting figures, the BBC initially insisted that the 33,781 figure was correct even though it corresponded precisely with the figure used in letters sent to other viewers two months earlier.
The corporation called this "a minor mistake due to human error" and said its processes had, some time previously, been reviewed "to prevent this happening again".
However, after comparing hundreds of letters, this newspaper found that the errors had appeared in letters sent over a period of several years.
The BBC has now admitted that the monthly statistics used between January 2006 and November 2008 were incorrect.
Proximity London, the firm which sent the letters, had previously received industry awards for its work on behalf of TV Licensing - which included a marketing campaign called The Little Book of Excuses, highlighting excuses people use for failing to pay their fee.
This newspaper's investigation also found that all of TV Licensing's mass mailings, which were 'signed' at the bottom with the preprinted signatures of named officials, in fact bore fake versions of the individuals' signatures which varied over time. The BBC initially refused to explain the discrepancy, but has now said that fake signatures were routinely used "to prevent fraud".
John Whittingdale, the chairman of the all-party Commons Culture, Media and Sport committee, accused TV Licensing of behaving "like the Gestapo", employing "tactics that are outrageous".
He said that TV Licensing should use real signatures and criticised the wording of its letters, which wrongly implied that its employees have police-style legal powers to enter homes and interview suspects.
The letters said: "We have authorised officers from our Enforcement Division to visit your home and interview you under caution ... Your statement will be taken in compliance with the Police and Criminal Evidence Act."
Mr Whittingdale said: "The tactics used by TV Licensing in their letters are intimidatory and cause genuine distress. Their records are not always correct, but they write letters that assume members of the public are criminals."
The findings of the investigation come as the license fee is coming under increasing scrutiny. The BBC Trust, which regulates the Corporation, has launched a review into TV Licensing's enforcement methods and the "tone of the marketing", after complaints of heavy-handed tactics.
Meanwhile, a growing number of public figures including the television presenter Noel Edmunds and newspaper columnist Charles Moore, have said that they will boycott the fee.