>> What happened to customer service ? -:)
>>
>> www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/wetherspoons-pubs-introduced-ban-cheeky-10982140
>>
I have absolutely no experience of this practice.
It certainly doesn't happen in Surrey.
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'Can you/I charge my phone' is a daily request for anybody working with the public. I've had people plug one in without even asking while I'm trying to introduce my self and explain how assessment/advice works.
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Think it's getting quite normal now. Better establishments build wireless chargers directly into the tables.
I spent 15 minutes waiting to take a crap the other day and when the woman in the Airbus's forward and most executive lavatory finally emerged, she was clutching her phone and a charger and had clearly been topping it up from the shaver socket.
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"The chain has more than 1,000 outlets across the UK"
No problem then.
What they are objecting to is charging them behind the bar. I'd just look for a table next to a wall socket.
If away for a full day or more I usually carry a power pack. A mobile is no use if it's out of battery.
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I don't blame them... hardly a priority to get topped up so you can upload a pic to facebook of the scampi and chips headed by... Spoooonz #cheapnightout
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>>What they are objecting to is charging them behind the bar.
>> I'd just look for a table next to a wall socket.
I was in a pub a few months ago when a very attractive woman looked directly across the room and then moved swiftly towards me.
Had my OAP luck changed ?
She reached me and fell to her knees in front of me!!!!
She asked if I would excuse her then just a few seconds later stood up with a satisfied smile on her face and returned to her friend.
She had spied a 13A socket by my ankle and had triumphantly plugged her phone for a recharge.
So never jump to conclusions :-(
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Abstracting electricity:
" This offence is created by section 13 of the Theft Act 1968: A person who dishonestly uses without due authority, or dishonestly causes to be wasted or diverted, any electricity shall on conviction on indictment be liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years."
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When visiting clients I inevitably have to plug my laptop in and clients take it as a necessary business requirement.
Mobiles are another matter though. Sometimes I need to get extra power, especially when using my phone's WIFI hot-spot all day on a long day and I would always, explicitly ask permission to plug the phone in, especially as some companies have a policy of not allowing phones to be plugged in.
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Any fool knows a battery back up pack is the answer..
tinyurl.com/y7ko7dpf
£1 for my Varta 400mah emergency backup...
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>> £1 for my Varta 400mah emergency backup...
Bit more for my Coolreal k6 but it's 15,600mah.....
tinyurl.com/yclp2ypp
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If I had a smart phone I would use my pocket sized jump starter.
Meanwhile I have spare batteries for my old steam era Nokia :-)
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Chemical plant I worked in had really strict H&S. We were building PCs and deploying them to users. The brand new PC cables had to be PAT tested before we could use them in our build area, then tested again when they were deployed to the user desk.
I had the feeling that some people were holding the company to ransom with H&S in places, as the PAT testing HAD to be done by the in-house sparks, and he was too busy to do it in normal hours so overtime was required....
You wouldn't get away with charging your phone there... H&S was somewhat ingrained into all employees and there was no turning a blind eye...
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A refinery that I used to visit had a ban on mobile phones. Had to be switched off an left in the car.
Other place I regularly visit insist on putting your mobile in small anti-static pouches with the camera lenses covered up. Usually engineering design companies developing IP for others.
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>> Abstracting electricity:
>>
>> " This offence is created by section 13 of the Theft Act 1968:
I've an idea the Met tried to run that offence for somebody who plugged his phone in on a train but prosecution didn't proceed. It's normal use is for people by-passing meters or similar.
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Keep your damned phones away from the pubs. Pubs are for proper socialising. Mouths are for talking. Tongues are for tonguing. Toilets are for nobbing. Mates are things you chat to while you're looking for birds.
Phone-users in pubs are tedious, sterile ham-shankers.
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>
>> Mates are things you chat
>> to while you're looking for birds.
You talk to the condom machine?
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It won't be long before electric car owners will be asking if they can plug their cars in while they stop off for a pie and a pint.
Rows of cars parked up near the pub wall, windows opened, and extension leads running to the nearest 13A socket.
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>> It won't be long before electric car owners will be asking if they can plug
>> their cars in while they stop off for a pie and a pint.
>>
Won't be long? EV drivers have been doing that for years, and generally people are happy to oblige, in return for ten bob or something.
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>> Keep your damned phones away from the pubs. Pubs are for proper socialising. Mouths are
>> for talking. Tongues are for tonguing. Toilets are for nobbing. Mates are things you chat
>> to while you're looking for birds.
>>
>> Phone-users in pubs are tedious, sterile ham-shankers.
>>
Hear hear, and snooker halls, cinemas, theaters and restaurants. Nobody is that damn important that they can't be out of contact with the rest of the world for an hour or two.
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>> Abstracting electricity:
>>
>> " This offence is created by section 13 of the Theft Act 1968:
In a similar vein, if you're watching TV on your phone/tablet while plugged into the mains of someone else's premises, your own home TV licence won't cover you.
It'll only cover you if powered solely by its own internal batteries.
www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/watching-online-and-on-mobile-devices-TOP14
Do I need a TV Licence if I watch on a mobile device?
If you’re using a mobile device powered solely by its own internal batteries – like a smartphone, tablet or laptop – you will be covered by your home’s TV Licence, wherever you’re using it in the UK and Channel Islands.
However, if you’re away from home and plug one of these devices into the mains and use it to watch or record live TV programmes on any channel or device, or to download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer, you need to be covered by a separate TV Licence at that address (unless you’re in a vehicle or vessel like a train, car or boat). It’s the law.
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>>TV Licence.
The law is an ass!
There was a case of a woman who has a licence, visiting a friend who hasn't, to babysit or sum such. TV was on and the licencing authorities turned up. Women got a significant fine.
Technically I suppose I ought to ask to see the hotels TV licence when I watch TV in my hotel room!?
Last edited by: zippy on Mon 14 Aug 17 at 20:21
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>> There was a case of a woman who has a licence, visiting a friend who
>> hasn't, to babysit or sum such. TV was on and the licencing authorities turned up.
>> Women got a significant fine.
Not seen that reported but surely the babysitter either knew or should have known.
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>> Not seen that reported but surely the babysitter either knew or should have known.
>>
do you ask all your friends and relatives if they have a licence before watching tv in their houses?
TV licence "dodgers", like train fare dodgers and others are not always the most likely of people.
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>> do you ask all your friends and relatives if they have a licence before watching
>> tv in their houses?
No, but if friend had previously bragged about having no licence or even just related fact that they'd missed payments I might be more cautious.
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TV licencing.
Unfortunately I can't find the article anymore.
I have never asked anyone that I am visiting if they have a TV licence and I have never been asked by anyone visiting. I can't imagine normal folk who can't afford a licence or have forgotten to pay the fee bring it up in general conversation.
I took the article as stated at the time. She was doing someone a favour and it cost her the fine and criminal record which will likely have job implications.
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>> There was a case of a woman who has a licence, visiting a friend who
>> hasn't, to babysit or sum such. TV was on and the licencing authorities turned up.
>> Women got a significant fine.
IIRC, her TV licence would have only covered her at her friends house if there was no one at her own address watching TV at the same time.
Same with caravaners, their home licence will only cover them in the caravan if no one is left at home. i.e. Television receiving equipment is never used at both places at the same time.
www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/media-centre/news/view.app?id=1369782872889
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>> Two places at once.
Potentially partner was home. How do you prove it unless the licence checkers turn up at both properties at the same time or she confessed to watching TV and had insufficient legal advice.
Can just imagine the situation, me in a hotel for work and the Mrs at home watching Holby. "Darling, switch your TV off, I need to watch the game!".
She would win every time (and come to think of it, she actually pays the licence fee and Sky subscription).
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What is the logic in allowing a user in a static caravan to be potentially covered by 'home' licence whereas a second home owner is not?
I note that the article does not appear to mention a motor caravan?
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Interesting information there. I, the licence holder, must have been guilty of licence dodging multiple times. We have been away as a couple in the tourer many times and left the kids at home when they were old enough. I'm sure they didn't unplug the telly until we got back.
I also run the set using electricity which belongs to someone else, the site owner, until I pay for it at the end of the visit.
As I say, interesting, but probably impossible to police.
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>>
>> Interesting information there. I, the licence holder, must have been guilty of licence dodging multiple
>> times.
AIUI you're OK in a tourer (or presumably a campervan). The simultaneous use issue arises with 'fixed' holiday caravans and is a concession regarding premises that might in other circumstances be someone's home.
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>> Can just imagine the situation, me in a hotel for work and the Mrs at
>> home watching Holby. "Darling, switch your TV off, I need to watch the game!".
The Hotel's TV licence should cover you (if they have one of course).
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The TV licence is a dying article anyway, I. my opinion. It gets harder and harder to justify each year for 3 channels of programming with so many other sources available.
Personally, I like many BBC programmes, especially on BBC2 and BBC4, but the concept of paying for a licence to watch them is a very outdated concept
I would be very surprised if it still exists in its current form in 13 years when I stop paying for it anyway.
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>> It gets harder and
>> harder to justify each year for 3 channels of programming with so many other sources
>> available.
>
Exactly. If we were inventing a method of TV channel finance from scratch today, it would be nonsensical to say lets have a TV licence fee, and then we can give all the proceeds to 3 out of the 100 proposed channels.
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>> harder to justify each year for 3 channels of programming
Which if course is an inaccurate over simplification for effect
There is national and local radio, there is local programming and news, there is regional programming in native languages, there is an internationally vital source of news broadcast.
There needs to be some non commercial broadcasting or we end up like the states. Someone needs to pay for it, and it's only fair that we all chip in
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>> There needs to be some non commercial broadcasting or we end up like the states.
>> Someone needs to pay for it, and it's only fair that we all chip in
>>
In general I agree with that but it is a difficult need to justify.
Philosophically, why is it still the role of the state or the government or whoever to "inform, educate and entertain" in a world in which television is nothing like as important as it once was.
How do other countries do it?
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PSB is a good thing. It needs to be funded somehow. Only the form of taxation changes.
Last edited by: No FM2R on Wed 16 Aug 17 at 10:30
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>> How do other countries do it?
>>
Poorly for the most part. I'm always amazed at how some people are keen to dismantle the BBC when the examples of countries like USA, France, Italy, Canada etc are there as a dreadful warning of what post BBC life would be like.
The BBC is not perfect by any means but by and large it works, delivers a good service and is relatively cheap.
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>>The BBC is not perfect by any means but by and large it works, delivers a good service and is relatively cheap.
All true. But it is a pity that it is so biased and subjective in its reporting. I think its also quite lost sight of where it is supposed to be, though perhaps that's the only way it can survive.
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>>I would be very surprised if it still exists in its current form in 13 years
>>when I stop paying for it anyway.
I note that, of course, my free license, just like all you paying folks, restricts its use to my home address.
I also note
"Even if you have a black and white TV, you need a colour licence to record any live TV or download BBC programmes on iPlayer."
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>> "Even if you have a black and white TV, you need a colour licence to
>> record any live TV or download BBC programmes on iPlayer."
Of course you do, it's still being produced and broadcast, only transmission method and or time of viewing has changed
The B&W bit should be removed, there are no B&W sets around capable of receiving Digital.
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It was the B & W reference that amused me.
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>> The B&W bit should be removed, there are no B&W sets around capable of receiving
>> Digital.
A UHF B&W set would cope with a digibox provding RF output.
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All three of them?
Sorry won't wash, it's a plethora of words that are not required. The whole thing can be easily funded by a change of thinking.
1 Assume everyone is capable of watching TV in whatever method
2 levy the charge against every household via a council tax precept like the police charge
3 an individual can apply for exemption as they do for council tax exemptions
Job done,
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>> 2 levy the charge against every household via a council tax precept like the police
>> charge
FWIW there are approx 9k B&W only licences.
AIUI Germany funds it's PSB system via a property levy similar to your suggestion. Seems fair and equitable to me.
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AIUI Germany funds it's PSB system via a property levy similar to your suggestion. Seems fair and equitable to me.
France does the same - and it allows a second home (in France) to be covered by the one licence.
Makes the whole TV Licencing organisation redundant - oh well they can go fruit and vegetable picking in the Fens!
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As a keen weather watcher because of both work and hobbies the licence fee is worth it for the weather forecasts alone. Theirs is the only service which is any good, the rest vary from abysmal to incomprehensible.
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>> As a keen weather watcher because of both work and hobbies the licence fee is
>> worth it for the weather forecasts alone. Theirs is the only service which is any
>> good, the rest vary from abysmal to incomprehensible.
>>
This is a case in point, there are so many alternate sources of weather forecasts that are available. The only advantage of BBC ones is that they are available on the radio when you are out of reach of any of the others.
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I closely watched the forecast earlier on in the year, i thought it was pretty poor. I found accuweather to be the better forecaster.
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Spoons say no to recharging. - Duncan
