Derek Probert is one of thousands of licence payers who are still being hounded for a TV licence they already have and, no matter how many times they provide evidence of a valid licence, the threats continue. The same is true for many who do not possess a TV.

Derek has an excellent case for harassment against the TVLA and I sincerely hope he pursues it. He has been subjected to unacceptable stress for over 10 years and this should amount to a sizeable claim for damages.

I was pursued by the TVLA after I got rid of the TV. I received the usual 'This property is not licensed' letters. I rang them. They apologised and promised to amend my details accordingly, but the letters kept coming.

Then I looked closely at the letter routinely sent out. It does not clarify the circumstances under which a TV licence is not required and actually implies that even owning a computer connected to the Internet requires a licence. This is not so. Although technically a licence is required for any equipment capable of receiving live broadcasts (which would include computers), users are only committing an offence if they use the computer to receive live broadcasts without a licence. But this is not made clear on the letters.

Also, the letter does not inform the recipient of his or her legal rights. It does not state the limitations of the enforcement officer's powers (in fact, the enforcement officer has no more powers than anyone else) and does not state that those who receive a visit are under no obligation to admit them into their homes. In fact, if an enforcement officer does not immediately leave when asked to do so, they are guilty of trespass and can be prosecuted (and should be).

The letter does not acknowledge not owning a TV as a possible reason for not having a licence. It acknowledges that the occupier may have forgotten or may have moved recently and not transferred the licence but not that the occupier may not own a TV and the only remedy recommended is to purchase a licence to avoid prosecution.

In short, the letter demands money whether you owe it or not, threatens you with visits from an enforcement officer and threatens a fine of £1,000. No other business would be legally allowed to send letters demanding money and issuing threats to random addresses on the off-chance that some of them might owe them money. This is technically attempted extortion.

I wrote to the TVLA, informing them that the letters they send amount to attempted extortion and, if they send me so much as one more letter of this nature, I will be seeking prosecution for just that: Attempted extortion.

That was over five years ago and I have not heard from them since so, clearly, they are aware of the legally fragile nature of their position. No doubt, the revenue they get from people who are intimidated into buying a licence that they don't need justifies the risk of being prosecuted themselves.

Please folks, don't be bullied. If you are being harassed, prosecute. Bite back!

– Ron Tocknell, Lydney.