TV licensing staff issued manual in detecting when customers are angry .

by Digger Mon 11 Oct 2010, 6:46 am

If someone calls you an 'idiot', a 'shambles' or 'useless', it's pretty obvious that they are unhappy with you.
So it's hard to understand why TV Licensing bosses have bothered issuing staff with a manual advising that customers who use these words are likely to be making a complaint.
Other indications that a viewer may be unhappy, apparently, are the use of capital letters or the phrases, 'When will you people listen?', 'Who do you think you are?' and 'Sort yourselves out!'

TV licensing staff issued manual in detecting when customers are angry . Article-1319265-0125063D000004B0-150_468x286

TV licensing staff issued manual in detecting when customers are angry . Article-1319265-0125063D000004B0-150_468x286

TV Licensing workers have been told to look out for tell-tale phrases such as, 'I am extremely angry'
The document also reveals quirks in the rules about who needs a licence - the Queen, prisoners and diplomats do not, but all other Royals and prison officers who live in the grounds of a jail do.
The 964-page official handbook, which was released following a Freedom of Information request, sets out in detail how the fee should be administered.
A large section is dedicated to dealing with complaints, including prepared answers to regular objections about the BBC's 'offensive' programmes and the aggressive tone of licence fee warning letters that could 'shock' elderly people.
Staff are advised to look out for particular 'keywords' suggesting a customer is protesting about some aspect of the £145.50-a-year fee.
These include: 'compensation', 'complaint', 'disgraceful', 'disgusted', 'incompetent', 'appalling', 'furious', 'intimidation', 'mistakes', 'harassment', 'rude', 'threatening', 'outrageous', 'upsetting', 'unacceptable and swear words.KEY PHRASES TO LOOK OUT FOR

I will sue
Your failure
I resent the tone of your
I object most strongly
Lack of courtesy
Sort yourselves out!
I have written several times before
When will you people listen?
I am extremely angry
I demand an apology
Who do you think you are?
I intend to take this matter further/to my MP/to the press/to my solicitor

The guide also lists warning phrases, such as 'I am extremely angry", 'I demand an apology', 'lack of courtesy', 'your failure' and 'I will sue'.
The document adds: 'Remember underlining of key words and phrases or the use of bold or capital letters designed to make certain parts of a letter stand out is also an indication of a complaint.'
Officials are given stock answers to common criticisms of the licence, including 'The BBC is producing poor programmes, some are offensive, I am only going to pay a proportion of the fee' and 'If an old person had received this letter they would have been very shocked'.
The TV licence fee has been a growing source of irritation for the British public in recent years, with some people unhappy about the threatening behaviour of licence-fee collectors and the perceived bias of the BBC.
In 2008, there was a large backlash against the corporation after its employees Jonathan Ross and Russell Brand broadcast a prank call to elderly actor Andrew Sachs on their Radio 2 show, with many subscribers refusing to pay their TV licence fee until the pair were sacked.
The two main companies contracted by the BBC to administer the TVlicence received 35,000 complaints in 2008 and 37,000 in 2009,according to the TV Licensing website.The manual, known as the TV Licensing Ask Helpscript, discloses that the Queen is exempt from paying the fee but other members of the Royal Family are not.
Prisoners do not need a licence for TVs in their cells or other communal areas because prisons are subject to Crown exemption.
But a licence is required by prison officers who live in jail grounds and have a TV in their accommodation or for a staff social club on the premises.
The document also notes: 'Diplomats enjoy immunity from prosecution. If they choose not to buy a TV licence, TV Licensing cannot enforce the law against them.
'Embassy buildings also have diplomatic protection and TV Licensing cannot enforce the law if the embassy chooses not to buy a TV licence.'
The BBC Trust announced last month that the licence fee would be frozen at £145.50 for at least a year because of the financial pressures on viewers.
A TV Licensing spokeswoman said: 'There are more than 25 million licences in force.
'In 2009-10 complaints totalled 29,900, representing 0.1% of all licence holders, which was a 16% decrease on the previous year.
'Complaint numbers are published each year in TV Licensing's annual review.'
She added: 'The Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee and defines who needs a licence.'

You could not make it up .

by Deebay Mon 11 Oct 2010, 4:20 pm

It's a coincidence that you posted this today. I just got home to find a letter (in an attractive shade of blue) from TV Licensing. Yes, the wording is indeed threatening. It is written on the assumption that the householder is guilty unless proved innocent. For the record, I have no television receiving equipment whatsoever and do not watch any British terrestrial, cable or satellite channels online. If they want to waste their time and taxpayers' money on getting a search warrant, that's fine by me - because they are not coming in without one!

by Dell Mon 11 Oct 2010, 5:33 pm

So, will the rates rise to pay for a useless manual??
TV licensing staff issued manual in detecting when customers are angry . Confused-28

.

by Deebay Mon 11 Oct 2010, 6:15 pm

If not the fee, they'll get it from taxes. It's all state-run (or quangos) in one way or another.
Anyway, what is that TV gestapo guy doing in the pic? I assume from the headphones that he's listening for a television in the house? If that is so, can he hear conversations also? Surely there must be privacy laws that prevent it. George Bush and the NSA got some heat over stuff like that with the Patriot Act.

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