TV licence is no cover for cab set
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by Lee Kimber • Every LGV driver with an incab television could be prosecuted for not having a TV licence, even if he has one for his set at home, warns TV Licensing (TVL).
This follows an incident last week when an LGV driver was threatened with prosecution for not having a licence for his cab TV. During a vehicle check near Junction 17 on the M25, he was approached by a Television Licensing inspector.
The driver told him he didn't have a licence for the cab but did have one for his TV at home. The inspector then issued him with a Notice of Prosecution.
A spokeswoman for TVL says: "If you live alone and have a TV licence for your permanent residence then that licence will cover you for your vehicle. If you have friends or family watching the TV at home then you need two licences." The authority says it "makes separate enquiries" to find out if the driver lives alone.
Retailers have to send the TVL a card every time they sell a television set. But Chris Morris, who sells portable TVs and CBs from the mobile Electric Truck Shop, says his reconditioned portable sets are not supplied with cards.
Drivers he has spoken to since the incident say they operate cab TVs without a licence and were not asked for their details by the retailers who sold them the sets.
TV owners with only one residence only need one licence, no matter how many TVs are watched there. The legal snag apparently arises only when TVs are used on two premises. TVL defines a truck as a residence.