PPL

I could hardly believe my ears when a caller from the PPL told me that I needed a public broadcasting licence.

If I'd known then what I know now, I would have simply hung up.

I'm not advocating evading a bill that's legally due, but I think any reasonable person would say that needing a public broadcasting licence to listen to the radio when working for yourself in your own home is ridiculous, even more so when it's radio 4 (speech radio).

Some Googling turned up some horror stories and advice that paying up right away is better than incurring costs and a black mark on your credit record. Thankfully, I've also heard via Twitter and FB of cases being resolved quite sensibly.

The potential bill wouldn't break the bank, but the thought of having to pay really spoiled my day. Can only wait now to see what comes in the post.

Today's lesson: admit nothing (even your identity) until you've established who you're talking to and what they want.

update 14/7/11: I've received invoices for £400, including surcharges for not paying sooner. Have written back disputing these on about 7 points, including the fact that my home is not a public place.

update 20/7/11: have a reply to my letter saying that they're going to listen back to my telephone conversation to check what was said. Curiously It may take up to 12 days for the phone call to be returned to PPL. From where?

update 22/7/11: my MP has agreed that their practices sound unethical and has offered to write to them. Waiting for their decision before I ask him to do that.

update 27/8/11: I now have a letter from a debt collection agency with no further communication from PPL. I've taken my MP up on his offer to write to them about their unethical practices. Am writing to the debt collection people and PPL to explain that I'm willing to go to court to get some points sorted out.

update 8/9/11: I've had a second letter from the debt collection people and have been able to establish an email conversation with them. PPL have been deafeningly quiet since the first telephone conversation. All psyched up for going to court and talking to the media.

update 15/9/11: Nothing more than acknowledgements, waiting to hear about legal action

update 7/11/11: Still nothing. No reply to the letter my MP sent or any of my letters. No copy of the recording they claim to have made of the phone conversation. It seems that they can't do anything other than send out invoices and standard letters. Prove me wrong, PPL, I want my opportunity to tell my story in court.

update 10/5/12: Still nothing. I believe that their threats are empty, that they don't have recordings, that the debt collection agency is no more than a different letterhead coming from the same organisation.

Note that I am on very safe ground, I don't broadcast publicly and it was ridiculous that they were pursuing me. If you do play music in the hearing of others then the story may be different for you.

Don't get me wrong, as a musician I'm all for artists and composers getting paid properly, but PPL's methods look like speculative invoicing and sharp business practice.