Do Plusnet Give Customer Information To BBC TV Licensing?

[#1]

Maybe only for the mods to be able to answer, but I thought I'd save myself the time of trying to contact customer services with this query, which they probably wouldn't know the answer to anyway.

Does Plusnet pass customer details onto BBC TV Licensing. That is; broadband customer details and/or YouView supplied by Plusnet customer details?

Would Plusnet voluntarily surrender this information at the request of BBC TV Licensing? How are Plusnet going to handle the potential change in legislation that will force service providers to hand over private customer details to this third party?

Thanks.

[#2]

How are Plusnet going to handle the potential change in legislation that will force service providers to hand over private customer details to this third party?

Which legislation is that?

[#3]

At the moment there is no legislation, it is just a proposal.
More info here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3589984/BBC-wants-satellite-TV-firms-hand-customer-data-hunt...

Regards
Mike

[#4]

Yes just proposals at the minute, but what the BBC wants, the BBC usually gets.

British Telecom currently willingly, voluntarily surrender customer information to BBC TV Licensing (an FOI request has proven this) and Plusnet being a wholly-owned subsidiary of British Telecom, I want to know if they do the same.

[#5]

Well there's no legislation for this at the moment, so no we don't.

If this changes, then we'll reassess the situation.

[#6]

Good to know. I presume if/when legislation is passed, obviously only customers with a YouView subscription will have their information disclosed to this third party? Not the entire Plusnet database? I'd be interested to know how Data Protection Law would be adhered to, presumably any disclosure would first require the consent of the customer?

[#7]

Good to know. I presume if/when legislation is passed, obviously only customers with a YouView subscription will have their information disclosed to this third party?

I'd imagine so, but it really depends on what the legislation says. It's all hypothetical up until then, really.

[#8]

So what happened to the legislation that required retailers of TVs, Set Top boxes etc. to pass name and address details to TV Licencing? And in this situation the ISP is retailer in supplying the Youview box!

[#9]

That was repealed in June 2013 http://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/about/legislation-and-policy-AB9

The Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1967 (as amended) has been repealed meaning that from 25 June 2013 onwards, TV dealers are no longer required to notify TV Licensing when they sell or rent out TV equipment.

[#10]

"The Wireless Telegraphy Act of 1967 (as amended) has been repealed meaning that from 25 June 2013 onwards, TV dealers are no longer required to notify TV Licensing when they sell or rent out TV equipment."

[#11]

Data Protection Act 1998  Part IV Section 35 (1)

"Personal data are exempt from the non-disclosure provisions where the disclosure is required by or under any enactment, by any rule of law or by the order of a court."

[#12]

This legislation, if passed, could be considered the Dealer Notification Scheme's replacement, only much more intrusive.

[#13]

Since they want to tie iplayer to the tv licence it will go through and all providers will have to cough up the details when requested. Whether they ask for your licence # before you can view would be another way, but I don't think smart TV's have cookies? Would be cumbersome to implement.

Personally I cough up the £150odd every year so SHMBO can watch her soaps. I don't even use catchup TV. I tried to explain the only watching catch up so we could save the £150 but too complicated for her.

[#14]

Or they could of course continue using the current system of relying on the fact that most people who need a licence will have one. Those that don't have one are presumed to be evading the fee and watching broadcast tv and iPlayer illegally. And are then suitably bombarded with junk mail encouraging them to buy one and/or unwanted doorsteppers.

[#15]

the simpler solution to this would be to collect it via council tax and require the council tax account number in order to create the account on the iPlayer service, allow up to 6  accounts per licence number (to account for larger families) and stop wasting 100's of millions of pounds a year on capita services.... they wont do it because "jobs for the boys"

when they announced the capita contract at a cost of 96 million a year that would be self funding they increased the licence fee by 10%, now there talking about upping the licence fee even more and yet the bbc's cut of that money isn't actually going up its the increase of capita's costs that are driving it ......completely shambolic and yet typical of most privatisation of services projects (it saves a few quid this year and costs millions extra every year after that)