Ship's radio licensing (again)

Channel Ribs

Channel Ribs

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Ship\'s radio licensing (again)

Sorry to drag this up again, but has anyone had any luck applying for a new VHF License this month?

I tried the old site, which send me to the ofcom site, which sends me back to the old site again. Harumph /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again)

I tried too - too much grief - decided to wait until 1st December when new site up and running etc.


Adrian
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

You download file : of62.pdf ....... it's on both sites ... the link.

As to payments etc.....
I asked as I have problem to do a renewal in the few days while sorting boat to Latvia ... and also mentioned that I know people have rec'd licence after expire Sept. free ... on applying last week or 2.

Answer from RLC (who lose concession to Ofcom on Dec 1) ... No licence is to be issued to an expiring one prior to Oct 1 free of charge .. if any have - they are liable to be invalidated if payment is found later to not been rec'd..... unlikely but possible.
2) We cannot in anyway accept application without payment for licences that expire before Oct.1. In case of a Sept. lapse by now the Call sign is technically cancelled and re-allocation possible. Therefore any application now would be a re-instatement / re-issue and £20 anyway.
3) So I asked about Dec 1 ... RLC had no real info and advised to talk to Ofcom direct ... gave me Tel # and I called them

Ofcom.....

1) Ofcom has no way to deal with payment on-line as on-line application is for free existing users and has no mechanism for payments. All Payments must be via Paper posted system and no exceptions are £20.
2) So I asked what about me ... only in country limited period ... download form and then what ... Answer your licence lapsed 23 Sept ... therefore whatever you do - re-instate old or apply for new (which is actually what you will have to do ... probably getting old call_sign back) ... ALL non online are £20 and will remain so for future. There are no free re-instatements or re-issues for anyone.
3) So even though some licences have gone out as Free for Sept. lapsed licences ... you say that all must pay except those renewals from Oct. 1. Answer yes - and any new licence issued for a lapse of prior Oct 1 cold be revoked if the file was checked and no payment found ...

Now I asked why does the Ofcom and RLC web pages say so much and actually have no simple abc ... answer from both .... was "Yes the sites are awful and we have had to ask for simple guidelines .... we understand that it is a frustrating change-over ... ".

So I have gone from a "get it free" to a pay £20 anyway whatever happens ...

It also confirms something that I was "flamed" for saying long time ago ... that new applications / lapsed and re-issue would be £20 after Dec 1st ... regrdless ....

What a mess and Ofcom guy said the same ... yes a mess and we have to try and sort it out !!
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again)

I printed off the form and posted it back and ignored the £20 cheque request and received a licence back OK.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again)

I contacted RLC and was adviced by email to download appc form and that it would be free for a renewal/change of owner,( as I hadent realised until about 4wks ago that I wasent registered on it, and it had expired in oct 04,
Done above and sent it in with a copy of their email,(showing that it would be free) got my licence disc in post about a wk and half later, and they will automatically renew it for the lifetime one in december.
Just checked paperwork, the new licence came from OFcom. it says to email, radio.licencing.centre@royalmail.com.
or send appc to RLC, PO Box 1495, Bristol BS99 3QS.
Dont know if this is any help.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

Little of what sbc has been told makes sense if you read the consultation document, the policy document and the arrangements for Oct and Nov. all of which can be found on the Ofcom website. I posted links to all of those last time the topic was aired a few days ago.

Either the information on the website is wrong, but that cannot be surely.

Or the people actually responsible for issuing the licences are wrong. Quite possibly they have not been informed what the future arrangements are. Equally possible is that an on-line system with lifetime licences being issued means that many of them will be out of of job and have reached the point where they don't give stuff anyway
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

Totally at odds with their website which basically says:

October & November - New applications on paper free as no online applications available on website.

From 1st December - All new online applications free, paper applications £20. Licence issued for life or until you sell the boat. If you buy a new boat, you apply for a new licence.

All here
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

I applied for a new one online about 2 months ago, before I realised it was going to be free, and obviously when their website showed that there was a charge. Gave them my card number etc. They sent the license without making the charge.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

[ QUOTE ]
I applied for a new one online about 2 months ago

[/ QUOTE ] Unless you have found something I have not there was no facility to apply for a new licence on-line 2 months ago and there will not be until 1 Dec. There was, and still is, a downloadable form that you print, fill in and post. Until 1 Oct that also required a payment of £20 but, from what has been reported on the forum, since that date leaving out the £20 has produced a temporary free one.

Or did you mean that you renewed an existing licence on-line. There was the facility to do that if you could find it!

If you renewed a licence that expired before 1 Oct then as I understand it that should have cost you £20 but if it expired after 1 Oct then I thought you should have recived a free (but temporary ) one automatically.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

There's obviously a huge muddle.
I let mine lapse got a letter saying licensed cancelled and everything lost; you will have to apply for a new license.

I applied for a new license online on October 6th, had to key in CC details, websites said YOU WILL NOT BE CHARGED.

Alcoholic beverage minders charged me £20

Phoned them up - tough luck we've decided to stop you peeps taking advantage of a free license to bog off.

I'm determined not to bog-off so am planning to try that joke of the legal system the small claims court if I can't get my money back.

Not often I get angry but QUANGO's and the like think they can pass water over the individual with impunity.

So everybody - wait until 1st. December and / or the website actually working before doing anything.

(Yes I know £20 is not worth blood pressure, but dammit it's the principle innit?)

Edit:

I've just found the link that I used -
http://www.radiolicenceforms.co.uk/ShipApplicationVessel.asp
but the reference to it on the site disappeared a while ago.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

I can see the website will be flooded with applications on Dec 1...

I'll wait a few days.
 
I posted what was told to me by RLC and then Ofcom

Both calls to two separate bodies, Ofcom taking over on Dec 1 from RLC ....

But gist was : Any licence expiring up to Oct 1 req'd £20 fee to renew. After Oct 1 renewal was free.
If anyone allowed their licence to lapse and failed to renew in reasonable time ... here we are talking pre Oct 1 expiry's ... no matter when you do do it - it is counted as a re-instatement of licence ad chargeable £20 even after Dec 1.
Ofcom also saidthey have no way to collect the fee on-line - meaning that you would have to download the form, fill it in, incl, £20 cheque ... post it in. THEN you would qualify for liftime licence.

That is what they said .. I can only repeat as told by them ...

I shall be doing as afew others have done .... complete thew form ... send with no payment .... see what happens ... |I reckon based on others - its a fair chance I'll receive it free !!
 
Which is what I said to them ...... I am not making this up

I posted what they said to me .... but anyway you have missed the point ...

The point is that they say that leaving the renewal till after Dec 1 is not a way to gain a free licence for those pre Oct 1 expiries ... plus as they have no way to collect fee on-line ... it has to be via Paper posted application. So in effect is the same - but again you point all to the site - that even both RLC and Ofcom people I spoke to said was badly written - they had asked their bosses for simple guidelines to tell them exactly what was happening ... maybe Lescargot as you know exactly all the answers - you should go to work at Ofcom ?? I'm not trying to be rude - but just annoyed considering that I have just passed on what they said to me plain and simple this morning on the phone .... In fact RLC even offered to take my application over the fax - but only with payment details.

And your statement - All NEW applications are free is simply by their statement on phone to me NOT true .... All new applications are processed via post and incur £20 fee .... only "on-time" renewals are online and free. Everyone else is to download the form, complete and enclose £20 .... post it in.

If you don't believe me - call them yourself ... if you contact me direct - I will even give you the guys name at Ofcom to ask who deals directly with this very subject .... Joe xxxxxx

Blimey - if THEY can't understand their own site and ask for abc guidelines - what chance have we !!
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

You definitely could renew and buy new licence online.... thats how I bought mine 2 yrs ago. They then posted me a reminder for renewal.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

[ QUOTE ]
I've just found the link that I used -

[/ QUOTE ] I thought that was the form to renew an existing licence. AFAIK there never was an on-line form to apply form new licence although there was one to down load, print and post.

The one in your link does not now seem to work, at least I could not get it to go beyond the first page.
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

" There's obviously a huge muddle."

Now theres a surprise

Who would have believed it
 
Re: Which is what I said to them ...... I am not making this up

[ QUOTE ]
Blimey - if THEY can't understand their own site... what chance have we !!

[/ QUOTE ]

Indeed. Still I feel better knowing there is nothing I am not knowing.

/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
 
Re: Ship\'s radio licensing (again) Sad news ... did warn before ...

think you are being a little tough -

reading the above a number of individuals were unfortunate to have their existing licence expire close to the arbritary cut of off 1.10 and, instead of renewing prior to that date chose to take steps that they believed would avoid them making payment.

These didn't go quite as planned................

I understand that post 1.10 renewals are going smoothly and obviously welcome the fact that for the (foreseeable) future we won't have to pay to renew.

Equally from the above it would appear that a degree of judgement is available to staff and being used in some cases.

I ask myself if, were I working there, I might dig my heels in a little faced with some of the above - the answer would almost certainly be yes; in the nicest possible way of course.
 
Re: Which is what I said to them ...... I am not making this up

[ QUOTE ]
... maybe Lescargot as you know exactly all the answers - you should go to work at Ofcom ?? ....

[/ QUOTE ]
No I merely point to their site. You claim to have more information by phoning various other bodies, than Ofcom give themselves.

Comes down to whether you believe their website or whoever you spoke to on the phone this morning. If as you say "And your statement - All NEW applications are free is simply by their statement on phone to me NOT true" is correct, are you going to tell them their website is wrong or shall I?

I think you probably confused the man on the telephone just as you are confusing people on here.

I can't renew my licence, it didn't lapse, I cancelled it before it ran out when I removed the radio from my boat. When I buy and install a new one I will apply for a new licence.
 
Re: Which is what I said to them ...... I am not making this up

[ QUOTE ]
I can't renew my licence, it didn't lapse, I cancelled it before it ran out when I removed the radio from my boat. When I buy and install a new one I will apply for a new licence.

[/ QUOTE ] That's similar to my situation. I allowed mine to lapse several years ago when the boat was not in use due to long running medical problems. Technically the station was decommissioned also because the radio was at home. What I propose to do is apply for new licence after 1 Dec regardless of whether I launch next year or not.

However what I now fear, from what sbc has said on here and at much greater length to me in PMs, is that Ofcom will try to catch those people who have deliberately allowed licences to lapse this year in oder to evade the £20 fee and people like you and I, who have decommissioned their stations previously for valid reasons, will get caught up in that process.

If you think about it the forth coming on-line system will not apply to renewals. They are currently automatic anyway and will by next October, at the latest, be a thing of the past. If new licences will only be issued against postal application and a £20 charge, as sbc seems to have been told, there is no one left to use the new system. Now that will be a farce, a new on-line application system that no one qualifies to use!

We will have to wait and see.
 
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