VHF licence fees

[Guest]

I think I have found out were our £20.00 licence fees go.

Back in Jan my licence renewal notice arrived in the post, not being the sort of person to pay a bill straight away and not needing a licence in Jan, I did not pay.
Then a 'Final notice' arrived, probably either forgot or ignored it, or both.
Then a 'Notice of proposed cancellation of ships radio licence'. Cor' this is getting heavy, next there will be men in long raincoats at the door. Well I was going to send it off but at the time I was rolling around under boat antifouling. Then came the 'Cancellation'! Oh hell! better get the cheque off with the Jan renewal notice, its only twenty quid, after all and they must have already spent £30.00 in admin on me!

Wrong, it was not accepted! they have sent me half a rainforest in an envelope 'Ships radio licence' application, talk about get your own back!


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[upstream]

Looks like its down to you then......what about my £20 thats paid for this as well?

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[Evadne]

It's not a fee, it's a tax. A fee is something you pay in return for goods or services. A tax is something you pay to officialdom because you will suffer if you don't. What gets me is that if the whole organisation was done away with, there would be no reason for the fee which exists solely to support it in the first place. (Sorry to rant, but sometimes you just have to.)

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[ccscott49]

I'm still at a loss to see what exactly the agency does apart from collect taxes to pay for itself, although I do pay for my licence (tax) and they seem helpful enough. The U states have stopped issueing licences, as they cost more to issue and police than they raised, why can't we do the same. Sorry, Mike I don't want you to become redundant.

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[Evadne]

Exactly. You have a good point about people losing their jobs though. I could understand a self-funding agency that did something for the people who fund it, maybe one of thier employees could enlighten us by dispelling the myth that Yachtsmen get no benefit from their £20?

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[upstream]

The only benifet that I see at the moment in obtaining a licence is that the agency will not confiscate my radio whilst it is valid. This is obviosly a ploy by the government to get people to pay a tax regardless as to if the monies collected are spent wisely!

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[StugeronSteve]

Why not scrap the fee and let the CG charge the habitual "radio checkers" a premium call rate. Certainly be no danger of losing rescue choppers in Solent/Portland for want of funding.

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[DeLam]

Why didn´t you pay through their web site. It would probably have taken less time
than to type your post. Extremely simple- pay by direct debit or credit card.
Nobody likes paying out for taxes or licences (car ,TV,etc) but that`s life.
Why don`t we get the wonderful RYA to take up the case for dropping it?

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[Cornishman]

When this was raised before, some time ago now, somebody pointed out that there is a world wide international agreement that all equipment capable of transmitting radio waves over a certain distance must be licenced. I don't know if this is still in force, but I believe it was a UN agreement. If it is, the government has no option but to apply it. If the Yanks are not applying it I dare somebody to tell them they are breaking international law - you will probably finish up in a special camp in Cuba wearing balls and chains!

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[BrendanS]

The US allow unlicensed usage within the US. US citizens can obtain a licence for use outside the US

<hr width=100% size=1>Err, let me know if Depsol enters the forum, I'll go and hide

 

[Gunfleet]

Oh Mike won't become redundant. He'll just move over to amateur radio to spread doom and gloom there! Hi Mike!

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[escape]

There has to be some method of raising the capital to buy the 21' Atlantic class RIB with twin outboards that the gentlmen from the RA used to visit me some time back.
Whilst on a visitors mooring in the Menai Straits we were boarded and had to show our licence which was visible in the port heads window anyway and our operators certs.
The nice gentlemen in mirror shades, baseball caps, and FBI style jackets then departed.
Thats what 200,000 or more £20 buys.

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[Jools_of_Top_Cat]

hmmm, I did not think you needed the personal licence in order to hold a radio, i.e. ship licence allows you to have equipment on board, personal licence allows you to use it.

Did they call you up first, thus proving that you were using equipment?

Picky I know, I just wonder what authority to check your SRC.

An example being you can own a television, but not use it without licence. I find it amusing that a few people I know spend 10 minutes on the telephone arguing with TV people that they do not own a set, they are basically called liars.

<hr width=100% size=1><font color=blue> Julian </font color=blue>

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[nordic_ranger]

It's a tax on safety and no one will convince me otherwise. If it's international law, then like all other bad laws it should be changed.

Jim

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[Gunfleet]

I have a pal in the Languedoc who bought a video monitor and returned it to his house in Battersea to, er monitor videos. He has never had a tv in France. He goes there to drink wine and have a fine time, not watch La Maison Blanche in translation. However, a few months later he was contacted by some organisme which says he has a tv and must pay. Of course he says, I've lived here for 20 yrs and never had a tv, come and check for yourselves. They don't believe him and they won't come and look - just like in the UK. The court case is outstanding.

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[Mike_Martin]

Hi Gents,

Unfortunately, I haven't got the time to re-write what has already been sent out to all licensees, explaining exactly why there is Ship Radio Licensing. So what I'll do is post the URL http://www.radio.gov.uk/topics/maritime/maritime-index.htm here and you can go and see for yourselves in the past editions of Airwaves.

Regarding the reminders: Don't you just love Europe!! We (RA) have to abide by the European Licensing Directive and the practises of the rest of the Agency. That's why there are so many reminders. You will of course (I'm sure) be relieved to hear that the process is fully automated and therefore very cheap.

New applications: Once you have read the reasons for licensing you will see why details are removed from the database on expiry. This means that you have to start from scratch, the BIG upside of this is that you get to check that your 24 Hour Emergency Contact details are up to date.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Manager,
Aeronautical & Maritime Services Section,
Radiocommunications Agency

 

[Mike_Martin]

The Truth about US Ship Radio Licences

Hi all,

I thought you might all find this site http://wireless.fcc.gov/marine/fctsht14.html#SEC2 useful when discussing the situation with Ship Radio Licensing in the States.

The reality is that a US vessel doesn't need a licence if it meets the following criteria:

Pleasure boat or Voluntary Radio fit (ie non-SOLAS etc),
ONLY has VHF installed
AND it does not sail outside of US Territorial Waters.

I have referred many customers to this page and they have found it very useful, the only problem is they then seem to drop the subject. Please read the bit about what to do if licence is expired, we are just the same. The bit that really jolts them of course though, is the cost: SRL = $150, renewal (non-profit) = $50, amendment = $50, duplicate licence = $50

The other silly bit is that US boat owners do not seem to even know the rules, FCC doesn't seem to communicate the way we do. We have recently had to report an unlicensed US vessel.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Manager,
Aeronautical & Maritime Services Section,
Radiocommunications Agency

 

[Mike_Martin]

I wouldn't become redundant but I would have to find another posting that matches my interest as I do my best work when I'm actually interested. Maybe a transfer to MCA, hmmmm.

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Manager,
Aeronautical & Maritime Services Section,
Radiocommunications Agency

 

[Mike_Martin]

MARS

Let me see.

Your information supplied to the Maritime Mobile Access & Retrieval (MARS) database updated on a 6 weekly basis. This is an International Search and Rescue resource which the SRL information feeds for the UK.

Your details supplied to HMCG (Falmouth) every week. This along with CG66 and the EPIRB Registry enables HMCG to have comprehensive information available in the case of Search and Rescue operations.

These jobs alone are worth more than £20 per year (For perspective, this is how much my fishing rod licence costs).

Then you get a direct newsletter explaining to you exactly what it is you are "buying into" when you choose to put Maritime radio on your boat which. I have also recently agreed with the MCA that they are going to use it more to promulgate information that has historically passed pleasure boaters by.

In my mind (bearing in mind that I am also a customer of other Govt. Depts) VGVFM

Mike

<hr width=100% size=1>Manager,
Aeronautical & Maritime Services Section,
Radiocommunications Agency

 

[Mike_Martin]

Ha ha ha

nm

<hr width=100% size=1>Manager,
Aeronautical & Maritime Services Section,
Radiocommunications Agency