[Gllug] BBC Open Source

[Peter Grandi]

[ ... ]

simon> [1] "Cost of collection currently = 5.7% of licence fee income" from
simon> http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debate/?id=2004-03-08.1230.3&u=2

I reckon that 5.7% is obscene -- the vast majority of licencees
just pay in, and a reasonable free for merely handling the
register of licencees and the payments are way way lower than
5.7%, probably less than 1%, especially for the rather wholesale
amounts involved.

Compare with something different but not entirely incomparable:

  https://WWW.PayPal.com/UK/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_profile-comparison

and PayPal has a reputation for being quite expensive, and
arguably offers a much higher level of service than TV Licensing.

Still, considering the PayPal 1.9% base rate, it would be
interesting to know how comes that keeping the register and
enforcement cost 3.8% on top of that. I wonder if PayPal did a
bid for handling the licence fee payments how much they would
undercut that 5.7% by.

>From http://WWW.NAO.org.UK/pn/01-02/0102821.htm

 «In 2000-01 over 23 million licences were issued, which provided
  net income of £2,371 million and cost £132 million to collect.
  Progress has been made in tackling evasion and encouraging
  prompt payment.

  Nonetheless, based on the Department for Culture, Media and
  Sport's statistical modelling, which is currently being
  revised, evasion is still running at between 5.2 per cent
  and 7.6 per cent, and on some estimates it is higher.»

 «It has increased the number of people paying by direct debit
  from 15 per cent to 49 per cent and is aiming for further
  increases.»

49% via Direct Debit and an average 5.7% cost of collection?
Let's assume pessimistically that registration and payment via DD
costs 1%. That would be about £23m. So the cost of handling the
remaining 51% (11.7 million licensees) is £99m, or almost £9 per
license, or nearly 9%. Nice job if you can get it.

Then in effect the license fee is a tax, and that collection is
done by a private company is the ancient practice known as tax
farming, which is no longer done because it was usually rigged
too much in favour of the collector.

  (and I don't have a TV and don't even listen to the radio,
   but I like the BBC news site)

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