On Saturday I received my new TV licence for 2008/2009 and now have I cause for two moans:

Moan 1: Rip off pricing

The annual cost of what is essentially just a bit of paper has increased by £4 to £144.50, despite the rapidly deteriorating quality of programmes on the BBC analogue channels. This is just another example of Rip of Britain robbing us blind. It wouldn’t be so bad if the cost was justified on the basis that it covers all the TV channels we watch, but no - we just have to pay for the privilege of watching the dross the BBC put out hour upon hour (I suppose we can exclude The Apprentice, Match of the Day and a handful of sporting events from that last statement).

Moan 2: Rip off payment charges

I pay by quarterly direct debit, mainly because the £144.50 one-off fee is way to steep for me to afford comfortably. For the pleasure of paying this way, I’m charged an extra £5 per year, or £1.25 per quarter. Whoever said Dick Turpin was dead obviously doesn’t own a TV.