Should Hastings residents pay the licence fee if they can't get a decent TV signal?

Last Saturday I paid my TV licence for another year. The princely sum of £150.50 is collected by the BBC through its ‘TV Licensing’ subsidiary.

The money, less operational expenditure, is transferred to the Government’s consolidated fund account.

The money is now in the hands of Government.

After deductions, especially by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the residue, and after negotiation for a fixed period, is transferred back to the BBC.

The licence stipulates that it is unlawful to watch BBC programmes without a licence.

Pay the licence fee and the household can watch BBC programmes legally.

I regard this as a contract. I pay this and I get that.

My chimney installed aerial directly faces the Old Town transmitter, some 500 yards away across the Bourne valley.

This year has been particularly bad, and very frustrating.

Sometimes it’s no BBC channels at all, but some ITV channels are watchable, then it’s BBC okay, but no ITV, etc.

The combinations of channels ‘on’ or ‘off’ are endless.

I see the dreaded ‘No Signal’ message in my dreams.

I have made enquires, and interviewed a number of television aerial specialists.

One theory is that powerful transmitters, even one on the Isle of Wight, and the other somewhere in Kent interferes with the Old Town transmitter signal.

But who knows? Am I to go the Sky satellite route for consistent television viewing? And if so, why should I? Indeed is the BBC in breach of contract?

I wonder if some of your readers have a similar problem.