TV detector vans once prowled the streets of England
> The United Kingdom is somewhat unique in the world for requiring those households which view broadcast television to purchase a licence for the privilege.<p>I know at least three countries (Germany, Austria and Switzerland) which do the same (edit: according the Wikipedia [0], such a fee exists in basically every European country, Japan, Israel, South Korea and Namibia). In Germany, the situation changed a few years ago, every household has to pay now, even if they don't own a television or radio. When I was a freshman student 10 years ago, things were a little bit different: an inspector (the "GEZ man") came by my apartment a few months after I moved in. He wanted to have a look inside. I declined. He came back a few times, but I didn't open the door. I never paid the fee (and I didn't have to, because I received BAföG [1]). Even if I would have had to, there was just no way for them to prove I was actually owning a television. Here, those "detector vans" have been an urban legend for 60 years. I am pretty sure I read somewhere that they never existed and where basically "created" to fear people into paying the fees.<p>[0] <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundfunkabgabe" rel="nofollow">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rundfunkabgabe</a><p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesausbildungsf%C3%B6rderungsgesetz" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesausbildungsf%C3%B6rderun...</a>