When I first received the letter addressed from a Swiss entity named “Billag”, I immediately pictured some sort of early 20th century Russian-style penal labor camp for those in Switzerland who are delinquent on their bills (see “Gulag”). Sometimes you have some insight into a company or organization based on its name. In the case of Billag, not so much…
It turns out that Billag is actually the Swiss entity that manages the country’s television and radio license program. For the paltry sum of ca. CHF 400 per annum, I have the legal right to watch TV and listen to the radio in my apartment (I also apparently have the right to listen to my non-existent radio in my non-existent car). And the amount related to TV is before the cost of cable, mind you.
And what if I don’t listen to the radio? Can I avoid paying the roughly CHF 150 per year that relates specifically to the radio license? Well, based on my initial conversations with the customer service department of Chez Billag, I appear to be SOL. Apparently, I have to “prove” that I don’t listen to the radio and – at this point, at least – I’m not quite sure how one goes about doing that.
As the customer service agent kindly informed me, the fine for non-compliance is CHF 5,000. And if a Billag service person comes by my apartment for a random check and finds any indication that I even could listen to the radio (e.g., a clock radio alarm, a stereo, an internet connection!!!), that’s all they need to justify the fine. And that’s regardless of whether I actually have ever even listened to the radio.
Perhaps my initial impression of totalitarianism wasn’t so far off base after all…
It turns out that Billag is actually the Swiss entity that manages the country’s television and radio license program. For the paltry sum of ca. CHF 400 per annum, I have the legal right to watch TV and listen to the radio in my apartment (I also apparently have the right to listen to my non-existent radio in my non-existent car). And the amount related to TV is before the cost of cable, mind you.
And what if I don’t listen to the radio? Can I avoid paying the roughly CHF 150 per year that relates specifically to the radio license? Well, based on my initial conversations with the customer service department of Chez Billag, I appear to be SOL. Apparently, I have to “prove” that I don’t listen to the radio and – at this point, at least – I’m not quite sure how one goes about doing that.
As the customer service agent kindly informed me, the fine for non-compliance is CHF 5,000. And if a Billag service person comes by my apartment for a random check and finds any indication that I even could listen to the radio (e.g., a clock radio alarm, a stereo, an internet connection!!!), that’s all they need to justify the fine. And that’s regardless of whether I actually have ever even listened to the radio.
Perhaps my initial impression of totalitarianism wasn’t so far off base after all…
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