Digital TV box cheat fined

July 01, 2009

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A MAN caught with four modified set-top boxes to receive digital TV subscription channels without paying has been fined £700.

Michael McLoughlin, 34, was also sentenced to a six-week curfew by Manchester magistrates after admitting obtaining satellite TV services dishonestly.

Police found the Virgin Media boxes when they searched his home in Carling Drive, Wythenshawe, in January.

Malcolm Davies, Virgin Media's head of security, said: "I would urge the public to be aware that using set-top boxes that have been illegally modified is a serious criminal offence.

"This should act as a warning to others."

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Joey Barton's Knuckle Duster [AKA Scrotnig], Gorton (01/07/2009 at 18:43)

Good! I'm delighted to see this clampdown on pay TV thieves. They put the prices up for the rest of us.

However, I must have missed the similar clampdown on on the burglars, muggers and rapists who roam our city's streets with impunity. As surely, we wouldn't be clamping down on pay TV theft while ignoring the more serious crimes that blight everyone's lives.

RT, UK (01/07/2009 at 21:53)

Serious Criminal Offence? In the Virgin Handbook it may be.

In real life, it is on the lowest level of criminal acts...

Pandora (02/07/2009 at 01:31)

Nothing worth watching on the TV, certainly nothing worth paying for.

Blob on, M40 (02/07/2009 at 04:00)

At least he can watch whatever he wants on his curfew...

chriso, manchester (02/07/2009 at 08:17)

A curfew for having a digi box, doesn't make sense to me?

Black Flag (02/07/2009 at 08:32)

Scrotnig: "Good! I'm delighted to see this clampdown on pay TV thieves. They put the prices up for the rest of us."

No they don't.

J. Peasmold Gruntfuttock, King of Peasmouldia (02/07/2009 at 08:52)

Another joke sentence handed down by another joker. The MEN court reporter's day must have just flown by yesterday.

FrostySnowman (02/07/2009 at 09:05)

These boxes are readily available at car boot sales and internet sites,they are not illegal to buy but are illegal to use. There must be tens of thousands possibly into hundreds of thousands, being used.

Probabaly one of the reasons Setanta went under as a sizeable chunk of the viewers were not paying.

Dave Sherwood, Irlam (02/07/2009 at 09:08)

Serious Criminal Offence,the real Serious Criminal Offence is the price Virgin charge for their services and customer services.Nearly as bad as Sky.

citycentre, manchester (02/07/2009 at 10:19)

FrostySnowman

did setanta carry advertisements? certainly as virgin do it could be argued that people using these altered boxes generate more advertising revenue (if there are a lot of them), even if they avoid the subscription charge

drew-peacock, Our House (02/07/2009 at 12:10)

Serious criminal offence!??..Get in the real world, it's like recording the top 20 off the radio with your cassette player, that's the analogy.

Mike, Manchester (02/07/2009 at 13:02)

drew-peacock, did you not know that home taping kills music?

JTC Formerley JimC (02/07/2009 at 13:02)

Serious criminal offence my butt.

Call the RSPCA I have just drowned the goldfish.

Technobabble, Manchester (02/07/2009 at 13:39)

Can't they apply the same diligence and technical wizardry to stop that Noonan chap from using Facebook whilst in jail? Or is there no money in it?

Ewan Oosami, Halifax (02/07/2009 at 15:04)

So tell us how it was modified - the real criminals here are the companies who charge exhorbitant prices for trash which most have seen before anyway. I'd certainly get one of these boxes if I could, in any case how can they catch you other than stumble across it in a raid for other things?

PW, Manchester (02/07/2009 at 15:08)

You pay a fortune, and switch on a programme. Within 1 to 10 minutes you get about 6-7 minutes of adverts, repeated every 10 minutes. They also tell you on every break about a programme you can watch that week or the next. It is so tiresome, no wonder people are loath to pay.

Anthony , Accrington,Lancashire (02/07/2009 at 15:55)

Sky always have one over on the hackers, they keep changing the electronic countermeasure and encryption/authorisation codes over the air to knock out pirated illegal devices that decrypt their channels for no payment and keep the authorised official smartcards of legitimate subscribers working;you try pirating Sky it doesn't work for long! Virgin should bring in the same technology in and do the same to illegal catv pay channel boxes/smartcards and devices to keep on top of the hackers and deter them too.

CM (02/07/2009 at 17:08)

Serious offences such as this require considerably more punitive measures....how can we ever expect our MPs to not rip off the public purse for non-existant mortgages etc if we, as the general public, don't set the right example? See we get the politicians we deserve......

Ferrari, Toulouse (02/07/2009 at 19:20)

Scrotnig, please explain how using these boxes "puts the prices up for the rest of us"?

JoeStalin,Gorton (03/07/2009 at 01:22)

I've not laughed so much since Setanta Sports went bust. Who do these arrogant people think they are? "using set-top boxes that have been illegally modified is a serious criminal offence". Err, hello. No it isn't!!! But not keeping the 999 emergency telephone umber database up to date is quite serious. Which is why Ofcom are threatening to fine them £400 million. If I had a stroke and dialled 999 unable to speak, how would the ambulance know where to come you reprobates?. Makes Michael's little misdemeanours look less important doesn't it. Let's hope nobody dies as a consequence of their incompetence. He probably only did it because they previously refused to refund him broadband charges after failing to provide him with a service. Cable and Wireless, NTL, Virgin, you can call yourself whatever you like but none of us will ever be fooled again.

Ace , manchester (03/07/2009 at 18:24)

Why is it we sit back and allow these massive companies use "Our"police force as a private company to beat the voters of britain up.if people like virgin and other large companies,should take private action against these individuals not use the police force.The BBC is another large company that uses the police to get its massive amount of money from the public.Its time the police started charging these massive companies millions to do its dirty work for them.

Twistinmymellons, Mancunia (04/07/2009 at 12:05)

How do you do it...ace!
Virgin should give him a job...like when Seth Armstrong became a gamekeeper in Emmerdale...ouch my head hurts

Ace , manchester (05/07/2009 at 19:19)

Twistinmymellons, Mancunia
These large companies should not use the police as its private debt collectors and enforcers.these companies should take private actions against each customer or person who is using their product illegally.

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