Thinking about it, and reading around a little, I have come to the conclusion that, as I understand it at least, it is illegal under the data protection act for the television licensing authority to store my name and address as I have no dealings with them and I have not allowed them to store such information. I will read more about the DPA to see if this is the case. If it is I think this probably the best defence.

I have phoned the citizens advice bureau (CAB) and received a surprisingly positive outcome. I expected them to tell me it was not their problem but it would seem that they may have actually stopped the letters. Apparently the CAB have a special number to ring which is not available to the public (does anyone know what that number is?).

The lady from the CAB phoned on my behalf and talked to the TVLA who told her that if she gave them my details they would remove me from their register. I gave the lady at the CAB our details but pointed out that I didn't want them stored by the TVLA as I have no dealings with them. She phone the TVLA again to have the letters stopped and point out that we want our details removed from their records. The outcome is that we will apparently now be receiving an apology from the TVLA along with conformation that we have been removed from their register.

I suspect, that in actual fact, what has happened is that the TVLA will still be holding our details and that we will have been put on the "long term reminder" list rather than the "constantly hassle" list. I am not happy about that as I want nothing to do with the TVLA and I don't see why they should store any details about us. It remains to be seen what will happen now.