GEZ says pay up

The GEZ is a collection agency for the equivalent of PBS in the US. They don't have any connections with law enforcement, but come around trying to collect TV, radio, and internet license fees, which are permitted by German law to fund public broadcasting. They can only collect the fees if you give them access to your home to tally up what you own or if you voluntarily tell them what you own. The US doesn't have these fees (as far as I know), but in Europe, it is not uncommon to have to pay a tax/fee for simply owning any sort of TV, radio, or device capable of receiving the internet including mobile phones and gaming systems like the Wii. So far, none of my expat friends have been targeted by the GEZtapo, but I've been hounded with threatening letters almost as soon as we moved in. Everything is in Dan's name and I've been unemployed, so I'm not sure where they got my name from. But we've decided to stop dodging them and pay the ~€17 a month fee. I've had enough threatening Germans come buzzing at my door, and don't want to add GEZ thugs to the list.