TV Licence bafflement

[LividMush]

Hang on what. I go to buy a TV License for the first time in years (Doctor & Donna 🤓) and they seem to want me to pay for a whole year by April?

What, why? Why is it like tax years? No. I’m not paying over £50 in December just for Doctor Who. What’s going on with it? Why are they charging me for a year when it’s not a year?

To be clear: I know the legal requirements for a TV Licence and am very clear to not legally need one ie no broadcast TV or iPlayer. Until now, when the good Doctor nearly lured me in. But I just can’t justify this if it’s charging me a year by April.

Yep @FarEast , I want to watch precisely one show and don’t think that paying £58 in the month of December and then £26.50 for several months after would provide reasonable value.

So I’m not watching it or paying it.

I suspect a number of people who (unlike me) have aerials plugged into their telly for legacy reasons feel the same but watched it for free anyway.

I don’t have broadcast TV, would’ve had to log in to iPlayer, so I didn’t.

Had I been able to pay maybe a tenner a month (like the other services) I would have.

You need to be covered by a TV Licence to watch live on streaming services - such as ITVX, Channel 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, Now, Sky Go. You don't need a TV Licence if you never watch live on any channel, TV service or streaming service, or use BBC iPlayer

So if you haven't got a license at your house are you not able to watch bbc channels?
Like does their tv physically not switch on to 1 or 2 until you have one?

Or does it let you watch but it's illegal to do?

Why do you need a license if you already pay subscription charges to each streaming service? @Namechange4234

I get it for bbc iplayer/itvx etc since you can access them for free but it doesn't make sense if you only have Netflix, Prime or Disney?

I can't believe you tried to buy a TV licence just to watch Dr Who.

Proper little goody two shoes aren't you 😂

You know a klaxon doesn't go off in BBC HQ if you watch without right.

Remember those fake TV license detector vans?😂

I forgot to change it from an old address to a current one when I moved house. I'd been there about a month when they sent me a letter and I just rang up and changed the address. But it's not an immediate thing where they'll fine you for not having it straight away. They'll send letters first asking you to pay.

Yep.smoke and mirrors and we all.fell for it😂😂

I missed a payment on my license so they wrote and in massive letters the threat was "YOU WILL NOT HAVE A LICENSE IN MARCH IF YOU DO NOT KEEP UP WITH YOUR PAYMENTS" honestly I cried with laughing. I have caught up but as a threat that's ridiculous.

This is one of the reasons I cancelled mine around 15 years ago. In an absolute huff. Why should I pay 6 months in advance? Do they pay my estate back if I die? There response was to pay a one off fee that I couldn't afford or pay quarterly but pay them additional for the privilege. They're so behind the times - everyone else's takes correct monthly payments so why can't they?

You've reopened an old would for me OP. Fuming!

I once also couldn't buy a tv from Aldi on a huge deal because I didn't have my tv licence. I said I don't have one and explained why - they said no!

Because regardless of what platform you watch it on, if you're watching a live broadcast you need to pay the bbbc/tv licence. It's a joke. For example, I watch sky news on their app or on YouTube. According to the law I should pay the bbc for this. I don't and they'll never check.

It's a really ridiculous rule. If it's plugged in, it needs a license in the property it's plugged in at. If it's working on battery, the owner of the device needs a license.

Can't imagine anyone actually getting caught/prosecuted/fined over something this picky though.

Don't you have to pay the license if you have the ability to watch live TV, even if you never actually do?

How did that work?

Hmmm, If you opt out you should make yourself unable. For example, my tv aerial is not plugged in to the TV. I don't imagine I have to pay if it is hooked up but if they knocked on my door, how do I prove I wasn't?!

Technically anyone with Internet has the capability to watch live TV. No need for special devices, aerials etc these days!

You don't have to prove anything they have no powers of entry ,either don't answer the door or just say no thanks ,
Honestly I don't know why anyone would let them in.

Nope.

@x2boys quite but if you were to be playing by the book. Do they even have people that knock on the door anymore?

No - but under previous rules ‘capability’ qualified.
Therefore if you bought a new TV, video recorder or even a receiver card for a computer the shop
was required to ask for the buyers name and address.
If you didn’t plug it in to an aerial then you did not require a TV licence - eg you had a TV and video recorder to watch videos but didn’t plug in to the aerial

With changing technology the rules also changed, so just having the capability does not require a TV licence, but watching / recording broadcast television does and any use of BBC iPlayer does.
Use of other channels player apps do not require you to have a TV licence, nor for YouTube videos - except if you watch the current broadcast on the app/YouTube

eg as mentioned above SkyNews are on YouTube. Segments made available for replay on YouTube do not qualify for requiring a TV licence, but a livestream broadcast of SkyNews would

Other YouTube livestreams may or may not qualify for the licence requirements - most don’t. Only if they qualify as a broadcaster under the terms of the Communications act

Show them?

@Doggymummar show them what? That you can watch tv?

The fact that the BBC fee is called a ‘licence’ and there’s laws about it is insane. On threads about it there’ll always be someone acting shocked that yes, really, plenty of people don’t watch/read/listen to the list of stuff, and don’t value it. (And whatever’s on live doesn’t interest me either)

Yes, someone knocked on my door the other night because we hadn't bought a license at our new house!

He cheekily tried to ask a few questions before even saying who he was. And then said he would "have to check" our tv!!! Luckily I knew he wasn't allowed to just insist on coming in, so I refused him entry.

He took my details, not my DP's, even though it's not technically my house. And then I got an email saying they could tell I had used BBC IPlayer. It does say on their small print somewhere that they can obtain information from BBC. (I think one of my adult kids had got the family log in on their phone and watched something.)

Why did you give him.your details? ,you are under no obligation to even speak to him