TV license/iplayer letter

[Shoe465]

I don't have a TV license as I don't watch TV.

I have netflix and Disney. And youtube.

All the arial wires in my home are cut at the wall and I don't watch any live TV or any catch up etc on Iplayer or any other terrestrial streaming account.

I've just got a letter saying they've detected someone using iplayer several times at my address and I have to buy a license now.

But we don't??

Can I ring them and ask for more information about when this happened and what was watched?

But we haven't watched anything??

I'm so confused. I searched my email for BBC iplayer and it comes up with ONE email from 2021 and then all the rest are TV license emails.

And that account is no longer in use as not registered.

Prison??

I do wonder if it’s a random thing they send out to people who’ve declared they don’t need a licence, just to try their luck.

You need a TV license in the UK if you watch or record TV programs as they are being broadcast, or live online. This includes watching live TV on streaming services like Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, and Channel 4, as well as pay TV services like Sky, Virgin Media, and BT. You also need a license if you download or watch BBC programs on iPlayer.

Could any visitor to your house have used the iPlayer while connected to your wifi? Although if they do it using a device that's not plugged in and they have a TV licence for their own home, they don't need one.

Have you had a conversation about not being able to watch live TV or use iPlayer in your house with your DC so they understand they must not do this?

If they keep saying they've detected you using their services, ask for details of what and when as linked to above.

We don't do any of that.

I’m in the exact same situation as you. I don’t see how BBC can be saying to TV licensing that my email has been used to watch iPlayer when I don’t have an account to even log in to.

So this has happened to you too?

I wonder if it’s just their latest tactic. They are pretty unscrupulous about it.

Yeah, had a letter today just like OP. I only watch Netflix, Prime and Disney+. I don’t even have an account for iPlayer but apparently I’ve used it several times in recent weeks.

It doesn't need to be your email. It can be someone else at your IP address, i.e. using your wifi router. If it definitely isn't a family member, it could be a visitor, or even a neighbour piggy-backing on your wifi (hopefully it is secured with a strong password to prevent that).

You should be able to ask them what email address was used for the iplayer account.

I always watch iplayer so I pay the license quarterly but I have to sign in and declare I have a license each time so unless your kids have set up their own accounts and falsely declaring, you have nothing to worry about.

I absolutely don't.

Why would I? Non of that shit interests me. Coronations street? Bake off?

I'd rather pull my hair out.

Why is it that on every TV licence thread there are always multiple people who can't wrap their heads around other people not watching TV in general and live TV specifically?

If you haven’t had a license for 7 years why do you know what is currently on the website. You might be as wrong about that as you are about renewals. They are and always have been annual.

I don't know what that is?
What's netflix got to do with that?

It’s a boxing match that’s going to be on Netflix live, you can just ignore it (as I will be( and continue on being legally licence free

some people don’t seem to be able to comprehend people never watching live (I’m one of them) so you will get lots of “but what about?!? Jake Paul, the queens funeral etc” on this thread

@Shoe465 do you watch any freeview channels? A license is needed for those.

Op has said several times she doesn’t watch any live tv.

Block iplayer on all your devices. Then you know for definite no one is watching it.

Double check with your teens they know they can watch Catch up/on demand on their streaming services, but not anything broadcast live.

If you ate absolutely certain... just forget about it.

I watch:

Netflix, I won't be watching live boxing 🤢
Disney plus
Youtube, mostly restoration videos and jet washing videos
Amazon prime (the kids have an add in subscription to crunchyroll)

All preloaded programs. Nothing live, I dont even think they do anything live?

That's it.

I don't watch any British programmes. Have no interest in series and such

I think the thing that is bugging me (and maybe OP) is where has this come from when we don’t have BBC iPlayer accounts

Respect the BBC why exactly? Perhaps their long history of sheltering paedophiles? Or their inability to recognise that a woman is an adult human female, or maybe their penchant for frequent fluff pieces on drag queens?

There’s loads on the iPlayer. Films, music, comedies going back years, documentaries. I would bet that your teens have used it.

They have not. I've asked.