How to stop paying for my TV licence

[caravantulips]

I like the BBC and have never really begrudged my monthly direct debit but seeing the news that the licence fee is £180 this year it’s made me question it’s value as it’s only me who watches it.

I never watch BBC live (except for the news back in Covid times) but use iPlayer a lot. Should I just cancel the direct debit and delete the iPlayer app from my TV? Is this enough?

I do have the BBC news app on my phone and it’s my sole choice for news as it’s (supposed to be!!) impartial. Do you know if I can still use this? What about the videos on the BBC news channel?

You can't stream the live news but you can read the news and watch the video clips which are there but not live.

£3.46 is what it will cost a week to watch . Do you still think that is too much ?
I don't think the BBC is great as a company , but I do live watch some programmes so will continue to pay .

I haven’t had a licence for years. I can play videos on the BBC website if that’s what you mean?

Theres a list of things you need a licence for at https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/cancellations-and-refunds-top7 & it is fairly wide-ranging:

• watching TV on any channel, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels
• watching TV on pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV
• watching live TV on streaming services, like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.
• using BBC iPlayer.

You need to complete a "don't need a licence" declaration: https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one/topics/telling-us-you-dont-need-a-tv-licence

I haven't had one since 2018 and just need to re-do the form occasionally (they email you). Never had a visit to check.

You can use the news app and BBC Sounds. Just no live TV on any channel, but catch-up on anything other than BBC is fine.

I don't understand why we need to pay additional for already feed subscription services and ones with ads

I'm sure most of the non payers you read about just tell themselves they don't watch BBC TV and that's it

Oh, so it’s just no live TV and iPlayer? That might be okay then because a pp mentioned all the other channels like ITV and channel 4 (which got me worried as I can’t give up bake off!!) but I only watch them on the apps, never live.

You can watch the other channels, just not live.

You should be fine then. I watch the occasional non-BBC programme on catch up & that’s it - no problem.

Sorry, I copied & pasted from the TV licence website but missed out the line at the top about live TV.

We only have it for CBeebies is that still live?

I have a TV licence for a month over Christmas as the kids come home for a prolonged period and I want them to be able to watch what they want

That costs me £29.10

I then cancel it and don't watch or record live TV or watch iplayer for the rest of the year

Interestingly THIS year I'm receiving threatening emails saying that they're coming round to my house

Good luck with that, boys 🤣

It's BBC so you can't watch it anyway, live or not, without a licence. The only BBC stuff you can watch is when it's BBC series but sold on to Netflix and other streaming channels so through them

You pay six months in advance. So
if you fill in online you’ll get a refund of over £80. If you just cancel your Dd your licence will just run for another six months.

What a brilliant idea. I’d been thinking how annoying it was that I couldn’t just get a licence when there’s a new series of Strike, which is the only BBC programme I’d quite like to watch.

Of course I could get one & cancel it. Thank you.

Go for it! I think the BBC is getting more anxious about "leavers" this year, hence the nasty emails

But as long as you don't watch or record any live TV nor watch iplayer, you're good 🥰

@caravantulips yes....you can use the news app and listen to BBC radio without a licence

I see the tv licence fee as the equivalent any subscription service. I pay for prime, Netflix, Apple, Disney, paramount, BFI - it’s just another one on the list. Dread to think how much it all costs, some annual via deals, some monthly.

Best thing I ever did was cancel the TV licence.

You can either tell them and if they owe you anything, they'll pay you back, or cancel the DD.

You're not allowed to watch the iPlayer or TV channels as they're being broadcast live but every other channel streams their content and you are allowed to watch that, just not at exactly the moment it's broadcast on the channel.

BTW it's a ridiculous set up that's only enforceable by you telling them you're watching something illegally, usually via someone knocking on your door. That's why it's impossible for them to do anything if you just politely say 'no thanks' and shut the door if you ever receive a visitor.

I stopped paying mine in 2017 and have never received a visit, just scores of letters.

Why do you need a tv licence to watch live tv through netflix??? (They stream WWE and other sports live) the BBC have absolutely nothing to do with that live stream so why should a tv licence be necessary ? Sprry the rules confuse me

That’s really useful to know! Thank you! I would have just cancelled the DD!

I haven’t had a license for years, as others have said you just need to complete the declaration form every so often- they email you when it’s due. I’ve never had any threatening letters, they rang me once but were really nice tbh.

Do you really begrudge £3.86 a month? Streaming channels cost way more than that.

You do, though. When I cancel my TV licence which they insist I do on the telephone, they ask if I have Netflix and if so, do I watch live TV through it

£3.86 a month? For what? £180 / 12 = £15

The only difference being that Netflix doesn’t threaten to send the heavies round, if you don’t pay for it. 😂