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?

Don't forget " It's your BBC".

Aye, wether I like it or not.

Assume if you record live tv that counts as watching it and therefore the need for a license?

Yes.

You are consuming it as broadcast "live". The fact you aren't actively watching it is not considered.

Assuming you are talking about C4's F1 coverage or suchlike, then if C4 broadcasts this as scheduled programme you would require a licence to either watch it as broadcast or record it as broadcast.

If C4 then shows the programme on their own catch-up service after the scheduled broadcast has concluded, then no, you do not require a licence to watch the catch-up version.

I think you do need a licence to watch make/ recordings.

they have no officers, it's a deceit designed to make it appear they have authority

They do have officers, my dear departed father didn't have a tv set and the tv licensing office turned up on his door (after he sent them a rather provocative letter as he was sick of their threatening letters) the chap turned up and took one look at my dad and didn't want to enter the house or really stay and chat. They do exist though

They have no right to enter your home without a warrant

Indeed and they can't get a court warrant to enter your house without proof of you watching live tv. They can't just demand a warrant but have to have evidence that a warrant is needed and just having a tv on the wall is not evidence

How? They can't prove anything. It's scaremongering. I haven't paid tv licence for years and not one fine or even a person come round. If you admit to it then maybe but who would be stupid enough to do that?

You can use the news app OP and listen to BBC radio without a licence, that's fine, you're not watching the news live on there. 👍🏻

We haven't had a licence for about 15 years and kids have surprisingly survived without cbeebies. We have YouTube. We also have Netflix and Prime on and off.

We have a silly letter about once a month and have done for 15 years telling us they're coming to visit next week and "WILL I BE IN?" Scary stuff 🤣 how much money must they waste on all these letters?And yes they have been told, but clearly they don't do joined up thinking at the BBC.

The BBC shitting themselves at all the licence cancellations makes me laugh. They've brought this on themselves. BBC - Biased Bullying C

Years ago, my mum got a knock at the door from a TV licence guy. She's very trusting, and they've always had a TV licence, so when he asked to come in 'for some standard checks' she let him. Lucky I was visiting at the time but I was in a different part of the house and couldn't hear the conversation.

He asked if they watched live TV, asked her to turn the TV on and show him, change channels etc.

He then started reading her an official caution, told her she could be fined or imprisoned for watching TV without a license, and needed to give a written statement.

I walked in to my mum in tears and this little rat of a man still trying to get a statement out of her.

Turns my parents had changed banks and my dad forgot to move their TV licence DD to the new account. The license had expired the day before, but instead of just telling them that, they'd come round to catch them out.

It ended with him being frog marched out of the house by his collar and loudly called a VERY rude word that rhymes with Jeremy Hunt 😅

Quoted wrong person.

have I? im so sorry I though that I was quoting Nolongera

No sorry, it was me that quoted the wrong person 😅

it happens`!

Seriously?? Where did I say that I wasn’t struggling? Do I need to preface every post with “I have two severely disabled children, a husband who can’t work as he is a carer for our children, a disabled father who is totally reliant on me so I can’t get a second job and we are trapped in eye wateringly expensive rented accommodation because I can’t get a mortgage because my husband is an unpaid carer”?

Every word of the above is true. Now am I allowed to cancel my TV licence? Now do you consider me poor enough to be allowed to opt out of a service I barely use?

I've been licence free for over 15 years, its a lot easier now as theres just so many more options for visual media. Cancel online, don't login to iplayer, or watch live tv (or record it) if they come to your house, you don't have to let them in, they're basically just sales people.

Nope! I wanted to find out how to cancel my subscription and what I needed to do. Nowhere did I say I was going to carry on watching the BBC or live TV, I just wanted to know what I could/couldn’t do if I cancelled.

Thanks to a lot of really helpful posters I now know what to do and I’ll be cancelling the subscription. (But as a pp suggested I may subscribe just for one month at Christmas - can’t be missing the Dr Who Christmas special!)

I stopped paying aprox 3 years ago , i did it on their website , they try and dissuade you !! it said they wouldn't send letters to me but may send an agent round 😂
So far one letter as time was up and i had to tell them again no licence required but no visit as yet.
I watch very little tv , kids no live at all , husband does watch the odd live , no i player watched , i don't care at all , they had decades worth of fees from me and i will not pay a penny more , so much corruption , over paid 'stars' ,luvvies .
The days of the licence fee are numbered , can't come soon enough.

Far too much, netflix is £5.99 per month.

They are not officers though, officer implies some kind of authority, like army officer or police officer.

They are just people with no more or less authority than you or me.

I need to cut back on subscriptions because they keep creeping up in price. I use Amazon, Netflix and iPlayer a lot but if I had to stop watching one to save money it would sadly be iPlayer.

I never listen to the radio but will want to keep using the BBC news app and didn’t want to lose access to that. Thankfully pps have assured me this would be okay.

Your OP asks “can I carry on using this?”, and has repeated this in follow up posts. I think continuing to use the BBC’s services while refusing to pay because it’s not “good value” to quote you, is immoral, regardless of whether it’s illegal.
The more people who do this, the higher the cost will be. Every other news site charges or has adverts, but the BBC is not allowed to do this. How do you imagine something you value will continue if you don’t want to pay for it?

The phrase “Can I carry on using this” in my OP was quite clearly in relation to the BBC news app which others have confirmed I can use even without a TV licence.

If comprehension is a struggle for you may I suggest BBC Bitesize?

Environmental Officer, Planning Officer, Health and Safety Officer etc etc

Plenty of jobs with the title Officer.

A massive thank you to all the helpful posters on here. I’ll cancel my licence. The £180 is much more of a benefit to me in my purse at the moment than using iPlayer. Thanks for all the tips!

Good luck op - im trying to cancel mine & it won’t let me unless I call them! 🙄🙄

BBC news is a BBC service. As I said, legally maybe you don't have to stop using it. Morally, you should.
My comprehension is fine, thanks.

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