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?

Just make a declaration that you dont watch live TV. Its time they made it a subscription service so people can choose whether they pay money for a left wing biased shit show that is haemorraging views by the day.

Haven’t had one in years, I get a letter once a year saying do you need one and fill an online form in to say no.

It’s such an outdated system.

People on here act like you’re taking food out of orphans mouths if you don’t have one though.

I agree it is an amazing resource but you say it’s the price of a coffee a week. That’s a lot to me. I take a flask if I go out and on the rare occasion I meet a friend for a coffee I have a pot tea as it’s two drinks for £2.50. The price made me learn to like tea!

Cancel the licence and watch what you want, I watch bbc and IPlayer, sometimes get “threatening” letters saying they are coming round - I’ve got electric gates and cameras so good luck with that, don’t answer door to anyone I don’t know

The TV licence is not related to BBC radio or their websites.

Also, the BBC makes billions every year from BBC Studios - which has nothing to do with the licence. TV channels with adverts like Dave, Gold and U (all owned by the BBC), selling ie Fawlty Towers to the US etc, all pay billions to the BBC, which funds Radio 4 and the BBC News app.

How about the BBC stops paying its 'stars' millions every year as the starting point, instead of demanding hard up mums sacrifice themselves?

Theft of what, exactly? Watching something on a device I’ve paid for, with the electricity I’ve paid for, under a roof I’ve paid for?

Paying for a TV license is theft imo.

This...
Just stop paying 🤦‍♂️
Only if you invite an enforcement officer in to witness you watching Eastenders will they be able to tell if you're using the telly 🤷
Or pay the 3quid odd a week, it's really not that much!

For me I will continue paying because I want the BBC to exist.

Do you think the BBC presenters, actors, and production staff work for free?
Do you just walk into a shop and take a DVD because "you've paid for the electricity and your DVD player"?

You can't watch Disney, netflix etc without paying for it though.

You can access BBC without paying for it as it comes via the TV aerial. Fair enough it you never listen to the radio, podcasts, watch 1,2, 3 or 4, read the BBC website (even for recipes), use bitesize for learning for gcse revision or watch iplayer. Otherwise it needs to be funded somehow.

Maybe it's time for a gentle mention that here in the UK it's licence not license.

My understanding is that the Communications Act 2003 says that to watch live TV yada yada you have to buy a TV licence. I don't buy a TV licence therefore I do not watch live TV etc

For me, to watch live TV etc, without buying a licence, is contrary to the law, and is theft

I pay for my road tax for driving a car I've purchased using petrol I've purchased, because its the law to pay for road tax

Not to pay for road tax, is contrary to the law

That's the way I view this.

I just watched the Six Nations - where else would you get that

I am amazed when I hear young parents and grandparents complaining they never watch BBC. A friend of mine was saying they don’t watch any BBC programmes until her husband reminded her that CBeebies is on all day when grandchildren are there. I also pointed out how much parents who didn’t pay their licence fee would miss their kids having access to Bitesize. It provided so much support during GCSEs and A Levels. I think some people think the educational element of the BBC is free.

This. It’s a ridiculous outdated system and its long overdue reform is a persistent example of British bureaucracy and inefficiency. It’s frankly embarrassing. I haven’t paid in years and will dip in an out maybe once or twice a year for odd bit of sport or other that might be of interest. It’s ridiculous as if they had a proper subscription model like the rest of advanced civilization I’d happily do pay per view as required. They are on a downward spiral of self destruction.

@gemini0606 What you are doing is theft. Presumably, you don’t have children? Do you steal from shops as well? It is a terrible example to set others.

I dont understand why posters are saying you "cant" watch live TV without a licence. Of course you can, the TV doesnt block access if no licence.

Christ this is depressing.

I’m another on and off user. Didn’t watch anything live for years or use iPlayer then bought a licence to watch the coronation and haven’t cancelled it. I have watched a couple of things on iPlayer to justify the cost.

Not too cross about paying for my tiny use though as I have Radio 4 on constantly!

You're right. Morally it's wrong to watch live TV etc without a licence (imo). But you can. Unlike Netflix etc , where you can't

I imagine the BBC has calculated that if they charged a subscription, fewer people would pay

Cancel it and watch what you pay for, not what you want.

@Hyrtlemyrtleyes I have kids and I hope they follow my lead and never pay the corrupt biased BBC

I always thought the licence was for BBC only, and didn’t affect other live channels. Cheeky shits

(I have a licence)

The bbc license fee is a joke I rang regarding this fee and told them I don’t watch anything live - this is very misleading - live to me is when something is actually happening I was told by a very bored person that I had to pay whatever - when pushed I asked if I had a TV in my house that was not working did I still have to pay guess what he said YES my mum is 95 totally blind has a tv in her house that doesn’t work it’s broken down and not worth fixing and even if we bought her a new tv she wouldn’t be able to see it yet the bbc expect her to pay a licence fee purely because she has a tv in her house that doesn’t even work - we’ve left in her house because she knows where it is - it’s very important to her to know where things are ie when dusting cleaning etc everything has to be placed exactly where it belongs albeit mum has totally lost her sight and needs a great deal of care she still likes to know where her things are we have to hold her hand and walk her around so she can feel things it’s her home and the bbc wants her to pay a licence fee for what - I got really mad with the boring unintelligent person on the phone who seemed to be reading from some kind of script telling me if I listened to the radio used a phone including mobile a license had to be paid - told him basically where he and the licence could go and reminded him I and millions of others where paying his wages RANT OVER GUYS oh heck I need a license to contact the outside world

There was a thread yesterday from a poster who believed all manner of horrific world wide sex abuse cover ups. She got her news from social media. One of the key elements of the BBC is to inform and educate. BBC makes a point of their ‘Verify’ element to reporting. They make a point of providing researched evidence to present the truth about headline news stories.
More than ever there is a need for reliable trustworthy reporting.
I am a teacher and the BBC educational output is just brilliant. I know my grandchildren watch Numberblocks and Alphablocks in school. Bitesize offers so much support to all the key stages. A friend of mine with a child who is struggling with writing and school in general, saw an educational psychologist privately. He told them to reinforce all their learning at home with Bitesize. He also advised them to get their child to use the Bitesize programme teaching touch typing. It is a wonderful resource. Best in the world.