Wrongly accused of watching BBC iPlayer without a licence

[Cattenberg]

I have never had a TV (or an iPlayer account) at my current address, so since moving here I haven’t had a TV licence.

Today, I got a letter from TV Licensing claiming that someone at my address has watched BBC iPlayer on several occasions in the last few weeks without a licence. I know I haven’t and the only other resident (my eight-year-old) swears she hasn’t and I believe her. In order to watch something on iPlayer, don’t you have to log in first?

The letter says I have to buy a licence and gives me a link to the TV licensing website, but whichever option I select to try to contact them, I am either blocked from sending a message because I don’t have a current TV licence number, or I’m re-directed to the page for buying a new licence. Hmm…

I suppose I’ll have to write a letter to them, but has anyone else experienced this? I do NOT want to watch TV or buy a licence. I’d prefer it if they blocked my property from receiving all BBC services, so I never have to worry about this again.

I’m also wondering if someone could have accessed my Wi-fi, perhaps the next-door neighbours (one set aren’t very nice) or the workmen who occasionally park on the street outside my house as they’re renovating a nearby property.

this is a standard letter that they send out. we got one when we bought a flat even though it had been empty for years beforehand and the empty house wasn’t watching tv.
id either ignore it or see if they send another with an option to tell them you don’t need a licence

You just need to ignore it

Can you screenshot the letter blacking out identifying details?

My DS and his GF get them from time to time at their flat. They don’t have a TV and have never watched iPlayer. They’ve lived there for 2 years and have always ignored the letters.

It's to scare you.. if they send 1000 out and 10 people are vulnerable or scared they will buy a licence, so they win..

Just ignore it, chuck it in the bin and carry on with your life..

I think this is just the latest incarnation of the tv licence van which could apparently track you down watching tv (spoiler: it couldn't).

Ignore.

Maybe sure you blackout the barcode.

I haven't had a letter specifically mentioning iPlayer
Was it just one line in that wall of text they send?

I deleted my iPlayer login and I have a "no license needed" declaration.

They still sent three letters when I moved, and I actually made a complaint. The response I got was pathetic. They basically said "what if you had changed your mind?"

but they would know because then I'd have a login!

Anyway, I would say if you've got the energy to complain, then complain about it.

I will ignore any future letters. I'm fucking sick of it. I am thinking of keeping the letters and maybe in the winter, we can all have a party and put them on a bonfire.

editing to add, I do think they go through phases of targeting certain addresses and I wouldn't be surprised if they make a point of targeting addresses where it's only a woman's name on the license. I live alone so I don't know if they collect data on how many people are at an address

Howlong have you lived there @Cattenberg ?

My sister got one of these letters but it specified the date, time and programme that they had detected being watched. It was her teenaged daughter. She told her she couldn't watch iPlayer she was at her house and she's received nothing further.

I have had about 100 of these. They get more and more aggressive - I’ve called them once to say - it’s a plot of land and I don’t live there - they continue to waste money sending them.

As you are in a house if they come to your door they have NO RIGHT to access your home. You could call them and tell them you do not use it and they will stop for a year. You just have to do it every year - I got annoyed and gave up.

We’ve been getting them for 6 years and just bin them. We don’t watch i player or any other live TV so nothing to be worried about if you’re the same. They just bombard you in the hope that if you have you’ll then buy a license and/or even if you haven’t they can scare you into buying one you don’t need.

A couple of my relatives have had those after moving into houses which had been empty for some time (1 due to previous owner passing away and 1 as it's a workplace accommodation house and the job had taken some months to fill). 1 relative engaged, wrote back, filled out a form saying she didn't need a tv licence and has had increasingly threatening letters, the other relative binned the letter and maybe gets 1 a year now and bins that so I would say bin and ignore!

Have you recently moved, maybe that triggered it

You do have to log in to watch it with the BBC password, it's the same one as used to vote on strictly and stuff like that, more of a general BBC password than a specific iPlayer one. The first time you log in to iPlayer on a device you use your password but after that you go straight in, similar to the other streamers

It’s quite funny but the Op is all over Mumsnet talking about watching various bbc programmes (call the mid wife; interior design masters; gladiators…. I could go on!)

There is absolutely no way for the BBC to determine this with any certainty. You should bin the letter and pay the matter no more heed.

In order to tie an IP to an address they would require your ISP to hand that information to them. Even then, IP's are often issued to multiple physical addresses at the same time, so it can't be guaranteed that someone accessing iPlayer from a certain IP is at a specific postal address. On top of this, even if they had all this information, which they do not, it's also perfectly possible that someone who does own a licence has used your IP to access iPlayer on a mobile device, and this is not in any way against the law.

It's yet more scaremongering, bullying, and intimidation from the BBC rooted in the fact that some people won't understand what's going on and will panic buy a licence.

You have done nothing wrong, and the BBC are simply trying to fool you into buying a licence you do not need.

Maybe the BBC has read the OP’s posting history 😆

I've given up with tv licence. I don't even opt out on their website as I don't wish to give them my personal details.
I've had letters like this - they go straight in the bin. I didn't even know it was possible to watch without signing in.

There’s a simple explanation for that, Homemerge, we often visit my parents at the weekend and they have a TV, which they like to watch during mealtimes (although I’d usually much rather have peace and quiet). Most of my friends also have TVs.

I can’t remember the last time I watched Call the Midwife or The Great Interior Design Challenge, although DD and I did watch most of the last season of Gladiators. I also often watch the news or Countryfile, but not by choice!

I find that the less I watch TV, the less I miss it. If only I’d known that, I could have given up my TV in my 20s.

I have lived in this house about four years (can’t actually remember when we moved in!) and never had any problems from TV Licensing before.

I’ve attached a photo of the letter, crudely redacted with paper and blu-tack.

How long ago did you move in to this property?

We moved into a new build along with half a dozen letters telling us to buy a license. Carry on as you are.

It’s sad to see how far the BBC have fallen!

I have a friend who used to ( 1990s) drive one of the licence detector vans.... He says it was an empty van with no detecting abilities whatsoever. His job was to drive around housing estates and park up occasionally and eat sandwiches. Just to put the frighteners on people.