Would you do this? (Ben Fogle's TV license donation)

[ScrewBalls99]

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48607896

Would you do this?

Donate towards over 75's free TV licenses?

Re. period poverty Nadia Sawalha is involved in helping with that Read an interview last week.

DH is a disabled pensioner so has a foot in both camps. At one time we were living on £40 a week.. before he got to pension age.

@HelenaDove I did not snipe at anyone. I pointed out how I am in the position of being detrimentally treated by the Government on three different aspects.
exh was not a piss head although he was not a non drinker. He was a sponging cocklodger (to use the MN description) with delusions. He claimed he was running a business but that seemed to be all debts which had folks banging on my door when pregnant. When I had had enough and got rid within a short time he was a nasty blighter pulling all sorts of stunts and telling lies. He was given an exclusion order so waited till DC over 18 then started another of his campaigns. He has never earned any money and sponged his way through life.
He is a faker and conman. When he got the Pension and Pension Credit it was the first time he ever had a traceable income but not one penny can be taken from him to pay the back maintenace.
Charming chappie

Well they should be docking CM from his PC automatically. The tech is there but the will isnt. Like i said ......misogyny.

I thought that too but I have been told that there is not going to be any money taken from him at all.

Meanwhile, he is still telling DC that he paid all during their childhood and that is why he had no money to buy Christmas or Birthday presents. Despite having seen things the DC take al this as gospel.

thats ridiculous. and bloody unjust.

I take it the DC are still very young. It wont last long The blinkers will fall from their eyes and they will see hes talking shit. And that you are the one who is there for them.

They WILL see that.

His conduct and lies have now caused the DC and DGC to be disadvantaged. The DC must have noticed that I was the only adult in the house.

No DC are adults with DC of their own

No. It is right that it will still be free for those on pension credit, but the situation for pensioners generally isn't what it was 20+ years ago; many pensioners nowadays are as well off or more so as any other household. Many younger people will never be as well off as some of the older generations.

You don't get a free licence if you are on a low income and on ESA for eg due to illness, or disabled and low income.

I think it should be means tested for all and at the least a discount given to those on a low income. It really is very expensive.

Ben and others are just being blindly sentimental and not thinking about the bigger picture. its irritiating

I would rather the TV Licence was abolished. I would like them to have adverts so that I get time to make tea or have a comfort break

It should be means tested, which I think if I'm correct it will be. I know a lot of retired people who have pensions bigger than our household income who live in their large mortgage free houses, they really don't need it. Granted there are many pensioners who struggle too and yes they should get it free, just means test it on their income/savings.

I don't agree with the license fee full stop. I think it's outdated and terrible value for money (for me personally as I hardly watch any bbc tv, although admittedly I watch some great repeats on Netflix that originated on bbc). My DH listens to radio 6 but I don't listen to any bbc radio.

If you compare the cost to our Netflix subscription or our now tv subscription it's so expensive.

Tv isn't essential and if you can be bothered to ensure you don't watch live tv and only steamed tv you can get away with not paying at all - we are probably heading in this direction although not there yet. So I don't think it should be free for anyone if honest.

I think the licence fee is very unfair anyway ,many people over 75 are alone with just one tv yet the fee is the same for a large family with tvs in every room,my neighbours even have one outside in a huge gazebo. Advertising is the way forward imo with a fee if you want advert free viewing.

@StillCoughingandLaughing

Would I help out an elderly relative who couldn’t get pension credit and was worried about finding the money for a TV licence? Absolutely. Would I donate to a campaign for a blanket ruling that will probably fail? Nope. May as well piss it up the wall.

Totally agree

Have it free for those who need the help (pension credit) and I'm sorry, if people are too proud to claim it then how is that anyone else's fault?
(I know some dont know they can claim it, but that's a different issue)

I love the stereotyping on this thread.

Call single parents (usually mothers) 'feckless' and MN is rightly up in arms.
Comment on the lifestyle of parents on benefits and again, there is outrage.

Call all old people wealthy and that's fine, even though it's arrant nonsense.

The ageism on these forums is often quite breathtaking.

Even the poorest pensioner is guaranteed an income from the state of over £150 per week. I know that's not much money at all, but the poorest working-age people only get £73 per week from the state, less if they're aged under 25. And they are not exempt from paying for the TV licence.

But they stand a chance of work. Who's going to employ 77 year-old Mabel or 82 year-old Albert?

They have no means, at all, ever, of increasing their income. And even with your council tax paid, £8700 pa isn't a lot. Those people aren't swanning off on cruises or sitting on £7k sofas.

Ideally the BBC, Age UK and the government would use the opportunity and media scrutiny for a huge campaign on pension credit.

Even the poorest pensioner is guaranteed an income from the state of over £150 per week.

I know that's not much money at all, but the poorest working-age people only get £73 per week from the state, less if they're aged under 25.

And they are not exempt from paying for the TV licence.

They are not 'exempt' from getting a job 🤷🏻‍♀️

Why is there this view on here that pensioners are rolling in it?

I work in elderly social care and this is going to devastate very vulnerable, already isolated and housebound people.

The home I work in is largely well-off elderly. They can and should pay, however we are relatively small (50 beds) and the amount of work it is going to put on the office staff to organise is astonishing. It would be easy to say they should sort it individually but not all are capable and many don't have families to do it for them.

Nice little earner for the BBC though. I hope the content they offer in future reflects that.

Nice little earner for the BBC though.

The BBC have always 'earned' this. The Government subsidised the over 75's. Now they are not.

This isn’t a “nice earner for the BBC”. Previously the government gave the BBC a flat grant to pay for the pensioners exemption. From 2020 they’ll stop that. The BBC has said that they’ll fund free licences for pensioners on PC but not the rest, so they’ll £250 million worse off than they currently are.

Ah. My mistake.

As far as I was aware they will fine you for Non Payment .However if you do not have the means to pay ,can then give prison sentence.Surely fairest way is to just means test?!

I think it's important to note that this is happening because of a govt decision, not a BBC one. It feels like a lot of people are 'against' the BBC these days, which I find very sad, as personally I'm very proud of it indeed. I suspect we would lose something culturally significant if it were lost.

Like a PP, I also find the ageism in these discussions very depressing.

Many, many older people are poor. My own parents - who worked all their lives - are quite poor, don't own property and are very elderly. I don't know if they get pension credit (they probably should) as they are private about money and quite proud.