To not understand TV License payments

[Violashift]

If I pay it all at once it will cost £159 and I won't need to pay it again for another year.

If I choose quarterly it will be £41 x 4 with a charge so in a years time I will have paid roughly the same give or take the extra charges.

However with the monthly option it is £26.50 for 6 months then £13.25 going forward. So this time next year I would have paid them nearly £80 more.

Am I missing something obvious?

No.

It’s the same with insurance, car plans, gym membership etc. It’s always cheaper to pay annually rather than monthly.

I'm pretty sure that it's one payment at £26. ? and £13. whatever thereafter.

Well yes usually there's a bit of interest but not £80. We'll almost 50 percent.

It's because you pay for half the next years in advance

The wording is confusing but I think the first year, you make 6 payments, but in the second year it's 12 payments.

Or you could just not pay them anything at all 😂

It's £13.25/month, that's the same as £159/yr. You might be paying backdated amounts from a period without a license?

This, I cancelled a couple of months ago and got some money back

Yes this ^^
I've just looked at mine and I just pay the £13.25. I had a panic for moment there and was about to cancel my DD

If you’ve just started paying for it monthly you pay for the first year over 6mths (£26)
once it changes to £13 your paying 6 months in advance, 6 months in “arrears” which is actually the first 6mths that they particular licence covers.
so…
1/1/22 - 1/6/22 payments at £26 covers the tv licence that covers 1/1/22 to 31/12/22.
on the 1/7/22 you then start paying for the licence that will be valid from the 1/1/23

It's 13.25 for evermore after thr first 6 months - basically, you have to be in credit with them if you pay monthly.

The first 1 is covered by 6 x £26.50 payments
You pay the next one with 6

You pay the next one with 6 months in advance and then 6 months in arrears so 12 x 13.25

Here

We are £13.25 a month but remember setting it up years ago and it was something about paying for your first year’s license in six months then it’s monthly .

But I don't owe anything. I paid £159 last year. It runs out on 31st.

I am too scared.

Thanks. So I would still be £80 down this time next year if I did it this way?

It's 6 months in arrears then 6 months in advance, so...

You pay for the first year in 6 months, that's the 26 quid a month, then it drops to 13 and that's paying for the the next year.

So after 6 months you could cancel and so have a valid license until the year is up.

If you cancel after a year you will have paid for 18th months so again will still be valid for6 months.

Hope this makes sense.

Such a silly way of billing people!

Depends if you need a tv in the coming years.
if you only needed it for a year cancel the dd, youve paid for the year.
if not just keep track and cancel 6mths before you need it to end