Anyone else receiving letters threatening visits from TV licensing?

[Newcarforchristmas]

I have a TV license as the kids occasionally watch live TV. I’ve always had a TV license and moved it with us when we moved house in Dec 2022.
For most of the time living here I’ve received letters addressed to ‘The legal occupier’ stating that the address doesn’t have a TV license and every time I have logged on to check its still active, which is has been, and called them to explain the situation. They’re always a bit confused and say they can see my license on the system and it must be an error on their system but not to worry as an agent wouldn’t actually visit.
I’ve just received another letter stating that an agent will be visiting on 15th March and I no longer believe they won’t attend.
I can’t call them until Monday at which point I’m going to stress that they are not to send an agent to my property when I’ve had a license for years but is it only me? Anyone else having this issue?

AIBU to demand they not send an agent? I know it wouldn’t take much for me to physically show them proof but why should I l? I’ve called them 6 or 7 times over this and I’m fed up of explaining it over and over again.

I don't have a TV licence because like another poster I can not get a good signal at my address

I tried declaring I didn't have a TV, the letters stopped for a few months then started again. Then they sent an inspector out to my house during the pandemic which pissed me off, but i showed him I had no TV and the letters stopped for a few months and then started again.

Now I just ignore them and throw them away and if another inspector comes round I will not let them in.

Print off a copy of your licence and tape it well to your front door on the day, along with a short note:
we will not be answering, we have rung you twice, stop harassing valid licence holders or I shall call the police.

Back in the days of old, my Mum and Dad still had a b&w tele and the licence was a lot cheaper. They got letters telling them they must be lying, because despite the licence being a thing, surely no one actually watched one.

A chap came round, Mum happily showed him in, he popped his head round the door and went 'yeah, that's a b&w set' and off he went.

I was completely right.

Just ignore. Like PP said, the have about 8 letters which they send in a cycle culminating in a red one (oooh I'm scared), one with a 'we'll be visiting on x date', and sometimes a postcard type one pretending to be handwritten and delivered (it's not).

They go directly from my postbox to the recycling every month like they have for the past 12 years. Never had a visit.

This.

Its annoying, but it’s not as if they can do anything and it might be an opportunity to put an end to it.

What you can actually do is this (for those of you who do not have a TV)

1. Declare NLN (no licence needed)

1. Send them a WOIRA declaration. This is the withdrawal of the implied right of access. They cannot knock on your door.

Hope that's helpful.

Poundlandcombo you can cancel one and purchase for the other address or ask the land registry to update their records. This is where TVL get the addresses.

Also if you don’t have a license ignore them. They use bullying tactics so don’t waste your time engaging with them.

Doesn't help. We declared no licence needed and they still sent letters. I don't even know wtf the point is in their whole bureaucratic system.

The point is that it pays them so they can create programmes. It's their entire business model under royal charter.

NLN lasts for 2yrs and then you have to reconfirm (if you want to)

Hassling people who have no need for a licence pays them?

Sounds like a waste of money to me.

The no need still had them sending us letters no matter how many times they were told. It's insane.

They presume the owner may have moved or the situation may have changed

Except that it doesn't

They say it last 2 years but they recommence way sooner than that so it's entirely pointless

Plus no other business model expects non customers to do extra admin every 2 years!

Don't want to shop at Tesco? You have to declare that every two years or else they will turn up at your house demanding so see if you have groceries..

My mother's flat was empty for a long time when she had a long term illness and subsequently died. She got rid of her TV not long before her final illness as she couldn't really operate it or follow what was going on, and we notified the licensing people. Shortly before the flat was sold I collected all the post which included at least 12 letters from TV licensing getting more and more threatening about how they were really, really going to come round, she could get prosecuted, she could get fined, she really really needed to pay for her licence. It was all really ridiculous as some of this was over lockdown and she was in sheltered accommodation the managers of which weren't letting anyone in without a very good reason. In a way I wished that they had turned up, it might finally have shut them up.

Are you sure the letter is genuine? There is a well known scam going round where demand letters are being sent for unpaid TV licenses. They may be trying to get you on a fake website/ call a fake number.
https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/ss/Satellite?blobcol=urldata&blobheadername1=content-type&blobheadervalue1=application%2Fpdf&blobkey=id&blobtable=MungoBlobs&blobwhere=1370006613587&ssbinary=true#:~:text=A%20scam%20letter%20will%20often,number%20to%20sort%20it%20out.

What?

Do you actually think TV licensing are acting in a fair and proper manner harassing people with threatening letters?

They're disgusting.

I didn't say any such thing...

And how is enforcing the law "disgusting"? You may not like the law itself.

I haven't received such letters, but a neighbour started receiving them.

I think the authorities were eventually persuaded that this neighbour hadn't been watching any TV since at least 2017. Which is when he had unfortunately died.

Bureaucracy run mad.

I also got this letter about the 15th March. It’s a generic one they send out to everyone. If you read on it says ‘the 15th or March or any other date’. They’re not actually coming on 15th of March.

They have been reported threatening women in domestic violence shelters and targeting the elderly with dementia

"I was just enforcing the law" is not a particularly moral or ethical outlook at best and harassment is also illegal

The BBC have ordered multiple investigations into the way these people act and have had to pay compensation on multiple occasions due to the harassment so I think disgusting is a fair accusation for this behaviour

And if the Post Office have taught us anything it's that corporations having the authority to "enforce" the law outside of the (admittedly not perfect) Police, is not really a good idea

I agree there may be instances of inappropriate behaviour by individuals but the majority of them are working to enforce the law. I'm not sure the police are the best example here!!!!! I've never heard of a TVL inspector killing anyone (unless I just don't know about it?!)

I wondered why I was still receiving demands after doing an nln. They just ignore it 😭

The wording in the letters is quite funny - we're coming on X date, BUT we might not, and may come on another day and CATCH YOU REDHANDED. I've only known one person to have a visit from them, (20 years ago) and it was without prior notice.

Love how you miss out the part where I myself point out the police are not perfect 🙄

If you want to believe Capita are somehow the good guys here then you go for it

I meanwhile will continue to agree with the previous poster that their behaviour is all too frequently disgusting