To cancel my TV licence

[trampoline123]

I want to cancel my TV licence because I'm fed up of the way they broadcast the news. The language they use and the way they report is biased and quite frankly sickening. I don't want to fund it in any way shape or form.

AIBU to cancel my tv license for this reason?

No the stealing part was in general .

I don't necessarily agree with this, because at the moment, they are a PSB, and also have a revenue-generating off-shoot that is very much preoccupied with producing stuff they can punt to the rest of the world.

I see no reason why that can't continue, only the PSB part can be funded by people who actually want to consume it, i.e. subscribers, while the rest of us who have zero interest in it are not presumptively hounded as if we are legally obliged to fund it by default, whether we consume it or not.

I don't pay for your gas or electricity, no matter how much you depend on it, enjoy it, or appreciate it. I see no reason at all why I should subsidise yours, or anyone else's TV consumption.

I cancelled mine a couple of years ago...i have a tv but rarely watch it...my son uses it for his xbox or we watch Netflix...I get a letter once a year if that, asking if my circumstances have changed...never had a knock at the door.
Is it right that i cant watch say a live football match on itv though? As i hadnt realised that.

We cancelled ours in 2020,waste of money.

If you plan to continue to watch live TV you should pay for the licence. People who don't are just expecting to leech off the people who do pay. Just don't watch the channels you don't like.

I thought this was just an 80s scaremongering story that's stuck 🤣

Is it right that i cant watch say a live football match on itv though? As i hadnt realised that.

The TV license doesn't just cover BBC.
It covers all programming that is shown live or 'as live.'
You can watch it on catch up, but not as it happens.

There are sometimes exemptions to this. For example, there was an exemption for the queen's funeral - people were allowed to watch that love, as it happened, even if they didn't have a TV license.

You can't watch any live sport on itv or prime or anywhere

I don't use the London Underground so by your logic that public service should privatised and paid for by the people that use it? Of course not, because I'm not so insular to understand that a: London having subsidised transport indirectly benefits the rest of the country, b: I can't name one service that's improved through privatisation.
The funding model does need tweaking and personally I favour a block grant of about £3 billion a year from taxpayers so that it can keep doing what it does well without the need for advertising.

Driving without a licence is endangering other people, sitting in front of the box without one is not.

No way. People already pay enough tax and the BBC isn't an essential service. Just make it subscription only and increase the licence fee so that those like you who want to watch it can pay, rather than getting vulnerable women who probably don't even watch it to subsidise your preferences.

Train fares are the largest source of income for London Transport, followed by the Congestion Charge, ULEZ, Business rates and grants. It's not paid for by general taxation. People can choose not to travel by train and they don't pay.

I haven't had one for 8 years. I refuse to fund the BBC.

Well yes, they will. They will harass OP with letters until they eventually turn up on her doorstep to check that she hasn't got a tv. Happened to me when i moved in with my other half who already had a license and then again when we cancelled because we were moving out of our house, we then had letters to say they were coming to check as there wasn't a license registered to that property. We warned our tenant, but she claims she doesn't have one. Responding to them that you have no requirement for one anymore is like talking to a brick wall (in my experience).

Ridiculous comparison. 🤦‍♀️

This hasn't been so since 2013, obviously some stores might be ignoring this

my work place purchased a tv in around 2016/17 and gave the address - then started receiving nasty letters. the tv wasn't being used for tv programs anyway

so the shops are clearly passing on details

I don't have a TV licence.

Yes but you can just ignore their letters ,they send them.on a loop, it's statts of gently reminding you that you don't have e a TV licence ,and they become increasingly more threatening ,saying they may send someone round to check ,( rarely happens) but if they do just ignore then and the loop starts again.

Both are criminal offences (Communications Act of 2003) so yes, the bar is set pretty low.

Well yes, they will. They will harass OP with letters until they eventually turn up on her doorstep to check that she hasn't got a tv. Happened to me when i moved in with my other half who already had a license and then again when we cancelled because we were moving out of our house, we then had letters to say they were coming to check as there wasn't a license registered to that property. We warned our tenant, but she claims she doesn't have one. Responding to them that you have no requirement for one anymore is like talking to a brick wall (in my experience).

I haven't had one letter.

Why would they check that she doesn't have a tv, you are allowed a tv.

The question is should it be a criminal offence to watch TV? No.
Driving whilst unqualified? Most definitely.

So cancel it. TV licence isn't compulsory, although lots of people seem to think it is and that BBC have control over every non-BBC channel that you watch. They do not, it's a myth

I cancelled mine 8 years ago. Simple cancellation form on their website that took less than 5 minutes to complete. I've managed to live without BBC/iPlayer/live TV. I have Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+, if I ever want to catch up on news I read it online on a non-BBC site. More than enough. I very occasionally get a form to re-confirm I dont watch live TV/need a TV Licence but thats it.

Yea I used to get them every couple of months and the text would get increasingly larger and redder 😆 last one was probably just before Christmas. Shame, the envelopes and back of the letters used to make good scrap paper for shopping lists.

Not had anyone turm up for a couple of years either. Last time the guy stuck his foot in the door, quickly removed it when I mentioned I had a very large feisty dog who might try to escape the ajar door.....through him 🤣 he went and sat in his van staring at the house for an hour. Weird guy.

BBC also employs these type of people too

So hell no am I paying the liscence

The psychology behind the letters is quite interesting actually. They are definitely designed to intimidate. They start of as a polite notice, then a threat, then block capitals stating you will be fined, then bright red capitals saying you will be visited and the final boss comes in the form of a bright red envelope with a specific date that you will be visited. They don't actually turn up on said date.

If you ignore them all and finally get a knock on the door, you tell the guy you don't require a licence, he goes away and after a few months they revert back to the polite notice letter and the whole process starts again. It's quite funny actually.

Are they equally low? Where does 1mph over the speed limit sit? (which I am absolutely sure no one has ever done given that's also an offence)

Where do I stand with stealing an extra sachet of wasabi at the sushi counter at Tesco when I've only bought a snack pack of california rolls? Is that the same as driving with no licence?