Cancelling TV license

[Halfheadhighlights]

My husband wants us to cancel our tv licence. We barely watch live tv, have had it on for the euros and will probably watch some of the olympics.

I watch Netflix and Amazon but I’m not bothered about having live channels.

just wondering people’s experiences of cancelling, did tv licence people bug you with letters and threatening to visit? I just can’t be bothered with any hassle, especially as it didn’t cost much really.

H is very passionate about not giving money to the BBC though.

The BBC is and always has been a scam. There were never any "detector vans". But they showed them in their adverts to scare people.

There were detector vans in the 60s and 70s, they had a big aerial type thing on top, they didn't detect anything, they were similar to the old speed cameras in our county that have been left up but don't work, used as visible deterrent.

Maybe read my 2 updates 🙄

Why? It's not an essential service and much better to give people choice than force them into paying even more money for a useless service they don't want or need.

If you want it, pay for it!

Paying it out of tax would be cheaper than all the palaver currently used to collect the license and enforce non-payment.

I would rather they just shut the BBC down. There's no need for it today's media landscape.

I think paying it out of tax would put it too close to government which would make impartiality questionable (even more than people question it now), it would essentially make it kind of part of the civil service? I don’t think it would be workable.

The government already has to renew it's charter every few years. What is the difference?

You're sadly wrong about that. I've filled in the declaration twice, and I still get threatening letters every few weeks. Addressed to the "legal occupier", and warning that they would be making a visit soon.

It must cost a fortune to be constantly sending letters to people. And it's had the effect on me that even if there was something on TV that I would want to watch, they've pissed me off so much that there is no chance that they would get any money from me.

I pay annually online. Still occasionally get a threatening letter. 🤷

It must cost a fortune to be constantly sending letters to people. And it's had the effect on me that even if there was something on TV that I would want to watch, they've pissed me off so much that there is no chance that they would get any money from me.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/explainers-51376255
'In the 12 months to March 2023, officers visited 1,075,240 addresses and found just under 73,000 people watching live TV without a licence.'

'The review said £137m had been spent collecting the licence fee.'

It's a total scandal that this is allowed to continue. How can it be justified?

If your household is planning on canceling the TV Licence then everyone needs to agree, really. And everyone needs to know the no Licence rules.

If the Licence is in the OH's name, then he will receive the letters in his name initially before they revert to "The Legal Occupier". The letters can be ignored or returned.

One thing to be aware of is that 75% of TVL defendants are women (quite unlike any other offence), and this is probably because of a collection of factors that make women more likely than men to comply and to be coerced by TV Licensing. If TVL call at your door you do not have to speak to them, and it's recommended not to.