Why the F should I tell BBC every year that I don’t watch TV ?

[LadyGillingham]

Why can’t they upgrade their subscriptions/licencing model like Netflix etc ?

If you look at BBC corporation’s ownership, majority stakeholders are private Ltd companies and individuals. Why the f are they entitled to demand subscription fees from me for services I don’t use!

The language in the emails is quite strong, I’m sure a lot of senior citizens just pay to not get into trouble. That’s extortion!

That's one heck of a generalisation.
I ditched TV in 1985 & know several others who abandoned it around that time.
Calling people liars for disagreeing with your opinion is offensive.

I didn’t mind declaring every 2 years but now they randomly decide that isn’t good enough and start being aggressive partway through those 2 years you declared.
Trouble is for many years/decades you had a tv and had to watch live, or you didn’t have one - very straightforward. Now you don’t have to watch live at all and you don’t even need a TV as you can access on multiple devices.
Imo as the BBC also does little public type broadcasting clearly distinct from other channels it’s not clear why you’d pay to view, nor is it really clear why it costs to watch live. So if you declare no licence but then watch live/BBC you probably don’t feel you’re committing a massive offence, especially younger viewers who can’t remember when it was 3 channels live or nothing.
The BBC need better PR around it all and/or a different updated model. I think less and less people will see the need for a licence - my parents would never have not had one for example, once they had a TV, and I waited until I literally had no TV before cancelling, but my kids view it as an active decision to make.
I hadn’t thought about implications of being taxed to pay but that’s obviously inappropriate now it’s been explained on here.
But the aggressive approach does no favours or encouragement to return to watching the BBC.

I get that, but it makes my blood boil all the same. I don't want to contribute financially, since 'inappropriate behaviour' in all its forms is something that keeps coming up with male presenters/celebrities.

Shame the BBC isn't such a good employer to women, sidelining unproblematic female newsreaders like Martine Croxall who sued them for age and sex discrimination.

I filled out the form a couple of days ago to confirm I'm still not paying for a TV licence.

Quite.
I eventually gave in and contacted them again as DH was stressing about bailiffs visiting (DH has mental health issues and he doesn't need extra stress) I would have just said 'bring it on'.

Christ almighty, we get it 🙄 you love the BBC. Thousands of people couldn’t give a rat’s arse. My son is 4 and can already read. He’s never even heard of alphablocks. We don’t have a tv.

We get the message that you are “in awe”, as you say, of their kids shows, but plenty of people couldn’t care less. I know you’re finding that hard to wrap your head around.

Rubbish! It’s about £15 a month! I pay £8.99 for Amazon and get free next day deliveries thrown in too! Netflix is something like £5.99 a month if you don’t mind a few ads, and you can stream itv, C4, and 5 on demand for nothing (if you don’t mind ads). With (again) a few ads you can also get Disney + very cheaply.

That's incorrect. I get a letter every year which demands I go online and confirm to them that I still don't need a TV licence. This year I forgot to do it after the first letter, and a few weeks later I received a second evem more bizarrely strongly worded letter telling me again to go online and tell them that I still don't need a TV licence. Both letters repeating the threat that someone could physically pop round to check. I loathe the stupidly worded things.

I know what you mean. I rarely if ever watch anything on the BBC, and because of the poor content and wokery, that I really didn't want to contribute to their content for maybe one documentary at Christmas a year. But then I wanted to watch Wimbledon this year and relented, but I must admit, paying for shows about drag queens and their other agendas doesn't sit well.

It's not scaremongering to say that you are hounded with more letters until you submit a declaration. It's the truth.

That doesn’t mean action is required. I just bin the letters.

I am on medication for anxiety and while it's massively helping me, a TVL goon at the door would upset me. I wouldn't let anyone in of course and I can put on a serious face convincingly and send them off, but I'd still feel rattled for a couple hours, so if I can avoid that by clicking "no licence required" then I'd do that.

It does seem easier to just do that, I don’t blame you.

This is so annoying. I actually find their letters rude, threatening and entitled!

How dare they threaten to visit my house to "check" I'm not using their service?

What other service does that! It's despicable.

I'm sure most of us do bin the letters after having a little moan, especially if you've done as they asked and declared it and they still send them.

As I said earlier though unfortunately not everyone knows they are just meaningless bits of paper. It's easy to say just bin them and ignore them when you know it's all talk no action but if you were suffering from anxiety, a vulnerable person or perhaps not from this country originally it's not always so simple.

That’s right there is absolutely NO obligation to contact them, none of their business and they are data mining. Note how letters are addressed to Legal Occupier. I’m assuming they require contact details ? I’m also assuming if you are irrationally scared enough of their impotent letters you can create a temporary email address and pseudonym ? In any case I will never contact them it’s not a regulation or law of any kind. They rely on the majority of people not doing their research.

ETA and as @Luxio said also taking advantage of people with anxieties.

Everyone is stuck with it until the end of 2027 anyway.

You can - there is an opt out , you have to really search for it though 🙄, then they ask for a date when you may require one again ie 2 years time .
They then tell you that they will not send letters during this time but someone may call at your door.
I stopped paying 3 years ago , one letter after 2 years so i opted out again but no visits so far .

Or, you can not bother and just throw the monthly letters in the bin, so there is a choice.

As a pp says no obligation to inform them just your own choice but it does save having the shit irritated out of you with their increasingly' threatening' letters.

@tsmainsqueeze agree, but I just regard their letters in the same category as flyers for estate agents and Dominos, check a trade brochures and funeral plan shit that plops on the mat😊

Well yes i agree with you , it is pretty outrageous the way they operate and how they assume we are all lying to them.
I must admit to quite looking forward to having one of their 'officers' 😂 knocking my door.

@tsmainsqueeze IKR 🤣 they have been promising me a visit for about 6 years now.
there are some entertaining videos on YouTube called ‘Goon Visits’’ mostly funny but there is one who is actually forcing his way into the home of a young woman and she’s terrified quite rightly.

I know paticularly in this day and age it's archaic ,
In years gone by before we had the Internet, streaming platforms etc I could understand it but loads of people don't ever watch live tv it's outrageous they think they can still use their ridiculous letters.

We cancelled our licence two years ago, I rang them up explained we don't watch BBC as most of their programmes are dire and we don't agree with their policies.
The young man explained it wasn't only the tv, I said I understood that but I still wanted to cancel as we have Prime, Netflix and Disney plus a busy social life and didn't need the BBC.
We received a refund, and have never had any letters, and we do not miss the BBC or live tv at all, especially the news!

Check out ChilliJonCarne on YT, he's great for advice on cancelling the licence.

@Tooty78 I love CJC I’m a subscriber he’s awesome and he’s very well informed, love to a fellow CJC fan and congrats and telling the BBC to do one ❤️