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!

I was relentlessly harassed by them when I cancelled mine. I had agents at the door almost daily, one at 9 pm at night telling me he’d been sitting outside while picking up “signals” from my TV. He had not been picking up signals because the sodding thing wasn’t even plugged in. He demanded to come in and inspect my “set up” and I told him where to go. It became such an issue that I renewed it in the end. I do watch the TV now, only one or two programmes so I have to have one but the hassle they gave me was shocking.

Had exactly the same with Mums house. She'd gone in a care home, licence letter came in post, I said property empty.

Got warning letter three times that an inspector could call round. Bring it on, tv switched off from the plug. Nightmare. Wouldn't have minded but she had a free licence anyway!

Yes it is. Otherwise you start getting bombarded with letters and threats to turn up to check you aren’t watching a television.

There were lots of letters to my mum’s house after she died, despite telling them online. We could have done without it, in amongst everything else.
Hassling bereaved relatives is pretty low.

Cancelled Mine at Christmas and it expired June . Officer called last week. It’s absolute harassment

That's a relief. 😄

Complete arseholes😒 imagine if she'd have been there and the kind of worry those kinds of letter can cause. Twats. Love your username by the way😂

I like the BBC from time to time but not using it much. I do watch the odd church service on Facebook or streaming online (free). Do I need a license for that?

I've never told them I don't need a licence as it's not a legal requirement to inform them (I dont have a tv anymore and wouldn't watch any BBC shows even if I did).

After a while any of their scary letters will revert to being addressed to "the occupier" or "legal resident" and you can just recycle these spam letters which are sent out as standard to any address they think needs a licence - don't take it personally. You are not obliged to open the door to Capita, they have no legal power to force entry (they're not the police) and you have no obligation to inform the BBC that you don't need a licence, anymore that you need to tell your local council that you don't own a pet.

I've moved into a new property and started getting letters through, I was doing the declaration to say I didn't need one and it said they may arrange a visit anyway just to check.

I thought nah stuff that, either take my declaration as fact or don't ask me. Just throw the letters in the bin now, I live in a second floor flat so good luck getting to my door

I imagine a lot of people do watch them who don’t pay.

This.

So all of you parents/grandparents hand on heart never watch CBeebies or CBBC? It would be the most terrible disaster if funding was pulled from the BBC and there was no more serious investment in children's educational tv.
BBC children's output is the best in the world. I am shocked that a lot of posters would happily throw this programming away.
I just don't believe that all the posters with young children never ever watch CBeebies in some form or another. Your children will almost certainly watch these programmes at school.
It's a bit like refusing to pay for education because you no longer attend school.
i am always in awe when Number Blocks and Alpha Blocks is on in our house and how simple it makes maths and English. However, it is like so many things. In the end the children will suffer. it makes me despair for the future.

And I did query my friend who claimed to watch no BBC when her kids were deep in Number Blocks. She giggled and claimed she didn't really think childrens tv counted.

It's only TV licensing that can get a search warrant through a magistrate so they are not going to be getting many of them. People need to make themselves aware of the procedures instead of cowering at the door.

Please tell me truthfully @Sesma that you have never let your children or grandchildren watch CBEEBIES

Thank you for articulating this so clearly. I agree wholeheartedly. We have elderly neighbours in our village with no tv and no interest in a tv. They have a busier social life than we do, certainly, with young kids. I find the idea that all old people are dependent on the tv for all their entertainment utterly patronising and depressing.

I have a licence anyway as I pay for Sky, all the streamers and no ads so I may as well have BBC and live telly as well but it annoys me that my father got lots of letters and also my mother did after she died and the house was empty, I did ring up and complain about my late DM getting letters.

I agree 100%. The level of information they want about me is intrusive.

I also think they're discriminating against elderly people who are vulnerable. Agree it's extortion- they list all the sanctions for 'breaking the law' as if loads of laws aren't being broken all the time with fuck all consequence, like burglary and rape, but yes let's try and scare the law abiding elderly into giving us money.

Apparently you can do this if you have the establishment behind you. It should be criminal.

I have a licence, I'm here moaning about it because of my late parents getting the letters.

Way back when I was young (early 80's) I lived with my grandad (who was a frail old man)
Not only did we not watch the BBC,we didnt actually have a TV
Every friday,without fail,a huge bloke would come round,demand to know why we didnt have a licence and would refuse to take our word for it that we didnt have a TV
He would push past us,take a good look round then leave
Following friday,same thing-this must have gone on for a few years-every friday without fail (if we didnt open the door,they would start hammering on the windows)
I let slip to my father about this and I guess he rang my grandad and was told what was happening
He was so angry and wrote to someone (no idea who) and I don't know what was said but they never came round again
I bet if grandad had been a tough bodybuilder and not a frail old man,they would have taken our word for it

And that was the 80's-its shameful it's still going on

Edited for typos

That's not what the letters say. They say I have to make a declaration stating I'm not watching TV or get endlessly hassled and threatened (basically).

Do they listen to BBC radio?

I assume you’ve never cancelled your TV licence and then received letters which have an increasingly threatening tone and content. Their starting point is clearly that you are a liar, and that in itself is offensive and unusual. When I cancel other subscriptions they either accept it or try to persuade me to return with freebies. They don’t keep telling me that I’m wrong and basically coerce and bully me into returning.

'anti BBC campaigning', 'politically motivated' ?
You might want to check your paranoia.
Just a bunch of people discussing their actual lived experiences of bullying and harassment from the corporation that is the BBC. If it wasn't true there'd be nothing to discuss would there?
They are a disgrace, doesn't matter which way you look at it.