Tv licence ?

[AlwaysHopefull89]

Does anyone still pay their tv licence? If NOT, why not?

we don’t watch bbc at all, stream any live tv or even watch live tv to be honest.

our bill was £180 and I can’t justify paying that anymore if we aren’t using the services? I’m worried if I don’t pay next year when it’s due I’ll get a knock at our door 😂😂

AIBU to cancel ours?

I looked into this recently but even if you record any programmes on a box eg Sky biox you still have to have a licence. It's so annoying. I have to pay because we do watch the news and some sport live. Not on BBC though so it niggles I pay for Sky and still have to pay a licence fee.
However, if you don't do any of that you don't have to buy a licence and you will be fine.
I do wonder how they can prove if you watch any live tv?

If you don’t meet the requirements to pay then cancel it.

I haven’t had a tv licence for years. I don’t watch any live tv, all my viewing is on Netflix, Prime Video and Disney +. If you go onto the licensing website, you can declare that you don’t need a licence. This has to be renewed every couple of years. I’ve never had any threatening letters or anyone turn up at my door.

I’ve not paid for one for over 10 years. Never had a knock at the door. Get a threatening letter every few years reminding me I need one, I just go in the website and register that I don’t.

They can't prove what you are watching.
If they turn up at your door (unlikely) ask them if they have a warrant, if they don't, send them on their way
Throw all the letters unopened in the bin

We have one, I think most households still do.

We watch some shows on iPlayer, use the BBC Sport app and listen to the radio a lot.

If you're not using it then I guess don't pay?

Nope. Never paid it never will.
I'll never put money in the pockets of any organisation that thinks threatening and bullying people into giving them money is a good business strategy.

I don't watch live TV, I don't listen to the radio. I don't need their product. I don't have Netflix either and funnily enough they've never put a letter through my door threatening to prosecute me if I don't start buying their service.

I've been recycling their silly letters for 6 years, nothing will ever come of it. They can't actually afford to legally pursue every person who doesn't pay for not paying - I used to be a postie and I posted hundreds of those letters a week, never anything formal or official though. Just the "dear homeowner" ones. They're completely toothless but know which words to use to scare people into paying which I just disagree with on a fundamental moral level.

So off they can fuck.

Not had a licence for about 10 years here. I tick the declaration every time the reminder pops into my email and that's it. We don't watch or record live TV. Why pay for something we don't need.

I didn't renew mine this year. I simply don't watch live TV anymore. The BBC sent me a really shitty letter saying that I was now 'under investigation'. Investigate all you want, I simply don't watch live TV anymore. I pay for Netflix and Amazon.

Thanks all

Yeah just trying to find out the requirements to pay so confusing. Maybe they’ve deliberately made it like that!

Fill in the declaration form online and they don't bother you for two years and then you just fill in the form again. Make sure you don't watch BBC IPlayer though unless you do it through a different email address!

We just use Netflix Disney and prime so I cancelled ages ago. Never had a letter or knock at the door. Cancelled it 3 years ago and they actually gave me a £80 refund. Not sure why you be worried about a knock at your door if you’re not watching it. Legally you don’t have to allow them in your property anyway.

It sounds like you need to cancel yours, OP. We have one because we have Sky Q and watch and record on there. If it was just the BBC we could probably cancel but we watch a lot of other live TV

@AlwaysHopefull89 I cancelled mine during covid and never went back. I hadn't watched TV long before covid and now wish I'd cancelled it much sooner. To be frank, I've never been a big TV fan anyway but in the recent years I felt that the quality of TV drastically deteriorated. Political correctness and similar nonsense just made even entertainment completely unbearable and I am not going to pay to watch the BBC News if we are not somehow forced to do it. I never thought they were an unbiased source of news and don't see the reason why I need to pay to watch propaganda. Even if they make us all pay for the BBC, nobody is going to make me watch it or listen to it.

The TV Licensing company keeps sending me threatening letters every month, including notifying me of some inspections etc. I ignore them all. They can try to enter my house for an inspection but I am not planning to allow them to inspect anything because I don't have to. They are a private company and will have to obtain a court order to inspect anything in my house. Without one, they are not coming in. I am planning to ignore their letters and threats. I cancelled my licence because I don't watch TV. If they want to prove that I do, they are welcome to it.

Actually, you could probably cancel yours now and get a refund on the unused portion.

I googled do I need to pay the tv licence. It took me to a page that asked about five questions on what we watched.

And then we did the declaration.

They are bullies. I filled in the declaration and still has a person from capita knock my door. Few weeks later more letters. Now I just throw them in the recycling bin.

I think it’s amazing how many people watch no live TV, especially news!

Tbf I haven’t watched the news for years. It’s an assault on the emotions, I saw one thing once before cancelling (Gaza report) and thought no wonder people are struggling.

Yes I do. Although you don’t technically need a licence for BBC radio, the money from the licence fee does support it. I watch iPlayer which I think is a good service, not much live telly though.

I believe the problems with the BBC are fixable, but they need someone who isn’t afraid to ignore popular trends and is prepared to focus on rebuilding trust and impartiality.

we haven’t even moved into our new house yet and have already had a letter through the door 😆 I’m declaring I don’t need one now thanks to this thread !

I haven't watched live TV for years. I don't pay for a TV license because of that exact reason. Netflix, Disney and YouTube are all I watch.

Apparently I need one based on my answers ?!

I stopped paying mine a few years ago and it's honestly one of the best decisions I've ever made.

It's extremely easy to not get caught - you just don't answer the door if they knock on it, which is actually quite unlikely. And if you do answer it and it's a TV licence salesman, you just say 'no thanks' and shut the door.

The only way they can fine you is if you tell them you've watched something you weren't meant to.

There's no chance of getting jailed over this either. It only becomes a criminal matter if you don't pay the fine, which is usually one year's TV licence. And even then there hasn't been a jail sentence anywhere in the UK for non-payment of a TV licence fine in at least the last 15 years.