Why am I still getting these letters ?!

[teletubbyy]

I filled in the declaration form in December when we moved to our new home. I literally watch YouTube for the kids, bing or Miss Rachel etc and not the live stuff. And on the evening we watch Netflix or Disney+.
I think it’s terrible they use scare tactics. Should they not be leaving me alone since I’ve filled in the declaration form?! I have major anxiety and do not need to be worrying some blokes going to turn up on my doorstep demanding I let him in.

I don't even open them now, they helpfully stamp TV licencing on the envelope so straight in the bin.

You absolutely do not need it to own a TV set! You also do not have to let anyone in should they rock up on your doorstep. They HAVE to get a warrant to enter your home.

When my son was younger, we had a TV in the living room we used for his games console. I had no way of getting a TV signal, nor did I want one. I had a guy turn up at the door at 7.30am one morning demanding to come in. I was alone with my son and in my bloody dressing gown! He spoke to me like I was an absolute piece of shit. He thought he could bully his way in and said he had "evidence" I'd been watching TV. I sent him packing and he shouted back up my drive that he'd "get a warrant today". Absolute prick. Nobody ever came back 😆

You never watch iPlayer or CBeebies? Don’t believe you. Where you streaming Bing?

Your as bad as the BBC🙄

Do you work for TV licensing??

Regardless of whether one needs a license or not, the tactics, tone and frequency of their communications is a nuisance. I expect if they changed their tack they'd have more people paying it year on year, not less as it is now.

Well I’ve learned something new today! I love BBC iPlayer so I just carry on paying. Sounds the easiest option to be honest! I’d hate to be hounded about potential fines.

Once the declaration is filled in, I suppose the property is flagged as unlicensed and so the letters probably will not stop.

Do you work for them ? We watch it on YouTube ! And not any live services.
We used to have a tv license at our old property but it really bugged us as we just didn’t ever watch live tv, so when we moved I thought I’m not renewing it.

Well thats fine however many dont love the BBC or watch live TV
So they really do need to stop with their ridiculous scare tactics and not mske assumptions.

wtf ? You need a license just for owning a tv? Do the bbc own televisions now ?

I think you need to have a read of the tv licence website before embarrassing yourself anymore.

I think it was just my mind-set from a young age that if you watched anything on the TV you had to pay for a license, but to be fair on myself, I did grow-up when there were only 4 channels to watch and therefore had no choice but to watch live.

The licensing company will take the view that everyone watches live tv at one point or another, so I’m pretty sure the letters won’t stop. They will probably try to gather evidence to take those that do watch live TV but have no license to court.

I had a visit from the TV inspector yesterday. All she did was check when the BBC I player. Then logged me out on the iPlayer thing saying I did not have a license.
You can watch TV but not anything live. There is a bit online where you can do the no TV watched declaration x

If you were using BBC iPlayer without a license I doubt that will be the end of it. The inspectors will have targets to reach. You may find yourself with a hefty bill coming your way.

@4wardlooking the last time I used the iPlayer was over a year ago. The inspector asked why I cancelled the licence and I explained it's not good value for money anymore. The TV mainly gets used by my sons for the playstation

Fair enough.

No! I have a TV, no aerial, no satellite. We don't watch live TV or iplayer. Netflix, Disney, YouTube and Apple. You can have a TV and not need a licence. It's 2026 all TVs are smart TVs now, there's no need to watch live TV.

This is good to know. Although why did you let them in?

Yeah, I learned that earlier today. But thanks!

You made me laugh so much there 🤣 I really want you to get a visit now!
Well I have a TV licence and now pay weekly, I have had 2 letters already saying my direct debit was cancelled and I have 10 days or I will have an enforcement visit. Wtaf. My payments are up to date, customer number and address is the same so somwthing went wrong with these idiots!

They've been doing this for years

As a child (in the 80's) I lived with my grandad

We didn't have a tv-until i was 12 ish and he finally got one (and bought a licence at the same time)

Every bloody friday,they'd show up,demand to be let in,poke about and leave while agreeing we didn't have a tv (its one of my earliest memories)

Rinse and repeat the following friday-and the one after etc

I think I mentioned this to my father (innocently-i was about 8/9 and this was 'normal') and he hit the roof

He wrote a letter,and I have no idea what was said but they never came back

Looking back it was disgusting-they hounded a frail old man and a young child-they certainly made out they had every right to come in and look around and grandad allowed it as we had nothing to hide

It's disgusting that they are still at it!

Pure scare tactics-id ignore them and not answer if they do knock

@teletubbyy because I wanted them to see i didn't need a TV licence. Also my sons autistic and I'm trying to get him used to dealing with officials.

These Capita employees have no right of entry. You do not even need to speak or answer the door to them. Put the letters in the shredder.

This is the BBC isn't it? Bloody disgusting!

It's about time the BBC TV Licence was abolished and a subscription service introduced for those who want it.

These harassment and intimidation letters are appalling! And for what? So someone like Huw Edwards can blow £30K on pics of teenage boys wanking?! Most of us can't even afford to heat our houses and struggle to keep up with all these bills. No wonder so many women have to resort to going on that Only Fannies site. God knows what I'll do when I retire...

If you look on YouTube, videos by people like Chilli John Carne and Black belt barrister explain how to deal with these people if you get a visit.

You just say 'not interested thank you' or if you did fill in the 'No licence needed' declaration you could say 'I have filled in the declaration, goodbye' as a pp suggested. They have no right of entry, unless they go to court to get a warrant which is really rare.

The reason you shouldn't let them in is because they have been known to lie, and say that people admitted watching live TV. Some of them will do this because (it is believed) they get bonuses for each license sold, also for each prosecution. And they are basically sales people. So best not to engage, don't give them your name, engage in conversation and especially don't sign anything. They could add stuff above your signature later.

All this pre-supposes that you don't in fact watch or record live TV channels or use BBC iplayer. If you do you should get a licence obviously. But it's no good just thinking 'i have nothing to hide' if you are legally licence free, because a lot of them are out to trip people up.

That is not true. You can own a hundred tv sets it doesn’t mean you have to buy a licence. They’re basically just monitors. It’s what you watch on that monitor that counts.