Cancel TV licence to save £160

[milnelucy]

Recently, I got a 15% pay cut. I need to cut some of the daily expenses.

I seldom watch TV. I only watch stuff from YouTube or download Movie online. I doubt I need a TV licence and plan to cancel it. I can save around £160.

Is there anything I need to aware.

I'd check the rules before cancelling- when we moved house recently we had been in less than a week before receiving a very threatening sounding letter informing us that we could be prosecuted for having no licence. (In fact I had transferred the licence to the new address the day we moved in so I can only assume that the letter was automatically generated as soon as the previous occupants cancelled/transferred theirs). Not saying it's not a good idea- just that you should find out what you need to do to demonstrate you don't need one- I'm sure nasty letters are the last thing you need.

You only need a tv licence if you watch live tv (via tv or online) or BBC Iplayer. If you only watch catch up tv (not Iplayer) dvds or netflix/amazon then you don't need a tv licence. Just make sure you fill in the form saying you don't watch live tv and detune your tv/unplug aerial. We don't have a licence, watch dvds or occasional catchup tv/amazon/netflix and have never had a threatening letter.

Cancelled it last year. Just need to remember that you cannot watch any live tv, or iplayer. Other catchup services are fine though.
I have Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+.

There is an official BBC license form that you can fill in online or via post to declare that you don't need to pay for a license

They may contact you periodically to check that your circumstances have not changed

You can also buy a black & white TV licence

I cancelled mine because I stopped watching all live TV, all iPlayer as well. I now have netflix for just £5.99 per month and sometimes watch catchup on 4OD etc which is allowed. It is a great saving.

You do have to jump through hoops to get a refund though - involves printing and posting and phoning and things.

@nannynick

Cancelled it last year. Just need to remember that you cannot watch any live tv, or iplayer. Other catchup services are fine though. I have Netflix, Disney+ and Apple TV+.

How can you prove you are not watching it live though? I'm truly curious as I don't want to get prosecuted after 33 years of paying it

It’s dead easy to prove you aren’t watching it, you just fill out a declaration every few years online to say you don’t and they never check.

Got rid of mine 8 years ago and never looked back, don’t miss live TV at all and you gain so much free time as you don’t get “stuck” watching one show after another. We’ve even had our aerial removed now. I’d highly recommend other people ditch the tv tax as well!

I cancelled mine last year, I have fire sticks in every room and we only ever watch Netflix or Disney+ so it’s worked out well for us. I catch up on the news by Facebook and often watch videos on YouTube also. Iv not missed having a license one bit

I got feed up with the threatening letters, so wrote and withdrew rights of access. There are templates online for doing this particularly to tv licence department. I’d not bother with anything else and do this as you cancel your tv licence

End of any letters etc

It’s likely that before long they will decriminalise not paying too.

They changed the rules and you still need a licence even if you dont watch it live ...

You don’t need a TV Licence if you never watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel, or live on an online TV service, and you never download or watch BBC programmes on iPlayer – live, catch up or on demand.

you only need a licence for iplayer, and its up to them to prove that you ARE watching live TV via an aerial or through the internet, not on you to prove that you arn't, if they can't prove it then they will leave you alone, so long as you fill in the paperwork declaring you don't watch it you'll be fine.