TV License - statutory declaration

Caatalyst

Hi Everyone,

I was hoping to get a little advice on an upcoming court hearing which I have to attend relating to the TV License Company.

First I just wanted to give a bit of background information on the situation and how this has come about.

Just before Christmas, around the beginning of December 2013 I split with my partner. We lived together for 5 years and paid our TV license throughout this period.

The situation was very messy, and I had to find a property quickly that was affordable. I left the property which I lived at with my partner on the 19th December, moving a few large items to the new property but decided to stay with my parents for Christmas as I was not in the best state of mind.

The new property was shared accomodation, but there was no other tenants living there. When I returned on the Sunday after Christmas (27th December) I continued moving my things across and was properly moved in on the Monday. The house was still not full at this point and the other tenants were also still moving things across.

Two days after I'd moved into the property, a TV license enforcer came to visit and let himself in the house. He pointed out the TV in the living room (which had only been set-up the previous day) and stated that I had to pay for the TV license there and then or face a fine.

I did not dispute with him, despite the frustration of having just moved in and not even met the rest of the house yet to discuss bills. Most of our bills were actually included and I had not even had chance to sit down and establish whether the TV license was as well. I followed his instructions and he said up the direct debit there and then as I did not wish to incur any fines or charges.

Several days later, I spoke to another member of the house about the situation who said that he would happily take control of the TV license as I do not even watch television. I watched him set it up on his laptop and the following day I called the TV license company and explained the situation and asked if I could cancel as the other house mate had taken on the payments. The member of staff I spoke to said that they could see his account and this wouldn't be a problem.

Now as the weeks went on I received a number of reminder letters in my name regarding the TV license. I called up multiple times and each member of staff told me the same thing. They could see the other account associated with the house and that I should just ignore the letters. They also said that a note had been put on my account.

In March, I moved again to a new property that was more suitable for long term letting. I set up the TV license before moving into the property and all other bills as they were not included this time.

Yesterday, on the 7th July i received a bright red letter from the West Yorkshire Collection and Enforcement Centre stating that I owe £320. I had to call them to find out what it was for and after multiple calls to them and the TV license company it turns out that I had a court order on the 4th June which I did not attend. The reason I did not respond was because they were sending post to my old address so I was not aware.

Apparently there is nothing that I can do but attend court next Tuesday and give a Statutory Declaration.

I am a very organised person and should I have been aware of any possible fines such as this I would have acted immediately. I have never done this before and I have no idea what to expect or what I should take with me other than the letter. If anybody has any advice I would be extremely grateful.

Thank you.

yangptangkipperbang

This whole saga and you say:- "I do not even watch television" ...............I'm afraid that you have lost me .....!!

JJ_Egan

Court and as briefly as possible outline the events .

Buzby

Agreed - turn up in person, do not make a StatDec in absentia. Explain politely you had only just moved and planned to purchase one at the start of the month. You might additionally argue if wasn't even connected (assuming the inspector didn't check).

At best, it can be a £50 fine and a slap on the wrist. If you have a ochre now, take proof of this also.

Retrogamer

Even if you do have a television set, there's no requirement to pay for a TV license unless you use it to watch TV shows as they're being broadcast.

You can quite legally have a TV set, connected to the internet and use it for iPlayer / YouTube / 4oD without any problems.

Enterprise_1701C

I would be questioning why he let himself into your house. They have no right of entry.

Caatalyst

Thank you for the responses.

As I said I did not dispute having a TV license and agree to set one up, but it was a new shared house which I had only been living in a couple of days.

I would not have let it escalate to the point where I missed a court hearing should I have known I was supposed to be there. I am going tomorrow so I will request that I be able to make a statement.

Thank you.