TV Licensing

N79

I have just cancelled my TV licence. I have been paying by direct debit and therefore they have collected enough money to fund a licence until April 2008. However, just look at the letter I have received regarding a refund. What planet do they live on? Why on earth do they need all this pointless documentation? A signed letter and the licence details should be more than enough. I have not sold my UK house, merely left to live elsewhere. Since I now live abroad, any proof that I supply will not be in English, which is unacceptable. Mad.

Dear **********
,
Ref - TV Licence ************

Thank you for your e-mail.

I have cancelled your licence and payment plan, as requested. Due to the payments we have received to date, your licence will expire on the last day of April 2008.

Refunds can be given on complete unused three month period(s) of a current television licence, as long as it is no longer needed. A refund cannot be given earlier than the date we receive the application without further evidence.

Before we can give a refund we need the following information:

a) The reason you require the refund;

b) The actual licence; or
The name and address shown on the licence when it was purchased;
The licence number;
The type of licence (colour or black and white);
The expiry date of the licence;
c) Your new address and the date you moved
d) Evidence of the date you stopped needing the licence. This can be:
1) Final Utility Bill,
2) Tenancy Agreement,
3) Flight Ticket,
4) Bill Of Sale or Receipt,
5) Solicitors Letter.

Please do not send us originals of any important documents you wish to keep as we cannot guarantee their return to you.

We also need a signed declaration that the information you have given is correct and that the licence will not be required between the date of the declaration and the date the licence expires.

Please send this information to:
The Refund Centre
PO Box 410
Bristol
BS99 5HP

Please Note: As a signature is required, the application must be made in writing; we cannot accept e-mailed or scanned applications.
I hope this information is helpful.

Yours sincerely
Dave Bolton
TV Licensing

N79

RadoJo

What would happen if your TV just broke, and you decided not to get a new one? You wouldn't have any proof of any of these things, and shouldn't need them - I thought their detection methods were so good they would sniff you out in 12 seconds if you didn't have one, so what on earth do they need all this gubbins for?!

dmg24

In N79's situation, I really don't see the problem. Why can a final utility bill or flight ticket not be provided?

RadoJo has a point, I know someone who has been in this situation, and eventually they just gave up chasing him. Unfortunately they ask for some kind of proof because of all the fraudulent types out there!

JohalaReewi

TVL don't want to give refunds so they make you jump through hoops to get one in the hope that you will just give up.

Andy_L

Displaying my twisted mind in all it's glory, if they didn't ask for some proof of ID what's to stop someone who doesn't like you cancelling you TV licence & then shopping you to the inspector?

As for asking why you have cancelled eveybody does that as it's usefull business info - are people not buying because it's to expensive, BBC is crap etc

Badger_Lady

I got a letter a bit like that when I cancelled mine 2 months ago, but in the same post was another letter saying "We have refunded £XX.XX to your bank account", so I ignored it.

I cancelled mine by telephone and they were absolutely fine about it. Had a worrying moment 2 weeks later when they sent a threatening letter to my (now empty) flat saying "This property is unlicensed and we will pass to enforcement agency", but when I phoned them again they told me not to worry, just leave it.

Give 'em a call, I would...

superscaper

Andy_L wrote: »

Displaying my twisted mind in all it's glory, if they didn't ask for some proof of ID what's to stop someone who doesn't like you cancelling you TV licence & then shopping you to the inspector?

As for asking why you have cancelled eveybody does that as it's usefull business info - are people not buying because it's to expensive, BBC is crap etc

I don't think that's what the OP is getting at. Proof of ID is fine, asking why you don't want the licence any longer is fine. It's the whole proof on not needing it any more that's over the top and I also disagree with. I remember leaving a house and moving back with my parents after uni, I didn't have anything in writing that proved anything as far as when I left or indeed that I officially left at all. I think in the end I had to get my landlord to put something in writing which he only did because he was also a friend but without that I wouldn't have got my refund. And suppose as Radojo indicates you just simply don't want to watch tv any more and you give your TVs away, what written proof should you send then to show the date on which you no longer needed the licence?

Have to say after I asked for my refund I got hounded for months afterwards with threatening letters saying I needed a TV licence and this was final warning before seeking legal action etc etc. There's no other business that acts in this way that they essentially make the assumption you're a customer by default.

Andy_L

I'd misred that a assumed the letters were for proof of ID not of not needing a license.

JohalaReewi

Why should you have to prove you no longer need a license? It should be enough for you to say you don't need one anymore thank you. If anything, TVL should have to prove that you do need a license (which is what all those agents are for). TVL seem to assume that everybody should have a TV license whether they need one or not Perhaps they could go halves on the National ID card so it doubles up as a TV license.

superscaper

Andy_L wrote: »

I'd misred that a assumed the letters were for proof of ID not of not needing a license.

It's easy to misread it without going through the experience yourself in trying to get a refund and already knowing what they require. I could understand needing proof if you wanted backpay but it should be enough to say "I no longer need a licence from today, can you refund me what I've paid in advance?".

Alfie_E

N79 wrote: »

Since I now live abroad, any proof that I supply will not be in English, which is unacceptable. Mad.

I believe, as a general statement, that is not completely accurate. Are you in the EU? There’s EU-wide legislation that requires businesses to accept correspondence in your local language. I don’t see why that doesn’t apply to TV Licensing; that’s just a trading name for Capita Business Services Ltd. It may be “proof”, but not in the sense that it’s being submitted to a court, where the onus might be on you to get it translated.