TV licence visit - Doesn’t watch TV at all

FunkyCrunky81

Hello, I’m wondering if anyone can help. My daughter moved into a new flat in January and has a TV set, but she doesn’t watch any TV. The TV set will in the future be used purely for gaming on, when she can afford to get a gaming console. When she lived at home, she never watched TV here neither. 

She recently received a letter stating that a TV licence officer will be visiting. It looks as though the letter is a standard automated letter issued for when an occupier moves out and the licence isn’t renewed by the new occupant. The date is booked for early April. Whether they will attend due to the Coronavirus situation, we do not know yet - would still love your advice on this regardless. 

She had her internet installed a week or two ago and as she has access to the internet on her mobile phone, a mobile tablet, and a laptop, she is concerned that she will be fined as there’s is no way to prove that she is not watching TV, even though she really isn’t! She doesn’t have any TV apps or anything installed on her devices. The article on MSE does say she doesn’t have to pay, but she is still concerned that because she has devices, an internet connection and a tiny TV, that she will be fined. 

Please could someone give us some advice regarding this? Thanks in advance. 

pphillips

In the current situation, I would say a visit in early April would be highly unlikely. Just get your daughter to make sure that the TV is not connected to an aerial. Apart from that, she has nothing to be concerned about and she can't be fined because she hasn't done anything wrong. She is also not legally required to respond to any letter from TV Licensing or let them into her home without a warrant.

Personally, I have told TV Licensing that I don't need a licence (because I don't watch or record live TV or use BBC iPlayer) to stop the letters coming but it is certainly understandable if your daughter doesn't want to give them her details.

[Deleted User]

They will not be coming round IMV..I recently retired as a meter reader for MDS and we were dropping off  TV licence reminder cards to approx 50% of some streets in the "rougher " area of the towns  ..Nearly all our face to face customer visits have now been suspended and the team is mostly on the 80% temp shut down with just a few volunteers with correct PPE going round sorting out faulty prepayment meters . They are classed as essential , but obtaining a meter reading is not .Checking on TV licences is not an essential activity .
The licence fee is actually now the bargain of the century with people stuck indoors all day.
The hard bitten TV licence fiddlers will not go along with that though I m sure..

pphillips

Houbara said:

The licence fee is actually now the bargain of the century with people stuck indoors all day.
The hard bitten TV licence fiddlers will not go along with that though I m sure..

Not really a bargain if you can't afford it or a one person household. I personally don't watch live TV so I simply don't have one. I think the bargain of the century are all the online services that you don't need a TV licence to access. Some of these are free like YouTube, ITV player, All4, 5od and UKTV play. Others such as Netflix, Amazon instant video and Now TV have subscriptions less than the cost of a TV licence.

[Deleted User]

pphillips said:

Houbara said:

The licence fee is actually now the bargain of the century with people stuck indoors all day.
The hard bitten TV licence fiddlers will not go along with that though I m sure..

Not really a bargain if you can't afford it or a one person household. I personally don't watch live TV so I simply don't have one. I think the bargain of the century are all the online services that you don't need a TV licence to access. Some of these are free like YouTube, ITV player, All4, 5od and UKTV play. Others such as Netflix, Amazon instant video and Now TV have subscriptions less than the cost of a TV licence.

Since when has "online TV " been free..How much do they pay for broadband connection,  Netflix , Now TV , Amazon etc  mobile contract and internet .?
 Its a pity this forum is strictly moderated on this subject because I would be speaking a little bit more forceful if it was nt  . MSE members have full protection from me letting both barrels off lol, so in the meantime you can say what you want on the subject.
 I had many years entering occupants homes in my job as a meter reader and could see for myself what most people who claimed not to watch any live scheduled TV were in fact watching, without a TV licence..We also worked for Capita delivering TV reminder cards door to door ! I was in a unique position , better than Capita themselves to know what was happening , so forgive  me if I appear a sceptic 
. I hope hope the BBC can find a way to only let viewers who have paid the bargain £155 access all live scheduled TV, and that includes the ridiculous "honesty box plea " on Now TV  such as the live Freeview available at the push of a button . 

pphillips

Houbara said:

pphillips said:

Houbara said:

The licence fee is actually now the bargain of the century with people stuck indoors all day.
The hard bitten TV licence fiddlers will not go along with that though I m sure..

Not really a bargain if you can't afford it or a one person household. I personally don't watch live TV so I simply don't have one. I think the bargain of the century are all the online services that you don't need a TV licence to access. Some of these are free like YouTube, ITV player, All4, 5od and UKTV play. Others such as Netflix, Amazon instant video and Now TV have subscriptions less than the cost of a TV licence.

Since when has "online TV " been free..How much do they pay for broadband connection,  Netflix , Now TV , Amazon etc  mobile contract and internet .?
 Its a pity this forum is strictly moderated on this subject because I would be speaking a little bit more forceful if it was nt  . MSE members have full protection from me letting both barrels off lol, so in the meantime you can say what you want on the subject.
. I hope hope the BBC can find a way to only let viewers who have paid the bargain £155 access all live scheduled TV, and that includes the ridiculous "honesty box plea " on Now TV  such as the live Freeview available at the push of a button . 

I agree it's ridiculous that in 2020 TV Licensing have not come up with a way of blocking live TV to non payers and this is something that I would support. I guess the TV licence is somewhat of an anomaly becoming a sort of tax / subscription hybrid, especially since the cancellation of live sports. 

I do understand that broadband is not free but if I watched live TV, I would still have the broadband. Perhaps it's a generational thing that mostly younger people depend more on access to an internet connection than on on live television.

[Deleted User]

pphillips said:

Houbara said:

pphillips said:

Houbara said:

The licence fee is actually now the bargain of the century with people stuck indoors all day.
The hard bitten TV licence fiddlers will not go along with that though I m sure..

Not really a bargain if you can't afford it or a one person household. I personally don't watch live TV so I simply don't have one. I think the bargain of the century are all the online services that you don't need a TV licence to access. Some of these are free like YouTube, ITV player, All4, 5od and UKTV play. Others such as Netflix, Amazon instant video and Now TV have subscriptions less than the cost of a TV licence.

Since when has "online TV " been free..How much do they pay for broadband connection,  Netflix , Now TV , Amazon etc  mobile contract and internet .?
 Its a pity this forum is strictly moderated on this subject because I would be speaking a little bit more forceful if it was nt  . MSE members have full protection from me letting both barrels off lol, so in the meantime you can say what you want on the subject.
. I hope hope the BBC can find a way to only let viewers who have paid the bargain £155 access all live scheduled TV, and that includes the ridiculous "honesty box plea " on Now TV  such as the live Freeview available at the push of a button . 

I agree it's ridiculous that in 2020 TV Licensing have not come up with a way of blocking live TV to non payers and this is something that I would support. I guess the TV licence is somewhat of an anomaly becoming a sort of tax / subscription hybrid, especially since the cancellation of live sports. 

I do understand that broadband is not free but if I watched live TV, I would still have the broadband. Perhaps it's a generational thing that mostly younger people depend more on access to an internet connection than on on live television.

Yes, I ve heard all this "younger generations consume TV theory differently " for years..From my vast experience of visiting "younger generations " homes they are watching the same live TV Freeview channels as much as anyone, except they are much less likely to be buying any TV licences , because they are usually struggling to find a spare £155 ! 
 I m not sure of the average age of the approx 200,000 a year who fall foul of a TV Licence criminal charge but I would expect the younger generations to be represented strongly  especially younger females . ..Possible early teens are in this category who "consume TV differently " lol because they re fixated in computer games  but not later teens and early twenties ..They watch the same trash as all as us  old uns , just a different flavour  of trashy TV  ..Got to go, as I m watching Midsummer Murders now followed by Minder on Dave lol 

silverwhistle

What houbara doesn't seem to understand, probably due to the people he sees in his line of work, is that broadband is a completely different beast. Last night I used it for a group video chat with friends under lock-down in Italy, tomorrow I'll be teaching online, it's a reference tool, I use it for reading the news, etc. etc.

pphillips

silverwhistle said:

What houbara doesn't seem to understand, probably due to the people he sees in his line of work, is that broadband is a completely different beast. Last night I used it for a group video chat with friends under lock-down in Italy, tomorrow I'll be teaching online, it's a reference tool, I use it for reading the news, etc. etc.

Good point, I use broadband a lot for study and online shopping, the other day I was able to attend both a careers advice appointment and a job interview by video link.

Petriix

I just cancelled my BBC subscription due to the lack of live sport, which was the only thing I watched live. We don't have a connected tv aerial or anything with a tv tuner. The only way we watch anything is online via a chromecast. We don't need a tv licence. I imagine I'll subscribe again in the autumn if sport returns and possibly for the second series of His Dark Materials. No-one will be permitted to enter my house to check without a warrant.

Cornucopia

FunkyCrunky81 said:

Hello, I’m wondering if anyone can help. My daughter moved into a new flat in January and has a TV set, but she doesn’t watch any TV. The TV set will in the future be used purely for gaming on, when she can afford to get a gaming console. When she lived at home, she never watched TV here neither. 

She recently received a letter stating that a TV licence officer will be visiting. It looks as though the letter is a standard automated letter issued for when an occupier moves out and the licence isn’t renewed by the new occupant. The date is booked for early April. Whether they will attend due to the Coronavirus situation, we do not know yet - would still love your advice on this regardless. 

She had her internet installed a week or two ago and as she has access to the internet on her mobile phone, a mobile tablet, and a laptop, she is concerned that she will be fined as there’s is no way to prove that she is not watching TV, even though she really isn’t! She doesn’t have any TV apps or anything installed on her devices. The article on MSE does say she doesn’t have to pay, but she is still concerned that because she has devices, an internet connection and a tiny TV, that she will be fined. 

Please could someone give us some advice regarding this? Thanks in advance. 

TV Licensing enforcement letters are sent in their millions and they are sent without prior knowledge of the set-up within target addresses (which is part of the problem with their approach).

I'd suggest checking the letter wording carefully, as we know that they like misleading wordplay, and they don't make appointments.   You can also see the range of letters that they have sent in the past on this website (your daughter's letter sounds like the one they have listed for December 2019):-

http://www.bbctvlicence.com/

(The critical wording on that letter being "it may be on 28th December or another day" which makes a mockery of the headline question "Will you be in on 28th December?").