Confusion over TV licence payment between two properties

littlerock

My mother who has recently turned  76, lives independently in her own house.  She has a standing order for her TV licence. Last November  she arranged for some major building work on her house and moved into a local flat while this done . She took her smsrt TV with her into the flat which was unfurnished.

 Building work was delayed by lockdown and she  continued to pay the TV licence by SO  for the house thinking this covered the TV itself which she was now viewing in the flat. She assumed  she did not need a separate TV licence for the flat at due to her being over 75 and eligible for concession  on TV licence.    

This week she received a letter at the rented flat, from the TV licensing asuthority,  saying she is liable for  a TV licence fee for the rented flat. Not sure over what period .She plsns to move back into her house in  late October . Meanwhile her TV licence is paid up to date for the house. Does anyone understand current location liability of my ma to  pay tv licence fee for flat?  Can you explain it to me.:-)

Chino

Do I need a TV Licence to watch TV away from home?

If you’re watching away from your home on a phone, tablet or laptop, and:

• you plug your device into the mains, you’ll be covered if that property already has a TV Licence (e.g. you go to a friend’s house and they have a licence). Otherwise, you’ll need to buy a separate TV Licence for that property.
• your device is not plugged in (i.e. you’re watching or recording live TV programmes on any channel, or downloading or watching BBC programmes on iPlayer, using devices powered solely by internal batteries) you will be covered by your home TV Licence.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/check-if-you-need-one

Rodders53

M. should have transferred the licence to the temporary flat (i.e. notify them of a change of address) and then do the same when she moves back in after works completed.  TVL would then have sent a similar 'to the occupier' letter to the old address.
As to whether it's worth that now, or writing to TVL to explain the situation with the date of the move, is possibly questionable? 

Hilary_Bright

TVL are refusing to refund licence money. After selling my flat, I went to stay with friends before moving into my new property but I forgot to cancel my direct debit. I explained to TVL this was an oversight and when I realised I no longer needed a licence I did cancel the direct debit. I then requested a refund for the 5 months licence money I need not have paid because I was no longer living at the address. When I moved into my new flat and applied for a new licence they decided to charge me double for missed payments. Of course I queried this. They replied saying they are under no legal obligation to make refunds and because the licence was not cancelled when I moved out of the property my licence continued to remain active. Would be grateful for advice.  

JJ_Egan

They did not know you had moved out .

Cornucopia

Hilary_Bright said:

... When I moved into my new flat and applied for a new licence they decided to charge me double for missed payments...

I suspect that the "charging double" is simply the standard process for the first 6 months of a new Licence.   The excess remains as a credit on your account, and will be refunded if you ever cancel.   

If the overcharge is a large amount to you, you could try appealing to either the TVL Operations Director or the BBC's Head of Revenue Management - both addresses are on the TVL complaints page.

Hilary_Bright

Below is the reply I received back from TVL. It makes no sense to me!  I moved out of my flat on 7.01.19, forgot to cancel DD but did so at a later date. Didn't need a licence as I was staying with friends until I completed on my new flat. Once I moved into new flat in September 2019 I applied for new licence (which was a mistake as I could have carried on with existing one) but TVL decided to charge me for the missing months I hadn't paid. I explained I didn't need a licence because I was staying with friends! They just aren't getting it or is it me? They owe me money. Perhaps I'm missing something here...

Dear Ms Bright

Thank you for contacting us.

A TV Licence is issued for a fixed period and if it is not going to be needed again at any address, a refund can be given on the remaining unused months left on the licence.

A TV Licence is a permission to receive or record television programme services.  It is not a payment for the number or quality of the programmes received.  For this reason we cannot extend the expiry date of your TV Licence or give you a refund on the periods when you have not used television, as you will need your licence again before it expired.

I realise my reply will be disappointing but I hope my explanation is helpful.

Yours sincerely

 

 

Rukhsana Hussain

Cornucopia

Hilary_Bright said:

Below is the reply I received back from TVL. It makes no sense to me!  I moved out of my flat on 7.01.19, forgot to cancel DD but did so at a later date. Didn't need a licence as I was staying with friends until I completed on my new flat. Once I moved into new flat in September 2019 I applied for new licence (which was a mistake as I could have carried on with existing one) but TVL decided to charge me for the missing months I hadn't paid. I explained I didn't need a licence because I was staying with friends! They just aren't getting it or is it me? They owe me money. Perhaps I'm missing something here...

In my experience people rarely get resolution of anything more than the most basic queries at the first attempt with TVL.   If you follow their escalation policy, you may get a better result. 

You might want to remove the TVL person's name from your post.

Rodders53

It seems you never cancelled the TV Licence by informing TV Licensing you had moved.  Eventually you cancelled the DD, but that act doesn't cancel the Licence itself... https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/faqs/FAQ216#:~:text=Cancelling your Direct Debit does,if you've moved).
Some time later you tell them you should have cancelled the old address licence and take out a new licence for the new address.
No wonder you are confused.