TV Licence

terryjames

I received the paper work from TV licencing in October.

They want me to pay the fee starting 01/08/2020.

Can they legally backdate the start date like this?

elsien

What is the reason they have asked for an earlier payment date? Is it because you previously had the free over 75 licence and now have to pay?
If I recall correctly parent had a letter advising payment is due from 1 August but there was some flexibility in timescales in setting it up. If the same applies to you then they're not backdating it. They're reminding  you it's still due. 
It was all over the news in July that the free licences were finishing, aside from those in receipt of certain benefits, so it shouldn't have come as any great surprise. 

Norlander

Is there anybody with a second home (which has to have a TV licence) tried to get a refund for the period of lock down when you could not legally go to the second home? 

Freddie_archer

Norlander said:

Is there anybody with a second home (which has to have a TV licence) tried to get a refund for the period of lock down when you could not legally go to the second home? 

I would think, you should have applied at the time?

Mickey666

elsien said:

What is the reason they have asked for an earlier payment date? Is it because you previously had the free over 75 licence and now have to pay?
If I recall correctly parent had a letter advising payment is due from 1 August but there was some flexibility in timescales in setting it up. If the same applies to you then they're not backdating it. They're reminding  you it's still due. 
It was all over the news in July that the free licences were finishing, aside from those in receipt of certain benefits, so it shouldn't have come as any great surprise.

A key question, I'd say.

However, if the OP refused to pay from the backdated date and insisted on only paying from today, then what could TVL do about it?  I doubt they could prove if a TV licence was actually required from that time if the OP stated it wasn't.

In fact, the OP could simply ignore the TVL renewal letter and just go online and buy a new licence starting from today - assuming they haven't been watching live TV or BBC iPlayer since their last TV licence expired

pphillips

Mickey666 said:

elsien said:

What is the reason they have asked for an earlier payment date? Is it because you previously had the free over 75 licence and now have to pay?
If I recall correctly parent had a letter advising payment is due from 1 August but there was some flexibility in timescales in setting it up. If the same applies to you then they're not backdating it. They're reminding  you it's still due. 
It was all over the news in July that the free licences were finishing, aside from those in receipt of certain benefits, so it shouldn't have come as any great surprise.

A key question, I'd say.

However, if the OP refused to pay from the backdated date and insisted on only paying from today, then what could TVL do about it?  I doubt they could prove if a TV licence was actually required from that time if the OP stated it wasn't.

In fact, the OP could simply ignore the TVL renewal letter and just go online and buy a new licence starting from today - assuming they haven't been watching live TV or BBC iPlayer since their last TV licence expired

I agree it does seem peculiar as TV Licensing don't actually sell retrospective licences, you can't buy a licence for the footy you watched last Tuesday, either you were covered or you weren't.

brewerdave

Mickey666 said:

elsien said:

What is the reason they have asked for an earlier payment date? Is it because you previously had the free over 75 licence and now have to pay?
If I recall correctly parent had a letter advising payment is due from 1 August but there was some flexibility in timescales in setting it up. If the same applies to you then they're not backdating it. They're reminding  you it's still due. 
It was all over the news in July that the free licences were finishing, aside from those in receipt of certain benefits, so it shouldn't have come as any great surprise.

A key question, I'd say.

However, if the OP refused to pay from the backdated date and insisted on only paying from today, then what could TVL do about it?  I doubt they could prove if a TV licence was actually required from that time if the OP stated it wasn't.

In fact, the OP could simply ignore the TVL renewal letter and just go online and buy a new licence starting from today - assuming they haven't been watching live TV or BBC iPlayer since their last TV licence expired

I assume that the OP had a free license prior to the change in BBC rules as an over 75  and is now being asked to pay for it, so don't think the "haven't watched TV prior to today" would work ! 

Cornucopia

To be clear, although TV Licensing do not explicitly sell retrospective Licences, there are a variety of circumstances where they will backdate a Licence, the most obvious of which is that a Licence sold on any day of the month other than the first, will be backdated to the 1st.