Saying no to the TV Licence?

theeicebear · 29 December 2021 at 12:07PM

Hi, I'm new here. But this has been an issue for more than 2 years now. I have been trying to get the TV Licence people to stop sending me letters threatening me with a visit and or a fine.

The reason they are on my case is my partner and I broke up 2 years ago and she moved out and they think "new" people have moved in.

I have tried several times to inform them on their website: tvlicensing.co.uk/noTV and even though I answered their questionaire NO it still says I need a TV Licence.

Has anyone else encountered this and how has it been resolved? As I'm fed up of red letters being sent to my address, it's not even addressed to me!

The TV Licence is draconian out moded!

JJ_Egan · 29 December 2021 at 1:10PM

Why do you NOT need a TV licence ??

flaneurs_lobster · 29 December 2021 at 4:30PM

If the letters are not addressed to you then ignore them or return to sender marked "Not Known", "Gone Away" or whatever.

oldagetraveller1 · 29 December 2021 at 4:52PM

If you genuinely don't need a t.v. licence at your address why not phone them up and tell them that?

They will probably have on record that the address, not an idividual, is not licensed.

Once they have been suitably informed there should not be anything further from them for two years.

I told them no licence required at my address 18 months ago. Not had anything from them other than a no licence required confirmation letter.

0300 790 6071.

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/no-licence-needed/about.app

theoretica · 29 December 2021 at 4:52PM

I see no point in going to the effort of telling them I don't need a licence as they say they may visit to check anyway. I file the letters in recycling and slightly regret not keeping decades of them for an art installation.

oldagetraveller1 · 29 December 2021 at 4:56PM

If they do visit, ask who are you? - t.v. licensing - no thank you - shut the door. DO NOT engage in any conversation and DO NOT let them enter your property. They have no power of entry, only by a court issued search warrant. They are sales people after commission, nothing more. Ignore their threatening letters.

Merlin139 · 29 December 2021 at 4:57PM

If you genuinely do not require a TV Licence then them threatening to turn up should not worry you. Why not write back to them and tell them to fine you once they have the proof that you require a TV Licence.

flaneurs_lobster · 29 December 2021 at 5:10PM

Merlin139 said:

If you genuinely do not require a TV Licence then them threatening to turn up should not worry you. Why not write back to them and tell them to fine you once they have the proof that you require a TV Licence.

Here is their official Twitter account https://twitter.com/tvlicensing . I believe the correct form of address is "Bring it on Mutha".

Cornucopia · 29 December 2021 at 6:42PM

theeicebear said:

Hi, I'm new here. But this has been an issue for more than 2 years now. I have been trying to get the TV Licence people to stop sending me letters threatening me with a visit and or a fine.

The reason they are on my case is my partner and I broke up 2 years ago and she moved out and they think "new" people have moved in.

I have tried several times to inform them on their website: tvlicensing.co.uk/noTV and even though I answered their questionaire NO it still says I need a TV Licence.

Has anyone else encountered this and how has it been resolved? As I'm fed up of red letters being sent to my address, it's not even addressed to me!

The TV Licence is draconian out moded!

I'm slightly confused because TV Licensing does not have a category of "needs a Licence, but doesn't have one" at this stage. For them, you are either Unlicensed (and they are seeking contact with you) or Licensed.

Their letters are deceptively written, so it's possible that you've assumed that they are saying you need a Licence. In reality (and if you read them cynically) they don't mean that and they are simply elaborate threats + fishing expedition.

So, the first step is to work out your Licence requirement, and then you can begin tackling them accordingly.

If you have no need of a Licence you can simply ignore the letters. Alternatively, probably the simplest way to get rid of the letters is to make an official complaint of harassment.

VisionMan · 1 January 2022 at 12:47AM

I agree with Cornucopia. You neither need to write to them or talk to them and theres nothing they can do about it.

The chances of you getting 'a doorstep' are minimal but if it does happen just close the door. And theres nothing they can do about that either. They have no legal powers. When I moved house to a new address that didn't need a TV licence they asked for the new address. I literally told them to F*** off.