TV Licensing Scaremongering

akira181

I'm fed up receiving threatening letters from the TV Licensing people and my 72 year old mother forwarding the same scaremongering letters to me as well. Me and my mother receive them a couple times a year saying "an enforement officer is scheduled" or you'll be prosecuted and fined up to £1000, 1 in 8 lie about needing a licence, blah blah blah.

I've already told them me and my mother don't need a licence. Virtually nothing on the BBC has been worth watching for the better part of a decade now. My mothers house doesn't even have a TV aerial. But they insist on sending these letters trying to get their pound of flesh.

Is there anything I can do to fight back on these bullying tactics?

diystarter7

Hi
You want this to stop, so get your MP o the case if they are not on their hols.

Good luck

Cornucopia

As above, contact your MP - at some point all of this will come up for discussion in the run up to 2027's revamp.

Or, if they are not addressed to you personally, just return them unopened.  This doesn't need a stamp.

Or, if you want to try to stop the letters, make a formal complaint to the Operations Director at TV Licensing, citing harassment.   The details are under "complaints" on the TVL website.

powerful_Rogue

akira181 said:

I'm fed up receiving threatening letters from the TV Licensing people and my 72 year old mother forwarding the same scaremongering letters to me as well. Me and my mother receive them a couple times a year saying "an enforement officer is scheduled" or you'll be prosecuted and fined up to £1000, 1 in 8 lie about needing a licence, blah blah blah.

I've already told them me and my mother don't need a licence. Virtually nothing on the BBC has been worth watching for the better part of a decade now. My mothers house doesn't even have a TV aerial. But they insist on sending these letters trying to get their pound of flesh.

Is there anything I can do to fight back on these bullying tactics?

This chap on youtube talks a lot about these letters and the TV licence. Well worth a watch.

As for the letters, what I do is have a chuckle and then chuck in the recycling. Sadly haven't had a letter in almost a year now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3ex4v5jHFU&t=14s

FreeBear

powerful_Rogue said: As for the letters, what I do is have a chuckle and then chuck in the recycling. Sadly haven't had a letter in almost a year now.

The ones I receive are always addressed to the "legal occupier". I don't even bother opening them, and just shove them on the pile to hand to the oik should he/she ever call.

Brie

akira181 said:

I'm fed up receiving threatening letters from the TV Licensing people and my 72 year old mother forwarding the same scaremongering letters to me as well. Me and my mother receive them a couple times a year saying "an enforement officer is scheduled" or you'll be prosecuted and fined up to £1000, 1 in 8 lie about needing a licence, blah blah blah.

I've already told them me and my mother don't need a licence. Virtually nothing on the BBC has been worth watching for the better part of a decade now. My mothers house doesn't even have a TV aerial. But they insist on sending these letters trying to get their pound of flesh.

Is there anything I can do to fight back on these bullying tactics?

You don't need a TV aerial to watch TV anymore.  A lot of it is digital and accessed via one's broadband.  And you need a license is you watch other stations besides BBC.  

Obviously if you are not watching live TV or accessing the BBC iplayer then a license is not required but your post doesn't state if that is the case.  

Nick_C

There is a an existing thread where these issues are raised over and over again, along with appropriate advice.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/805699/tv-licence-article-discussion/p1

oldernonethewiser

I get a letter every month and that gets recycled.

You don't need a TV to need a TV licence these days.

powerful_Rogue

FreeBear said:

powerful_Rogue said: As for the letters, what I do is have a chuckle and then chuck in the recycling. Sadly haven't had a letter in almost a year now.

The ones I receive are always addressed to the "legal occupier". I don't even bother opening them, and just shove them on the pile to hand to the oik should he/she ever call.

Always makes me chuckle when they talk about the investigation, yet they don't even know my name yet, as you say, they are always addressed to the 'legal occupier'.

FreeBear

powerful_Rogue said:

FreeBear said:

powerful_Rogue said: As for the letters, what I do is have a chuckle and then chuck in the recycling. Sadly haven't had a letter in almost a year now.

The ones I receive are always addressed to the "legal occupier". I don't even bother opening them, and just shove them on the pile to hand to the oik should he/she ever call.

Always makes me chuckle when they talk about the investigation, yet they don't even know my name yet, as you say, they are always addressed to the 'legal occupier'.

Names have power.

And TVL are going to look pretty darned stupid standing in front of a judge trying to get the "legal occupier" of any property convicted.

The_Unready

"Virtually nothing on the BBC has been worth watching for the better part of a decade now. "

Obviously opinions are somewhat subjective, but this comment is just utter tosh!