TV Licensing email - "We notice you've been using iPlayer"

binao

Exodi said:

albaredz said:

I don't watch TV and only have a BBC account to access radio stations.

albaredz said:

I had a feeling I may have watched iPlayer for a breaking news story and within the last few months

albaredz said:

Even if they were just for a few minutes, I hold my hand up, fair enough, strictly bang to rights.

albaredz said:

Short story: I mucked up and watched iPlayer a couple of times

In your recounting of the events you've gone from only using your BBC account to 'access radio stations', to  'may have watched iPlayer', to watching iPlayer numerous times, all within a single post.

I understand the TVLA get a lot of (warranted) hate for their infamously underhanded practices, such as coercing people who genuinely do not need a TVL into buying one.

If you do not watch any live broadcasts or on-demand BBC programmes, then by all means don't buy a TV license. But you can't eat the steak if you're not willing to pay for it.

@Exodi  " But you can't eat the steak if you're not willing to pay for it." Is a classic, and what canceling would amount to.  

Cancelling would most likely result in, "a door knocking". 

wild666

albaredz said:

Cornucopia said:

The email is essentially worthless.   It's based on matching an email address that has been used on a "No Licence Needed" submission with one used on an active BBC ID used to watch BBC TV content on iPlayer.

It is not evidence of evasion because there are a variety of legitimate reasons why it may occur.  

There is no need to do anything, particularly, because the BBC cannot simply fine you based on this rather poor evidence.   In order to do that, someone would need to attend your address, you would need to let them interview you without recourse to your various legal rights, and they would document your confession to evasion.   Even then, if you bought a Licence it's unlikely that you would be prosecuted.  

Personally, I would delete the email, delete the BBC ID and move on.   If you want access to BBC Sounds, set up a new ID with a different email address.

Hello,

Thanks for this, yes, I bought a licence soon after posting just to be safe. What I'm thinking now is whether to sit out the licence and not renew it when it expires, or apply to get it cancelled asap and get my no-need-for-licence status back. I'd personally rather cancel it asap and maybe recoup a bit of a refund, would that be safe to do?

If you're not watching any live as shown TV or using iPlayer then cancel ASAP. You can listen to ant radio stations on the BBC site but you have to have a BBC login, create another email address just for the BBC site and use that to login to the BBC and listen to the radio stations, alternatively if you have a smart speaker like an Alexa device you can listen to radio stations through that device as well as many of the commercial stations.

wild666

binao said:

Exodi said:

albaredz said:

I don't watch TV and only have a BBC account to access radio stations.

albaredz said:

I had a feeling I may have watched iPlayer for a breaking news story and within the last few months

albaredz said:

Even if they were just for a few minutes, I hold my hand up, fair enough, strictly bang to rights.

albaredz said:

Short story: I mucked up and watched iPlayer a couple of times

In your recounting of the events you've gone from only using your BBC account to 'access radio stations', to  'may have watched iPlayer', to watching iPlayer numerous times, all within a single post.

I understand the TVLA get a lot of (warranted) hate for their infamously underhanded practices, such as coercing people who genuinely do not need a TVL into buying one.

If you do not watch any live broadcasts or on-demand BBC programmes, then by all means don't buy a TV license. But you can't eat the steak if you're not willing to pay for it.

@Exodi  " But you can't eat the steak if you're not willing to pay for it." Is a classic, and what canceling would amount to.  

Cancelling would most likely result in, "a door knocking". 

Cancel the licence as their email is a fishing expedition, if a goon knocks at your door they normally ask if you're the home owner and the reply should be Who are you? if they won't answer just saying again are you the home owner just reply not interested and close the door, job done. 

oldernonethewiser

For BBC Sounds a made up email address works perfectly well to enable access.

albaredz

Bit surprised this has stimulated some debate to be honest.

For the implications that I'm "gaming" the system and trying to take TVL for a ride, nope, not interested. I have a TV licence to make sure I'm complying with the law, and what I'd rather do is bin it rather than have it for a year when I simply don't need it. It's that simple.

km1500

the simple answer is that if, going forward from now, you do not require a TV licence for the activities that you do then you have no need to have one and should cancel it.

castle96

How do they locate you through an IP address (or a postcode come to that). When I type my IP address to search for location, I come up as miles away (same town) and most often N. Ireland. Postcode covers 30 houses in my vicinity

Cornucopia

castle96 said:

How do they locate you through an IP address (or a postcode come to that). When I type my IP address to search for location, I come up as miles away (same town) and most often N. Ireland. Postcode covers 30 houses in my vicinity

The short answer is:  they don't.

This particular enforcement gambit is based on matching email addresses - no more and no less than that.   It's not robust evidence of evasion, but it gives them an excuse to nag people.

castle96

 ? but an email address doesnt give home address

Cornucopia

castle96 said:

 ? but an email address doesnt give home address

It's as described in post #3 of this thread.

They match the email addresses between a BBC ID used for iPlayer and an email address previously given in either a Licence application, or a "No Licence Needed" submission.    The Licence/No Licence info will include the street address.