TV Licence Fee - GDPR rights

Looney46

Someone has mentioned to me that they are no longer contacted by the BBC for renewal of their licence fee, because the simply asked for the BBC to remove their data from their systems in line with GDPR.

Surely it can't be as simple as this, or we could all avoid all our bills by requesting utility companies, mortgage providers etc to do the same?

MorningcoffeeIV

Looney46 said:

Surely it can't be as simple as this, or we could all avoid all our bills by requesting utility companies, mortgage providers etc to do the same?

No, because the right to erasure doesn't over-ride contracts, legal requirements or other legitimate interests.

user1977

Looney46 said:

Someone has mentioned to me that they are no longer contacted by the BBC for renewal of their licence fee, because the simply asked for the BBC to remove their data from their systems in line with GDPR.

Surely it can't be as simple as this, or we could all avoid all our bills by requesting utility companies, mortgage providers etc to do the same?

Sounds like you and/or your friend have completely misunderstood something. It's not a means of avoiding payment where you're legally required to have a licence, just to stop them sending "reminders" to addresses which don't need a licence.

Andy_L

did they mean that they don't (legitimately) have a licence and, by invoking the GDPR they don't get the occasional letters/knock on the door reminding them they don't have a TV licence and (might) need to buy one?

oldagetraveller1

Just shred the T.V. Licensing threatograms and if an "enforcement officer" (I'll not write what they are commonly called, but it rhymes with moon.)comes to the door, say no thank you and shut the door.

I have been legally licence free for 6 years now.

Looney46

Andy_L said:

did they mean that they don't (legitimately) have a licence and, by invoking the GDPR they don't get the occasional letters/knock on the door reminding them they don't have a TV licence and (might) need to buy one?

yes that's right Andy

LightFlare

oldagetraveller1 said:

Just shred the T.V. Licensing threatograms and if an "enforcement officer" (I'll not write what they are commonly called, but it rhymes with moon.)comes to the door, say no thank you and shut the door.

I have been legally licence free for 6 years now.

Being the relevant word

Grumpy_chap

Looney46 said:

Andy_L said:

did they mean that they don't (legitimately) have a licence and, by invoking the GDPR they don't get the occasional letters/knock on the door reminding them they don't have a TV licence and (might) need to buy one?

yes that's right Andy

One assumes in this type of instance, the reminder communications might still be sent to "the occupier" at the property address...

Andy_L

Looney46 said:

Andy_L said:

did they mean that they don't (legitimately) have a licence and, by invoking the GDPR they don't get the occasional letters/knock on the door reminding them they don't have a TV licence and (might) need to buy one?

yes that's right Andy

so they aren't avoiding a bill. so we can't "avoid all our bills by requesting utility companies, mortgage providers etc to do the same"

RefluentBeans

I agree - the GDPR is probably one of the most misunderstood pieces of legislation to come out in recent years. The right to erasure means that you can question whether the data a company holds is required for their operations, and there’s a few legal reasons why someone’s data could be required. Enforcing the law, storage of payment information, contractual information etc. 

Theres another why you can stop these enforcement officers coming to your door - that is to revoke the implied right of access (which as a very very shortened version is people can normally enter your property if they have business to be there, up to the point of a locked - or appearing to be locked - point of access - and is vital for things like delivery drivers to be delivering to your door rather than leaving it on the street etc). Of course, removing this right of access can stop chancers like the ‘enforcement officers’ from ‘reminding’ you to have a license if you need it; but it is still an offence to not pay for a license when you require one. This means if they have evidence that you have been watching TV without paying for a license, they can still send legal proceedings and even visit your house with a warrant. 

This goes for almost everything else too - you can’t just get out of paying by removing rights of access; and you can’t stop legal proceedings by removing yourself from their marketing database. They can, and will, still send mail to you when they have to. 

All this is to say you can simply fill out a form online and say you don’t need a tv license. Easier than picking a fight for the sake of it, in my opinion. 

Ectophile

You should be able to get them to delete your details if it's been long enough that they have no legitimate reason to keep those details any more.

That doesn't mean you're then allowed to watch TV without a licence.

And it doesn't stop them sending letters addressed to "the occupier".  Which is what they do when they don't know who lives somewhere.