TV Licence monthly direct debit errors

Paul201

I recently received my TV licence renewal at £169.50 for monthly direct debit )starting April 2024). However, the monthly amounts listed for April 2024 to March 2025 inclusive are 12 x £15, which is £180. Why am I being overcharged and why don't they simply charge 11 x £14.13 plus 1 x £14.07? I asked a question via the TV Licensing online enquiry form three weeks ago and been completely ignored. What are my next options? Incidentally, The TV Licensing website is designed to dissuade you from complaining, you have to go to the 'Contact Us' page then select 'something else' and then 'other' before you can pose a free-form question.

Neil_Jones

Paul201 said:

I recently received my TV licence renewal at £169.50 for monthly direct debit )starting April 2024). However, the monthly amounts listed for April 2024 to March 2025 inclusive are 12 x £15, which is £180. Why am I being overcharged and why don't they simply charge 11 x £14.13 plus 1 x £14.07? I asked a question via the TV Licensing online enquiry form three weeks ago and been completely ignored. What are my next options? Incidentally, The TV Licensing website is designed to dissuade you from complaining, you have to go to the 'Contact Us' page then select 'something else' and then 'other' before you can pose a free-form question.

You're not being overcharged and its documented right here what's going to happen when you pay monthy:

https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/pay-for-your-tv-licence/ways-to-pay/direct-debit

Paul201

Thanks for the reply but I have read those details before. That page shows last year's prices and I was charged 12 x £13.25  = £159, which was the annual price. From April 2024 the annual price is £169.50 but the amount they want to apply via direct debit is 12 x £15, which comes to £180.

Hoenir

Paul201 said:

Thanks for the reply but I have read those details before. That page shows last year's prices and I was charged 12 x £13.25  = £159, which was the annual price. From April 2024 the annual price is £169.50 but the amount they want to apply via direct debit is 12 x £15, which comes to £180.

Discount for those that pay annually in advance. 

Detail_Merchant

Paul201 said:

I recently received my TV licence renewal at £169.50 for monthly direct debit )starting April 2024). However, the monthly amounts listed for April 2024 to March 2025 inclusive are 12 x £15, which is £180. Why am I being overcharged and why don't they simply charge 11 x £14.13 plus 1 x £14.07? I asked a question via the TV Licensing online enquiry form three weeks ago and been completely ignored. What are my next options? Incidentally, The TV Licensing website is designed to dissuade you from complaining, you have to go to the 'Contact Us' page then select 'something else' and then 'other' before you can pose a free-form question.

When you pay for your TV licence by monthly direct debit, you pay half in advance, and half in arrears.
(you have to pay double for the first six months to get started).
So your last 6 payments of £13.25 from October 2023 - March 2024, are actually pre-payments towards your April 2024 - March 2025 TV licence, which costs £169.50
So you have now prepaid 6 x £13.25 = £79.50 towards that £169.50, leaving £90 to pay.
£90 divided by 6 months (April - September 2024) = £15/month.
Then the payments from October 2024 - March 2025 of £15/month will be pre-payments towards your April 2025 - March 2026 TV licence.

Paul201

Detail_Merchant said:

Paul201 said:

I recently received my TV licence renewal at £169.50 for monthly direct debit )starting April 2024). However, the monthly amounts listed for April 2024 to March 2025 inclusive are 12 x £15, which is £180. Why am I being overcharged and why don't they simply charge 11 x £14.13 plus 1 x £14.07? I asked a question via the TV Licensing online enquiry form three weeks ago and been completely ignored. What are my next options? Incidentally, The TV Licensing website is designed to dissuade you from complaining, you have to go to the 'Contact Us' page then select 'something else' and then 'other' before you can pose a free-form question.

When you pay for your TV licence by monthly direct debit, you pay half in advance, and half in arrears.
(you have to pay double for the first six months to get started).
So your last 6 payments of £13.25 from October 2023 - March 2024, are actually pre-payments towards your April 2024 - March 2025 TV licence, which costs £169.50
So you have now prepaid 6 x £13.25 = £79.50 towards that £169.50, leaving £90 to pay.
£90 divided by 6 months (April - September 2024) = £15/month.
Then the payments from October 2024 - March 2025 of £15/month will be pre-payments towards your April 2025 - March 2026 TV licence.

Thanks, that's a great answer. Now why couldn't TV Licensing just give that, or any, reply?

Paul201

Just a follow-up. I was aware of the first 6 months paying double to get the DD started but had not sussed that we are forever 6-months in credit. I started my DD a couple of decades ago when the rules may have been different. I ran a few numbers based on searching back through bank statements and the new payment schedule that TV Licensing sent me. Each year at the 6 month point (end of September in my case) the amount paid in the previous 12 months exactly matches the 'price' that started 6 month earlier. This is also true at September 2025 when I will have paid £169.50 in the previous 12 months. Because of the over-payment up to March 2025, the April amount is £8.90 then goes to £14.12 for 3 months. Although they do not forecast further, if you extrapolate the £14.12 the amount paid at the 6-month date does equal the £169.50 annual charge. However that means that at some points in the previous 12 months instead of staying close to 6 months in credit it has risen to more like 7 months in credit, or in other words they have front-loaded the payments and then dropped them back later to compensate. To my mind it would make more sense to limit the excessive over-payments to, say, the 52% point by reducing the payments slightly from November 2024 and making them more even. As it currently stands it is better to pay annually rather than via monthly DD, which was never intended to be the case. If you pay annually then on average you are only ever 6 months in credit. I am also aware that technically the balance dips below the 50% credit mark from April 2024 and that there is 'catch-up' to be done but that is due to the step-change price increase and since we are always in credit it is not unreasonable to expect TV Licensing not to gouge us in the short term.

Detail_Merchant

The £8.90 in April + 5 x £14.12 (May - September) makes sense if the TV licence cost stays level at £169.50 for a second year, but I think the previous price freeze has ended, so that seems unlikely.
If the increase is a similar percentage to the £159 -> £169.50 rise, then it would be £180.70, so, in that case, those future payments would likely be revised to one payment of £15.15 followed by 11 of £15.10.

Paul201

Yes, I think we should be prepared for that scenario but if inflation continues to decrease they may struggle to justify such an increase for the second year running. By the way I don't begrudge the BBC the money, I think it is good value, just the TV Licensing contractor does not do it any favours from a PR point of view.

Cornucopia

Paul201 said:

Yes, I think we should be prepared for that scenario but if inflation continues to decrease they may struggle to justify such an increase for the second year running. By the way I don't begrudge the BBC the money, I think it is good value, just the TV Licensing contractor does not do it any favours from a PR point of view.

TV Licensing is the BBC by another trademark.   There are several subcontractors, but all of them are appointed by the BBC and operate under its name and its supervision.