Accused of watching BBC iPlayer without a TV licence

Nantaeronen

I had a letter last week which says: our records show someone has used BBC iPlayer on a number of occasions over recent weeks. The No Licence Needed status of this address is now invalid and will soon be cancelled.

I am not aware of having watched any BBC iPlayer content and didn't even think it was possible as they know my email address. I live alone and no-one else has stayed here this year. I thought the letter might be a scam, but they do seem to have the number shown on my No Licence Needed letter. I have never used a TV since moving here.

The only think I can think is that I do sometimes watch things on You-tube, such as a service where my grand-daughter's choir was singing, which was live-streamed from Dublin Cathedral - not a TV channel - and in another country (I am in Scotland) Sometimes after watching things like that, I don't close the You-tube tab, and then sometimes it starts playing some random video content, when I may even have left the room. If I am in the room and hear one of these things starting I immediately stop it. Could these things have been taken by You-tube from iPlayer? I have certainly not watched anything on iPlayer knowingly, and in fact always stop anything on You-Tube I didn't ask for.

How do they get their data? If someone was sitting in a van outside my house (and people sometimes do), if they were watching some iPlayer content on their smartphone, would that seem to be from my house?

Or could someone have hacked into my laptop?

Is the onus on them to prove their claim? I have written to them online asking what I am supposed to have watched, when it was and on what device. Though I don't know if they will have this information.

Is there anyone out there with some knowledge of how they get their information, or how they can get it so wrong?

Brie

I would be writing back to them (snail mail) and ask them for their proof as you don't own a TV and don't watch iPlayer.  Please ask that they information about which device was involved. 

I've never seen youtube skip to iPlayer so think it most likely to be some random individual/worker/van sitter accessing something near to your house.  Beyond that I think it's a fishing expedition.   They expect people to be using their services and feel guilty when they are caught out.  Sounds like you have nothing to feel guilty about.  

Hoenir

IP addresses are logged when Iplayer is accessed. Then compared with and cross referenced to the database of TV licence holders.  Nothing new.  There's nothing to prove. Ball is in your court. 

born_again

BBC is certainly on U-Tube, but seems to stay in U-Tube window. 

Have you ever had a BBC account where you have entered your email address?

Other option could be that a IP address you have used has been picked up as watching I-Player, but you never used it for i-player, then next person has.

powerful_Rogue

Inesteresting video about this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97lApEdvF7Q&t=378s

If it was me, i'd be sending them a Subject Access Request to find out exactly what information they hold in relation to this recent letter.

Olinda99

what the letter means is that somebody has gone to iPlayer and signed in using the email address that you used to declare no license required i.e the BBC have matched email addresses 

I would disregard YouTube that is not the reason

Cornucopia

The normal recommendation is to delete the BBC ID that has led to them matching email addresses, but if you really don't have one, that's a bit of a problem.

I wouldn't get overly concerned about Youtube, Wifi leakage or IP addresses - those have nothing to do with these emails/letters.

I also wouldn't worry that this could lead to trouble, because they don't have enough evidence for prosecution and they know that their email matching process can never provide robust evidence of licence evasion (because iPlayer could have been watched anywhere, including at TV Licensed premises).

There has been a lot of discussion of this recently, so it may be that they have somehow stepped up their process, and that in turn may have introduced greater unreliability into what was already unreliable.

Hoenir

Cornucopia said:

I wouldn't get overly concerned about Youtube, Wifi leakage or IP addresses - those have nothing to do with these emails/letters.

An IP address is registered to an actual postal address in some way. 

Cornucopia

Hoenir said:

Cornucopia said:

I wouldn't get overly concerned about Youtube, Wifi leakage or IP addresses - those have nothing to do with these emails/letters.

An IP address is registered to an actual postal address in some way. 

IP addresses are typically temporary, and also the BBC would need a court order to obtain the information from an ISP.

ThorOdinson

Hoenir said:

Cornucopia said:

I wouldn't get overly concerned about Youtube, Wifi leakage or IP addresses - those have nothing to do with these emails/letters.

An IP address is registered to an actual postal address in some way. 

IP addresses have no link to physical addresses or individuals.

OP, have you sold or given away any old devices? Could you have left your iPlayer account logged in?

It's as likely as but a mistake. Do an SAR and find it why they linked it to you.

Swipe

Treat as you would any other scam and ignore it. It's a toothless threat.