TV licence issue

playlister82

I live in a home that is not covered by a TV licence because I don't watch any live TV or BBC programs. Recently, I have been staying with a family member who is in the middle of moving and is without a TV, so I let them watch the TV on my laptop (for just a couple of days). At the end of the 2 days, I received a very condescending email from TV licensing, telling me they have detected me watching live TV, I can only assume this is because they know that my relative was watching it on the laptop at their home (which IS covered by a TV licence).

I feel a bit bewildered and uncomfortable about this communication, because it implies that the TV licensing company is tracking what I do on my personal laptop. Whilst I do not personally pay for a TV licence, because I don't need one in my own home, I have only watched live TV in a house that does have a TV licence, so feel confused about why a company would send me that email.

Without getting into the whole debate about the TV licensing system, I want to know if I have done anything wrong here and if I SHOULD personally pay for a TV license now. I don't plan to watch any more live TV on my laptop as the family member who was using it now has their own TV back.

Edited: just to add that the family member did not watch any BBC iplayer whilst they were using the laptop. Also, I have just seen in another recent thread that they cannot track activity by IP address. So I really don't know how they have detected this information and feel even more uncomfortable about it.

born_again

I guess they were using your sign on on the laptop & using i-player. So while they do not exactly know where it was used, it is linked to you who does not have a licence. 

elsien

Perhaps your family member hasn’t been entirely honest about what they were watching? 

playlister82

born_again said:

I guess they were using your sign on on the laptop & using i-player. So while they do not exactly know where it was used, it is linked to you who does not have a licence. 

Thanks, I am 99% certain they didn't watch any BBC iplayer and even if they did, I have never signed into it on this laptop. The mystery deepens...

playlister82

elsien said:

Perhaps your family member hasn’t been entirely honest about what they were watching? 

All they watch is live news channels on youtube.

In any case, should I be worried about TV licence inspectors banging on my door?

Cornucopia

These emails originate from email address matching between an ex-TV Licence/No Licence Needed account and an active iPlayer account.   As such, they aren't robust evidence of an offence because the device accessing iPlayer can be anywhere, including at a Licensed address.

In your case, the situation is even more complicated because even if iPlayer was accessed, it wasn't you that did it, and therefore you can't be guilty of the offence of accessing it without a Licence.

It's unlikely they will knock on the door, and even if they do, you can still say "Not today, thankyou" and shut the door.

It's definitely worth deleting your BBC ID to prevent it happening again.

la531983

playlister82 said:

elsien said:

Perhaps your family member hasn’t been entirely honest about what they were watching? 

All they watch is live news channels on youtube.

In any case, should I be worried about TV licence inspectors banging on my door?

No, they have as much right to enter your house as the milkman.

oldernonethewiser

Out of curiosity what do you use your BBC ID for?

Brie

Take the Shaggy line and declare "It wasn't me!"

Besides it's the home that is covered not the device as far as I am aware.  So they had a licence and they just happened to be using your laptop.  No different then if you lent them a TV.  

littleboo

If iPlayer hasn't been used, are you sure its a genuine email and a scam email that's just coincidentally arrived around the same time?

fatbelly

Any email from TVL should be treated as spam