I’ve been blindly paying for a TV for years. It was just something I automatically paid without really thinking about it. But recently, I woke up to the fact that I had been wasting my hard-earned cash on a TV licence.
Why I’ve Stopped Paying For A TV Licence
I realised that I didn’t really watch any live broadcast TV when I moved to a house with no TV antenna. I’ve lived in my new home for six months and haven’t missed the fact that I have no over-the-air TV channels, like BBC, ITV, etc.
Don’t Watch Live Broadcasts – Nearly everything I watch is from one of the big streaming services, like NetFlix or YouTube. I also have several streaming TV players (e.g. ITVX, and My5) installed on my TV, but rarely use them and when I do I only use them for on-demand TV watching.
Ridiculous Presenter Pay –I don’t understand why the BBC thinks a sports pundit is worth well over a million pounds a year and a nothing special radio 2 DJ is worth nearly one million pounds a year.
TV Licencing – The TV licencing itself is just outrageous in this day and age. The BBC needs to get with the times.
When Do You Need A TV Licence
A TV licence is required if you watch any live broadcast TV. It doesn’t matter which channel you watch, BBC, SKY, Dave ITV, ITV +2, etc. It doesn’t matter what method you use to watch a live TV broadcast, i.e. streaming over the internet, Cable or using a digital TV with an antenna etc. You need a licence.
You also must have a TV licence if you pause or delay a live broadcast
I incorrectly thought you only needed a TV licence if you watched or listened to BBC stuff.
What TV Can You Watch Without a TV Licence
The below is copied from TV licencing as to what you can watch without a TV licence:
- Catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer, such as ITVX, All4 and My5
- On-demand films or TV shows that you watch rent or buy online from providers like Netflix, Amazon Prime, Sky, BT TV, Sky, Apple TV+, Disney+ or Now
- SC4 programmes on demand
- DVDs or Blu-rays
- YouTube videos or clips that aren’t live
How To Cancel Your TV Licence
If you currently have a TV licence, you’ll need to cancel payments and hopefully get a refund. I called the TV Licencing on 0300 790 6096 and spoke to someone who clearly loved their job…..not.
They asked a few questions about how I watched TV e.g. ‘Did i use iPlayer?’ and ‘Did I watch live broadcast TV’. They also said that someone from TV licencing might visit my house.
They cancelled my TV licence over the phone. I had to complete an online form to get a refund.
The entire process probably took me about 15 minutes.
How Do They Know If You Watch BBC Or Live Broadcasts
The short answer is they don’t know.
The only way I’m aware of getting caught is if a TV licence inspector catches someone red-handed when they visit a property that doesn’t have a licence.
The old TV ads showing detector vans parked on streets scanning homes are complete nonsense.
I’m not implying that because you’re very unlikely to get caught watching TV without a licence, you should take the risk. If you watch the BBC, I think you should support them by paying for a TV licence.
Conclusion: Cancelling TV licence
There are probably many people in the UK who are paying for a TV licence they don’t need. With all the streaming services and on-demand TV available, I can see many people who do not need to watch live broadcast TV or the BBC unless they’re sports fans. In this case, you probably do watch a fair bit of live TV.
I’m very pleased not to be paying nearly £170 for a service I don’t use and don’t like. I wish I had done it years ago.
I’ll update this article if the TV licensing people come knocking at my door.
