That's OK if you're exempt, I suppose.
Otherwise it's a bit like being an uninsured driver because you've never had an accident.
Very few are now exempt from requiring a TV licence.
TV licences for the over-75s were free from November 2000 until the
end of July 2020. The concession was received by around 4.5 million households, one of whom was me - I was 75 in 2014. However, though it was free, you still needed a licence and received a renewal notice each year. I'm not poverty stricken - unlike many pensioners who are but who, as with the Winter Fuel Allowance, don't qualify for pension credit.
I think it's fairly widely known that licence evasion by the over 75s - often the needy, but also the greedy, is not enforced.
TV licence evasion by over 75s:
- Estimates of non-payment
One estimate suggests that between 200,000 and 250,000 over-75s have not paid their fees since the rules changed.
- Vulnerability
People over 75 who thought they would continue to receive a free licence are particularly vulnerable to prosecution.
The government has considered decriminalizing TV licence evasion, but has not yet reached a final decision. The government's response to a consultation on the issue noted that:
- The current system can cause stress and anxiety, especially for the most vulnerable.
- An alternative civil sanction would have wide-ranging impacts for licence fee payers.
- A criminal sanction for non-payment is "increasingly disproportionate and unfair".
So they've kicked the can down the road.
What I do begrudge, is the ludicrous salaries paid by the BBC to radio DJs and the likes of talking heads such as Gary Lineker.
Expecting the public at large to pay a licence for a service that many don't wish to use, is rather like saying 'there's a national newspaper called the 'British Bugle' (or whatever). You don't need to read it, but you do need to pay for licence to cover its operating costs'.
Entitlement to a free licence:
Since 2020, only People who are 75 or older and receive Pension Credit are eligible for a free TV licence in the United Kingdom:
- The licence holder must be 75 or older
- The licence holder or their partner living at the same address must receive Pension Credit
Other people who may qualify for a discount include:
- People who live in residential care homes, supported housing, or sheltered accommodation
- People who are blind or severely sight impaired and can provide the appropriate evidence
- People who are blind or severely sight impaired and receive a 50% discount .
Whether you watch in black and white on a 40-year-old TV set or in colour on a brand new 37" LCD flatscreen, you need to be covered by a TV Licence if watching or recording programmes as they are broadcast. The same is true if you access programmes via the internet as they are being shown on TV - if you’re using a laptop, mobile phone, games console or any other device."
However!
You don't need a licence if you only ever
watch on demand or catch up programmes on services other than BBC iPlayer (and you also never watch TV channels on any TV service, watch live TV on streaming services, or use BBC iPlayer*). This includes recording and downloading on any device.
