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TV licence - pay monthly by direct debit
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I've been away from my address for a few months working, and during that time I let the TV licence expire as I wasn't there or watching TV. The licence happened to expire around the same time as I moved away, so I didn't specifically cancel it, just let it run down.
I'm now back home and I've applied online to resume paying for my TV licence by direct debit. After applying, I assumed I'd be covered and plugged in the TV and started watching. However, several days after filling in the Direct Debit form I've received this email:
The licence expired for a legitimate reason (the house being empty) and I want to renew it before I start watching TV again, to avoid being on the wrong side of the rules. However, it seems impossible to do so without either paying the full amount upfront or faffing around at newspaper shops with PayPoint machines every week (and since I'm busy with work and life, inevitably forgetting). I don't want to pay the full amount upfront because I've just started a new job and I'm awaiting my first salary payment.
It's not "too late" for me to do anything, because I'm not behind on any payments. The message seems to be worded as if I've been sitting at home watching the BBC for the past eight months and now they want to get my payments "up to date" - however, there is no debt to TV Licensing as I've not been watching TV at the address.
How can I get TV Licensing to allow me to pay monthly by Direct Debit for a new TV licence starting now, after the old one at the same address expired a few months ago? This shouldn't be so difficult - but they seem unable to grasp the idea and are bent on treating me like a debtor. Has anyone else been in the same situation and if so, how did you manage to get them to take your money by DD? The whole thing seems incredibly confusing for something that should be relatively straightforward. I don't have this trouble paying any of my other bills!
I don't want a debate on the general topic of TV licensing and BBC funding - just advice on this specific issue.
I'm now back home and I've applied online to resume paying for my TV licence by direct debit. After applying, I assumed I'd be covered and plugged in the TV and started watching. However, several days after filling in the Direct Debit form I've received this email:
06/12/2016
Dear xxxx,
I understand that you wish to spread the cost of your TV Licence by Direct Debit. I?ve looked into this and the payment options available to you.
Because of the time that has passed since your last licence expired, it?s now too late for you to pay by monthly, quarterly or annual Direct Debit, but you can:
? Pay weekly by calling 0300 555 0300
? Visit tvlicensing.co.uk or call 0300 790 6071 to pay in full by debit or credit card
? Pay in full at any PayPoint outlet using cash or debit card with your reminder letter. You can visit paypoint.co.uk/locator to find your nearest PayPoint outlet
? Pay in full by cheque or Postal Order made payable to TV Licensing. Please send your payment to TV Licensing, Darlington, DL98 1TL with your name, address and postcode written on the back
Once you?re up to date with your payments, you can apply to pay for your licence by monthly, quarterly or annual Direct Debit.
Thank you for taking the time to contact us.
To assist us with your response, please ensure that you quote ***** in the subject line of your email.
Yours sincerely
*****
TV Licensing
The licence expired for a legitimate reason (the house being empty) and I want to renew it before I start watching TV again, to avoid being on the wrong side of the rules. However, it seems impossible to do so without either paying the full amount upfront or faffing around at newspaper shops with PayPoint machines every week (and since I'm busy with work and life, inevitably forgetting). I don't want to pay the full amount upfront because I've just started a new job and I'm awaiting my first salary payment.
It's not "too late" for me to do anything, because I'm not behind on any payments. The message seems to be worded as if I've been sitting at home watching the BBC for the past eight months and now they want to get my payments "up to date" - however, there is no debt to TV Licensing as I've not been watching TV at the address.
How can I get TV Licensing to allow me to pay monthly by Direct Debit for a new TV licence starting now, after the old one at the same address expired a few months ago? This shouldn't be so difficult - but they seem unable to grasp the idea and are bent on treating me like a debtor. Has anyone else been in the same situation and if so, how did you manage to get them to take your money by DD? The whole thing seems incredibly confusing for something that should be relatively straightforward. I don't have this trouble paying any of my other bills!
I don't want a debate on the general topic of TV licensing and BBC funding - just advice on this specific issue.
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Comments
If not dont worry too much. You need to write to the Tv license with some proof as to why it should not be shorted dated back to the orginal date it expired.
If they have already agreed that your start date is correct then in terms of the payment plan well their is nothing you can do. I suspect the issue is that you are part way through month so they either want you to pay weekly as they say to catch up to a point in which you can pay monthly. Typically the plan starts on the first of the month so they may want you to pay weekly until 1st Jan.
It is difficult because they have not explained it in the letter the best thing you can do is call them up and ask them to explain how long before you can pay monthly again.
This is not true whatsoever, there is absolutely no obligation to inform them. Unfortunately Capita treat any property without a license as a criminal so it may have would be worth doing so as a courtesy, but certainly no actual obligation to.
OP, do you live with anyone else? Simply apply for a new TVL in their name paying monthly, they will just think that someone new has moved in. Job done.
I have never heard of them chasing up a gap in payments before and not letting you paying monthly, so this is all very odd. Simply write to them/ring them stating you detuned your equipment for X months and you had no need to buy a TVL, and reiterate your offer to pay monthly. Dont budge from that stance.
Every time I went back to the address to visit and check everything was OK with the house, there would be a pile of TV Licensing, you're breaking the law, we've scheduled a visit, final warning, we're sending the boys round type letters. I ignored them as I wasn't doing anything wrong and if they had sent an inspector round they would not have found anyone in the house watching TV!
It's no wonder they catch so many people with no licence - I want to pay and I'm finding it very difficult. I can see how their byzantine system makes people think "balls to this, I'll not bother paying". I'll ring them when I get a spare five minutes and see if they'll budge.
Guilty until proven innocent with them, glad we don't have ID cards I can only imagine how oppressive that would feel if the TV Licencing tactics are anything to go by.
BTW - as you can probably tell i work myself in a 'customer services' department (HR). We send out hundreds of communications to thousands of different employees and it's inevitable that there will be inaccuracies or mistakes in some of them. Sometimes the mistake is very complex and it takes a while for us to work out what the correct course of action is. It's so much easier to deal with the employee that writes back calmly that there's a problem than it is the employee screaming and shouting that their life is going to end.
That is BBC/Capita TVL for you, threatening letters, wrong assumptions, greed is their normal modus operandi - they just want to drag in the money, nothing else.
No one should ever make excuses for them, but they do......
For the last two weeks I have had sponsored posts pop up on Facebook from them, offering careers in being a TVL field operative.
The abuse left in the comments has been amusing
I doubt anyone will know the definitive answer here, but if you phone them and ask I'm sure they will be able to help you out
You're contradicting yourself. You know you didn't contact them for fill any forms in.
Yes, but they don't know that because you didn't bother to tell them.
Just phone them up and explain you've been away for a few months and didn't require a licence.
They won't be able to prove otherwise so it will be the end of the matter.
Bit in bold.
Yep, this happened to me. I moved out of my house for three months, cancelled my licence, informing them why - my house was up for sale, it was empty and I had moved out - yet they kept sending me threatening letters:D. lol.
Oh yes, and they kept sending me threatening emails demanding to know where I was moving to and who I was living with, not that I told them as it was non of their business. (I was living, briefly, in a house that had a current TV licence so I wasn't breaking the law). They formed the threatening emails so that it inferred I was breaking the law by not giving them my forwarding address and that they would prosecute, - it looked very official and nasty - which made me livid. I I told them it was non of their business, which they did not like one bit.;-)
Fortunately I don't scare easily.
Even though I left for just under three months, when I returned and took up the licence again (long story), my direct debit doubled. It was previously £12 per month and now it's over £24. After six months, (so was told when I queried it) it would come back down to £12 a month. I had no problems going back to the direct debit though, they just didn't inform me it would be doubled. Prior to moving out I had lived here for over 15 years paying diligently paying by direct debit every month.
Next time, if there is a next time I will tell them nothing...they are bullies, plain and simple.
They always take double out for the first 6 months on "monthly" payments", its so you can get half a year ahead. Nothing to do with anything that went on before, thats how it normally works.
Ah, thanks for that. It was just a shock at the it me a they didn't warn me.:) I should have done my research.