Thousands face £1,000-fine over controversial TV licence change

TV licence changes come into effect today

Last year, the BBC announced it would no longer subset the TV licence fee for those over seventy-five. This weekend, the rule is set to come into effect, meaning those without a TV licence could be fined up to £1,000. Today, the TV licence costs £157.50 a year and is set to remain this way until 2027, per the BBC's royal charter. Hundreds of thousands of people aged over 75 could face a £1,000 fine from August 1st if they do not buy a TV licence. https://twitter.com/NoContextBrits/status/1419392938329710593

The BBC said:

“As we have now reached a situation where over-75s households are in line with the general population, the extended transition period we put in place due to Covid-19 will end on 31 July 2021. "In line with general policy, anyone who watches or records live TV programmes on any channel, or downloads or watches BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer, must be covered by a valid TV licence.”

Pensioner advocacy group Silver voices said:

"Is the BBC going to fine and potentially take to court hundreds of thousands of senior citizens who are standing out against the scrapping of this welfare benefit? "We have massive political and media support for a rethink on this issue and the government now needs to intervene urgently to force a solution." They also said that there is "a significant hard core remains of over-75s who are refusing or unable to pay". For pensioners that claim pensioner credit, you are able to claim a free licence. However, this isn't given out automatically, and so, you must apply. For an application form, you can call TV licensing on 0300 790 6117. https://twitter.com/Dawn_Galway/status/1420420209161252875

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