UK households could face a £1,000 fine if they miss TV Licensing email reminders about an expiring licence. TV Licensing states that when purchasing a TV Licence, customers must provide a valid email address, which may be used to send messages including reminders that the licence is about to expire.
If a reminder is missed and viewing continues without a valid licence, the household is not covered. The organisation stresses that it is the account holder's sole responsibility to inform TV Licensing of any changes to their email address.
Responsibility and liability
TV Licensing explains: "If you do not inform TV Licensing of any changes and consequently do not receive an email reminder that your next TV Licence is due, you will remain fully responsible and liable to pay the licence fee and to ensure that you are properly licensed and may still be prosecuted if you are found to be using a TV receiver to receive television programmes without a TV Licence."
Fines and costs
There is no fine for simply not having a licence, but a fine can be issued if a licence is needed and the household is not covered. Licensing officials state: "You could be prosecuted if we find that you have been watching, recording or downloading programmes illegally. The maximum penalty is a £1,000 fine plus any legal costs and/or compensation you may be ordered to pay. The maximum fine is £2,000 in Guernsey."
A standard TV Licence costs £180, and a black-and-white licence costs £60.50. It covers a household for all TV channels like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels; pay TV services like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV; live TV on streaming services like YouTube, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video; everything on BBC iPlayer; and watching, recording and downloading on any device.
Alternative contact options and unsubscribing
Households are not limited to email reminders. Officials explain there are several ways to receive them, including changing preferences via the TV Licensing website, by phone or post, or through a secure link in the emails. TV Licensing can be contacted by post at TV Licensing, Darlington, DL98 1TL, or by phone on 0300 790 6165. For those who are deaf, have hearing loss or are speech impaired, TV Licensing supports the Relay UK service. Calls to 0300 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number, and are included free if the caller has inclusive minutes.
TV Licensing officials explain that customers can tell them they no longer wish to receive emails. However, if this option is chosen less than a month before the current licence expires, the changes may not come into effect in time to receive a renewal reminder by post, so an email reminder may still be sent. This is because it takes up to four weeks to change preferences from email to postal communications.
