TV Licensing has confirmed that it always writes to customers before taking further action, such as sending an officer to an unlicensed property. The confirmation comes as the organisation warns that evading the licence fee is a criminal offence carrying a maximum fine of £1,000.
A TV Licensing spokesperson told the Mirror that detection equipment may be used at addresses without a TV Licence if people do not pay when needed. The spokesperson said the organisation wants to "help you avoid this" and that "prosecution is a last resort".
People are given 'ample opportunity' says TV Licensing
A TVL spokesperson told the Mirror: "TV Licensing has a duty to collect the licence fee from anyone who requires one. Detection vans are one of a number of approaches in our enforcement of the law, and we always write to customers before visiting a property to ensure customers have ample opportunity to obtain a licence."
Officials could not provide details about detector vans, as this may be useful to people who evade paying the Licence Fee.
TV Licensing can 'identify within minutes'
On its website, TV Licensing says: "We operate a fleet of vans equipped with advanced detection tools. These can identify TV receiving equipment at targeted addresses within minutes."
The organisation explains: "As the responsible public authority for TV Licensing the BBC must ensure that collection and enforcement initiatives are effective and efficient, and use of detector vans is a part of this process. The BBC has a duty to secure arrangements such that those who fail in their obligations to become properly licensed are caught. Detection is only used when other, more cost-effective enforcement methods have been exhausted."
Your address may be listed for a 'visit'
On its website, TV officials explain that people may not have a Licence for various reasons. "For example, some people without a Licence may have simply forgotten to buy one; others don’t require a TV Licence, or may require one but deliberately evade paying for one", it notes.
If a Licence is not bought or there is no declaration stating one is not needed, it says: "If no response is received from an address, it will be listed for a visit from a visiting officer to enquire about the licensing requirements and to allow the purchase of a licence if one is required."
TV Licensing does not presume that anyone is committing an offence, however, it is fair to licence fee payers to ensure that those deliberately evading the payment of the licence fee understand that the penalty for licence fee evasion upon conviction could be a fine of up to £1,000 (or £2,000 in Guernsey).
What does a TV Licence cover?
A standard TV Licence costs £180, and a black-and-white licence costs £60.50. It covers a household for all TV channels, including 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 and Amazon Prime Video; and everything on BBC iPlayer. This includes watching, recording and downloading on any device.
