Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA
Older people are are at risk of being targeted by criminals sending fraudulent emails after the decision to scrap universal free TV licences for the over-75s, a charity has warned.
In June, the BBC announced that free TV licences, which would cost the corporation an estimated £750m a year, would be means-tested. They promised to continue to provide licences to the 1.5 million older people who are on pension credit.
Campaigners say an estimated 3.7 million more households will have to pay for their TV licence.
Research from Age UK suggests there could be a 13% rise in fraudsters posing as TV Licensing – the body responsible for collecting the licence fee – and could cheat elderly people out of a total of £320,000.
Over the past week alone more than 16,000 of those who signed Age UK’s petition to save free TV licences have told the charity they have been targeted by fraudsters. The scammers typically contact people by letter, email or text, and say that there has been a problem with their TV licence fee payment or that they need to pay up now.
Caroline Abrahams, Age UK’s charity director, said: “Fraudsters are always searching for new opportunities to part us from our cash and it seems that the decision to make millions of older people buy a TV licence from next summer could be a bonanza for them.
“As though the prospect of losing their free TV licence wasn’t bad enough for our over-75s, this expected upsurge in fraudulent communications adds insult to injury and will be a further kick in the teeth for anyone unfortunate enough to be caught out.”
The Conservatives promised they would protect the benefit in their 2017 election manifesto, despite having handed responsibility to the BBC in 2015 for paying for the licences from June 2020.
“This problem is only arising because the government passed responsibility for free licences to the BBC without the money to pay for them,” said Abrahams. “This enhanced risk of scams is just the latest in the long list of reasons why the government should stump up the funding to allow TV licences to remain free for all our over-75s.”
Tom Watson, the shadow culture secretary, said: “It is a disgrace that there are some TV licence scammers trying to defraud some of the most vulnerable people in our society. They should be ashamed of themselves.
“This Tory government should urgently rethink its decision to scrap millions of free TV licences. We already knew it would leave older people worse off and more isolated. Now we know it could leave them vulnerable to these despicable fraudsters too.”
The Bectu broadcasting union chief, Philippa Childs, said: “It’s clear that the government, by passing the buck for free TV licences, has left elderly viewers and listeners in a state of uncertainty and confusion.
“We are saddened to hear of Age UK’s recent warning. Instead of distancing themselves from a crisis of their making, the government should take full responsibility for the confusion that has been caused and show respect to the over-75s and give a commitment to properly fund the BBC.”
A government spokesman said: “We’re very disappointed with the BBC’s decision – we were clear we expected it to continue this concession.
“Taxpayers want to see the BBC using its substantial licence fee income in an appropriate way to ensure it delivers for UK audiences, which includes showing restraint on salaries for senior staff.”
The BBC said: “We take these issues very seriously and we are doing everything we can to help protect our customers against fraudsters by ensuring they can distinguish between what is a genuine TV licensing communication and what is a scam.
“Our advice is that if people are unsure about a communication they’ve received, they should contact us directly and we can help. We never contact customers out of the blue to ask for bank details, personal information, or to tell them that they may be entitled to a refund.
“For our customers who are over 75 and have a free TV licence, we will not cold call them and will provide the information they need to contact and engage with TVL directly.”
