We’ve never owned a television, but in recent times have taken to using the BBC’s iPlayer catch-up service. As this now requires a licence from 1 September, I went online to buy one and opted for the “popular” monthly direct debit. I was astounded to find that in the first year the BBC expects me to pay more than £230 in direct debit payments when the total licence fee is only £145.50, as the first five monthly payments are of £29.50.
The official website offers no explanation or justification for this overcharging. How can this “nice little earner” be justified? I was only made aware by a friend who teases us about being radio fiends. PM, London
The direct debit options do incur a higher charge, but only for new customers such as yourself. A TV Licensing spokesperson said: “New customers choosing to pay by monthly direct debit pay for the first year’s licence in six months. On this scheme, customers pay for their first licence over six months and thereafter pay half the fee for their [next] licence in advance and half in arrears, spreading the payment across 12 months. The total amount a person pays for their licence always adds up to the licence fee in force at the time of issue.
“TV Licensing wants to make it as easy as possible for people to pay for a TV licence, and there are a number of alternate ways people can pay, including annual direct debit, direct debit instalments, weekly or monthly cash payments. The amount and frequency of instalment payments the BBC can accept for the payment of TV licence fees are set by government.”
You’ve since decided to pay the annual amount upfront, but this is a useful opportunity to bring the change in law to the attention of readers. From 1 September 2016, you do indeed need to hold a TV licence to download or watch BBC programmes on demand – including catch-up – on BBC iPlayer.
If people already have a licence, they will be covered automatically and don’t need to do anything. The vast majority of people – around 95% – are already covered by a TV licence and so are unaffected by this change. All unlicensed households have been mailed apparently and we were promised a publicity campaign. Did we miss it?
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