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Nottingham Post
Nottingham Post
National
Phoebe Ram

RAF veteran wrongly harassed over TV Licence still waiting for written apology

A Nottinghamshire pensioner who was wrongly "harassed" and threatened with legal action for not having a TV Licence said he is still waiting for an apology over the error.

RAF veteran John Luck, 89, of Nuthall previously spoke to Nottinghamshire Live about 'sleepless nights' worrying about the "barrage" of threatening letters he received over several months.

He explained he had moved into his new property in December 2020 and purchased his licence at the end of November to ensure it was covered.

Mr Luck then began receiving letters from TV Licencing at the beginning of 2021 threatening him with fines of up to £1,000 if he did not pay his 'debts' immediately.

The veteran said he continued to stress to TV Licencing that he had "all the paperwork to prove it" adding that the whole situation was making his "final years unbearable".

Mr Luck's TV licence. (Marie Wilson/Nottingham Post)

After being approached by a reporter, TV Licencing confirmed it had made "an administrative error" and that the issue had been resolved.

The company also said it had written to Mr Luck to apologise and would also send him a goodwill payment in light of the "poor experience".

However, nearly two weeks on, and Mr Luck has received no contact.

He said: "It's been 14 days since TV Licencing spoke to the Post and said they had sent a letter to me, but I have not heard one thing.

"I have absolutely nothing at all from them.

"And from the responses I have had to my story from other people, it shows it's not just me.

"It feels like they couldn't care less, but I don't feel they should be allowed to get away with it."

Mr Luck also criticised the TV Licencing reason for the initial error, which it stated was down to having his previous address listed.

But at the time he was living there, Mr Luck had not needed to pay his license fee.

After allowing nearly 10 working days, Mr Luck felt enough time had passed to hear from the organisation.

"I just thought they'd get it sorted, but I'm starting to expect another court letter," he added.

"I would feel a lot better having the apology - at the moment I've got no closure, I'm still thinking about it and not getting much sleep.

"The apology is the most important thing really."

Nottinghamshire Live contacted TV Licencing again to get an update on Mr Luck's situation.

It confirmed human error had lead to the delay.

A TV Licencing Spokesperson said: “We are sorry for the delay to Mr Luck receiving his apology.

"We have spoken to Mr Luck to personally apologise for this mistake and have arranged for the letter to be resent, along with a goodwill gesture”.

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