BBC licence fee update

Maddyone, I agree absolutely with all you have said.

It makes me cross that I've to wait for my pension till age 66 and my bus pass then probably no TV licence maybe no fuel allowance too whilst all these years rich people have been accepting them when they don't need.
I've watched friends who have lots of money , property left by relatives. I don't begrudge anyone but feel that I've worked all my life and have due to mental health reasons have had to support family and haven't been able to save as others have. A bus pass would have made my life so much easier.

Although we will miss out, I think it is OK to pay if you are over 75 as long as people on pension credit don't have to pay. I think there are a lot of young families just under the benefit level who struggle without anything free. After all, the licence is just under £3 per week

My DH is 75 at the end of 2019.....doe this mean he will get the free licence, or? Why on earth isn’t the £10 Christmas bonus scrapped? It’s useless nowadays and must cost more to administer than its worth. It was began in the 1970’s, when £10 bought a whole lot more!

I’m ok with it as well.... try fuming about the women pensioners who have lost thousands of pounds when the pension age moved. I was lucky and only lost about £7,000.... my friend lost£16,000...l and another acquaintance has lost over £22,000. Compared to this indecency , paying for a tv licence is a small price to pay.

Expected this, missed out on pension at 60 still working at 66, now TV licences, if bus passes go and I'm not able to drive will get an electric bike. Cycle to work on good weather days but hills are getting harder. Hope they don't take away free prescriptions as may need those in the future (OK at the moment).

I am fine with it. I love the BBC and would happily give up other things to pay double for the licence fee. Have you ever watched tv in other countries? It is dire - no wonder our TV is the envy of the world. There are a lot of very comfortably well-off pensioners in the UK and those that aren’t will be helped anyway.

Is anyone on here really gonna be brave enough not to pay it. Mine's not due till April, so will wait and see what others do.

It's the people who fall just above the pension tax credits level that I feel sorry for.

The pension credit is in two parts, one part is guarentee credit and the other is savings credit, to work this out they use in the calculation savings, investments over £10,000 - for these £1 is counted for every £500 or part £500.
It is most definitely worth seeing if you can claim. Even if you are only eligible for £1 extra a week you can get other benefits. A relative of mine only gets the savings credit part which is a couple of pounds but it entitles her to lower council tax and in the future free tv license. So please apply.

My husband and I survive on the state pension and a very small private pension, we are just slightly over the pension credit amount which is payable for people receiving £255 or less for a couple. So now having to pay tv licence is more money we will have to try to find. The BBC is happy to spend millions a year on sport,taxis to ferry their staff and guests about,huge salaries for some presenters. It is a pity that they don’t value their core audience. I read that the average age of viewers to the BBC is 62.

If you're not very bright, like me, filling in the information to get Pension Credit practically needs a degree.?????

I just hope those who are entitled to Pension Credit now make every effort to claim it. I am sure Age UK and other charities for the elderly will help with form filling. I understand millions isn't claimed at present. We'll pay up it just feels as if we have been done over by people on huge salaries. I hope the bus pass remains.

Has anyone pointed out to the BBC that if they stopped throwing money at "celebrities", talking heads, executives, so called "stars" that I've never heard of but whom apparently everyone else " loves" - eye-watering sums of money chucked about like confetti - could be better used to allow older people their life-line in providing free licences.

Re the bus pass.
Does anybody think as I do that we should have a bus pass for the area in which we live but not be entitled to travel for free in other areas?
Are not the people living in holiday resorts subsidising pensioners who are getting free travel in their towns?

A lot of people on Twitter are saying they haven’t bought a license for years, one was 10 years but I wonder how they get away with it

I think Martin Lewis has something on his web site re what equipment requires a license.

2nd time of mentioning Mumsnet today
Gonegirl I have read threads on MN where 'Mums' have refused to buy a TV license.
So maybe a Gran's revolt would be in order.

Sounds good Cherrytree. You go first. When's yours due? I'll follow you if you don't get clapped in irons.

Seems to me they are penalising the wrong end of the age group - what with all the techi things you can do these days on the television - don't ask me what they're all called. But don't you think us oldies are probably more likely to watch basic television and haven't a clue how to use the other things available. Whereas the youngsters who have grown up in the press button age make use of it all, so they should be paying more.

I also agree with an earlier comment - we watch a lot of football and the number of people they send to a game to talk about it is ridiculous. I reckon we could all make quite a few cutbacks in the expenses of running the BBC given half a chance.

Why all the talk supporting pensioners on pension credit? What about people who are on state pension with no occupational pension, these are the people who will be put in hardship, and these people have worked all their lives.

If my Mother was alive and only getting state pension I would pay for her TV licence, some people do not have families and are not so lucky.

It might have been better to do it in stages - it seems a bit abrupt for those already on the free license or nearing that age. Couldn't they have had a reduced rate for a while?

I agree that much could have been saved on 'celebrity' fees. [I also hate those weird swirls on BBC 2 between programmes. I bet they cost a bit!]

I think all over 75s should just NOT pay!

well, putting my tin hat on.....I am happy that I have enough in pensions and private pensions to not be in a position to have to claim pension credit, how churlish to envy those who have to claim! I also think that at £3 per week, the tv licence is good value when you see the quality of many of the programmes. Those of you who do not have tv licences, but watch BBC programmes recorded elsewhere should be ashamed of yourselves, why should the rest of us pay for the expensive commissioning of programmes such as Autumn/Spring/Summer Watch which you say you enjoy but do not wish to pay for? I do agree however, about some of the extortionate salaries paid.

I do not think everyone should fund the BBC anyway. They are a propoganda machine and with their history of institutionalised abuse it should be perfectly legal to watch other chanels if you dont pay for the BBC.

BBC should be funded by BBC viewers/supporters ONLY.

Have you ever watched tv in other countries?
Yes
It is dire
In some it is. Some countries are much better. Are you just compairing English speaking channels?
no wonder our TV is the envy of the world
Its really not. BBC news in particular shows its bias when you compare reporting of same events to overseas news sources

Google 'Martin Lewis TV Licence' it was updated April 2019

Headlines
If you watch TV as it's being broadcast you need a TV licence – on any device.
If you watch or record shows as they're being shown on telly in the UK ('live TV'), you need to be covered by a TV licence. You also need one if you use BBC iPlayer. This is regardless of the device you're watching on.
However youdo notneed a TV licence if you only watch content after it's been shown on television – UNLESS it's on BBCiPlayer.
TV programmes downloaded or streamedafterbroadcast on other catch-up services are fine without one though.
Only watch catch-up TV? You DON'T have to pay (unless you're watching BBC iPlayer)

If you never watch the BBC and only watch programmes using other channels' catch-up services, it's possible to legally ditch the TV licence and save yourself £154.50 a year. This is because:
You only need a TV licence if you watch or record TVas it's being broadcastoruse iPlayer– if you only use other catch-up sites, you don't need one.
A rule that came into force in September 2016 means you need a licence to legally use BBC iPlayer, even if you're only watching catch-up TV. But that doesn't apply to other catch-up services, so theITV Hub,All 4andMy5are legal to use without a licence as long as you're not using them to watch live TV.
You can watch almost anything on these catch-up services: soaps, documentaries, dramas, cartoons, comedy, sport and films. And because services such as the ITV Hub only take a few hours to update, you can watch the latest instalment ofCoronation Streetnot long after it's been broadcast live on ITV 1.