6 days Ago By [email protected] (Bradley Jolly)
The BBC has reassured families and pensioners they won't receive a call from TV licence enforcement officers on Christmas Day. Letters had reportedly warned people, including pensioners and vulnerable groups, they should expect someone to knock at their door on around December 25 if they had not paid their fee. This move was branded "thuggish" by a campaign group but now TV Licensing , a trademark of the BBC to collect television licence fees and enforce the rule, has apologised for the mistake.
It said enforcement officers won't visit any addresses on Christmas Day. "We apologise to anyone who received one. There will be no visits on Christmas Day," said the spokesperson for TV Licensing, which explained the letters were sent in error recently.
The notice, which threatens a £1,000 fine and legal costs, reads: “Will you be in on December 25? As there’s no record of a TV licence at your address, you should expect a visit from an enforcement officer. It may be on December 25 or another day. "You could be prosecuted if you are caught watching, recording or downloading programmes illegally.
Our officers visit an address every 10 seconds. And if no one answers, they can come back." The BBC pursues its licence fee collection and enforcement under the trading name TV Licensing, but contracts much of the task to commercial organisations.
Earlier this year, it was reported the BBC had spent £169million in five years chasing TV licence dodgers. The latest move, albeit a mistake, had campaign groups concerned. Dennis Reed, of over-60s campaign group Silver Voices, told The Sun : "Such threatening behaviour is thuggish.
"It’s an underhanded, desperate attempt to try to pressure older and vulnerable people into paying. "To specify Christmas Day of all days is astonishing. Clearly they won’t be calling on December 25.
" The number of licences issued peaked at 26.2 million in 2018. However, that figure has since fallen and, ministers said recently that the fee will rise each year in line with inflation until 2027 .
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