TV Licence detector vans warning as fee may rise again | UK | News
Scores of people across the UK have been caught watching illegal television. The TV Licensing company warns that “we have a range of detection tools at our disposal in our vans”.
The company adds: “Some aspects of the equipment were developed in such secrecy that engineers working on specific detection methods work in isolation, so they do not even know how other detection methods work.
“This gives us the best chance of catching license dodgers.”
These detector tools can “detect the use of TV receiving equipment at specifically targeted addresses within minutes”. The organization also has a database of 31 million licensed and unlicensed addresses that visitors can easily access.
A total of 28,542 people were sued for evading TV license fees in the year ending June 2024. If you are caught watching, recording or downloading any program illegally, you could face a hefty £1,000 fine and potentially end up in court.
Who needs a TV License?
If you watch or record live TV programs on any device (television, desktop, laptop, tablet or mobile phone), you need a license. This also applies if you’re using BBC iPlayer for live TV or follow-up programmes.
However, if you use other streaming platforms such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, ITVX, Disney Plus or YouTube, you do not need a TV license unless you watch live programs through these services.
The TV Licensing website states: “We write to all addresses that do not have a TV License or a current statement that it is not required. If you tell us you do not need a TV License we will stop sending you letters.”
“We can confirm this with a visit. We do this because when we visited and contacted, we found that 1 in 14 people who said they didn’t need a licence, actually did.
“Remember, a TV License is not just for televisions. It applies to every device. If you tell us your property is vacant, we will stop sending letters to your address for up to six months.
“If you told us you did not need a license and you received a letter from us a few days later, it is usually because our records have been updated. You do not need to respond”.
The Color TV License currently costs £174.50. There is speculation that the fee may increase in April, but this has not yet been confirmed by the Government.
