Warning as 1 group most likely to pay £1,000 TV licence fine | UK | News
A group is more likely to pay a TV license penalty if they are caught watching live TV or BBC iPlayer without a TV licence, an expert has said. Watching live TV without a license is a crime and many Brits have had their doors knocked on after they were caught doing so. You could then receive a criminal conviction as well as a £1,000 fine.
But if you avoid paying for the TV license while watching live TV or BBC iPlayer, you could be in big trouble. And one expert said a group is more likely to get into trouble when avoiding payment.
Thomas Gibbons, an expert on free money and debt advice at Money Wellness, said “around three-quarters of those prosecuted are women”.
But that’s not because women are less likely to pay for TV licences, she explains. Gibbons explained: “This is not because women are more likely to evade the charge. Women are more likely to be at home when a bailiff comes knocking and are more likely to answer the door and answer questions honestly, at which point the case is recorded in their name.”
She added: “Women also head single-parent households where budgets are the weakest, so the enforcement process falls hardest on low-income women, not because they are more likely to evade fees, but because cases are settled on their behalf.”
“Most people assume that falling behind on a TV license will work like any other bill, with a few reminder letters and perhaps a debt collector at the end.
“Not so. Watching unlicensed TV is a criminal offense and TV Licensing’s response to non-payment is prosecution, not debt collection.”
But if you’re struggling to pay your TV licence, there is help you can call. “TV Licensing’s Simple Payment Scheme spreads the cost over smaller amounts and it is far better to arrange this than to quietly stop paying,” Gibbons said.
