Is my mum first!

[lindyT]

I have all my mums'post redirected to my house now,she is 93, and things can go stray.Today she received a communication from the BBC!
TV LICENSING The" important information" states that from June 2020 she will be responsible for the payment of her licence, and goes on to say that their "new scheme" for said licence is that anyone over 75 and receives pension credit will be entitled to receive a free TV license. Everyone one else will need to pay. Also they advise,if you fall into the category of not needing to pay, you must keep Pension Credit letters to authenticate your claim! Sorry, but this makes me so mad! just who gave the BBC this power to dictate to our elderly people,and cause I am sure anxiety in many homes!Fortunately, my mum does not have to fear this bill, but my heart goes out to those that do! So, is mum one of the first to receive this? or have there been many delivered already? Rant over, Linda

[olgaandcoda]

Makes me mad too! And what if these people dont or can’t pay the licence? Are they going to prosecute them all! That would be interesting!

[MrsEgg]

This makes my absolute blood boil, how they have been able to get away with this is beyond me.

[DISNEYLIZ]

My dad in law received one last Monday. He is still ranting about and I don't blame him. You should be able to block BBC and just watch the other ones. I cannot see why you have to pay just to watch mostly repeats anyway.

[wanye]

Originally Posted by lindyT

:just who gave the BBC this power to dictate to our elderly people,and cause I am sure anxiety in many homes!Fortunately, my mum does not have to fear this bill, but my heart goes out to those that do!

See more...

this is entirely on the conservative government, not the bbc. they were the ones who forced the bbc to do this...

*edit*
also, remember free licences for OAPs have only been a thing for the last 20 years or so...

[duchy]

Originally Posted by wanye

this is entirely on the conservative government, not the bbc. they were the ones who forced the bbc to do this...

*edit*
also, remember free licences for OAPs have only been a thing for the last 20 years or so...

See more...

I disagree , there were other routes they could have taken to find the funding. There's plenty of unprofitable and top heavy parts of the BBC. They took the easy and to me unacceptable option.

[cartoonp]

stop sending presents to major sporting events let them do it from the studio

[Mr Tom Morrow]

For those whose relatives are now having to pay I feel sorry for them. Even more so for those who have got used to it being free and now in their twilight years have to find extra cash.

Taking Politics out of it the BBC needs a long hard look at itself. Some grossly over paid prima donnas masquerading as announcers and others of that ilk. Plus the top brass are earning more than the Prime Minister!

I believe the fee should be abolished and they should advertise instead.

Why should I pay when I don't even watch it!

The only thing I do like is the BBC News website. I'm prepared to pay for that if they want.

[Twiga6]

My grannie got one, mind you she recently moved into a nursing home and is 100 in 3 weeks so I doubt she's too bothered.
My dad has decided to stop paying his TV licence (He's 74) unfortunately he decided this about 2 weeks after he'd paid it for the year!

[Omega1]

This is the government’s response to a recent petition to abolish the tv license”
A television licence is required to watch or receive television as it is broadcast live or on BBC iPlayer.

The licence fee is payment for a licence to watch or receive television programmes. It is not a fee or charge for BBC services and is payable regardless of whether the licence holder ever watches the BBC. Licence fee revenue is not just used to fund the BBC, it is also used for other strategic public service objectives including broadband, local television and S4C.

The licence fee funding model was considered as part of Charter Review 2015-16. The BBC Charter Review consultation received over 192,000 responses and found the majority of the public do not want to see a change in the way that the BBC is funded: 60% thought the current licence fee model did not need to be changed, while only 3% of respondents supported a subscription model and 1.5% advertising.

The current system commands wider public support than any alternative model provides the BBC with a sustainable core income paid by all households who watch or receive television. As a result, the government committed to maintain the current licence fee funding model for the duration of the current Charter period.

The Government is therefore committed to ensuring the BBC continues to deliver high quality, distinctive content for all audiences. That is why we have guaranteed the licence fee level will increase with inflation until 2022.

On editorial matters, the BBC is operationally and editorially independent from government and the government cannot intervene in the BBC’s day-to-day operations. As the BBC's independent regulator, Ofcom is responsible for ensuring the BBC delivers for audiences - including how the BBC meets its mission and public purposes.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Government spin at its best.