TV licence fee outrage as Britons face 'biggest rise in 20 years

[pellinore]

Many people have objected to a potential licence fee increase in April, with some calling for it to be scrapped altogether. Reports suggest the licence fee is due to increase in line with inflation going up from £159 to £172.

Britons face many household bills going up from next month so the licence fee bill hike will only add to these expenses.

Energy bills are increasing as the £400 energy bills discount comes to an end while broadband and mobile bills are also going up, along with council tax and water bills.

Express.co.uk readers have responded to the news the licence fee will be going up with their views.

Several people said it didn't matter to them how much the licence fee increases as they had cancelled theirs previously.

TV licence fee outrage as Britons face 'biggest rise in 20 years' (msn.com)

Edited March 27, 2023 by pellinore

[Still Waters]

13 minutes ago, pellinore said:

Many people have objected to a potential licence fee increase in April,

Reports suggest the licence fee is due to increase in line with inflation going up from £159 to £172.

Next year looks like, not next month.

Quote

The Telegraph is reporting that households expect the cost of their TV licence to go up by £13 a year in 2024.

This would represent the biggest hike in two decades and would see the licence fee rise from £159 to £172.

https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/1747454/bbc-licence-fee-rise

Quote

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport's (DCMS) could hike the fee by 8.2 per cent - around £13 - from £159 to £172. The price hike is set to be introduced in April next year amid pressure on ministers to scrap it.

https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/showbiz-tv/bbc-tv-licence-fee-set-26493796

[itsnotoutthere]

Time the licence fee was done away with & subscription model adopted. Taken to its logical conclusion, we may as well have licence fees (a tax) for using a washing machine, cooker or dishwasher.

Edited March 27, 2023 by itsnotoutthere

[Duke Wellington]

On 3/27/2023 at 3:35 PM, itsnotoutthere said:

Time the licence fee was done away with & subscription model adopted. Taken to its logical conclusion, we may as well have licence fees (a tax) for using a washing machine, cooker or dishwasher.

I think of my TV time last year I only spent 0.2% of it watching the BBC.

Time do do away with the channel too, lets upset the Commies who work there.

[Scholar4Truth]

I am amazed you even need a licence for a tv.

[itsnotoutthere]

6 hours ago, Scholar4Truth said:

I am amazed you even need a licence for a tv.

In reality you don't. You need a licence if you watch the BBC. If somebody invented a TV that didn't receive BBC but received the 150 other channels they would make an absolute fortune.

And also, it's not really a 'licence' it's a tax, and a tax that ultimately a lot on single mothers end up in prison for.

Edited March 29, 2023 by itsnotoutthere

[Essan]

7 hours ago, Scholar4Truth said:

I am amazed you even need a licence for a tv.

You only need a licence to watch any BBC channel (live or recorded) and to watch live broadcasts from the other terrestrial channels.

Watching "catch up" TV from any non BBC channel, or any streamed TV shows (Netflix, Amazon, youtube etc) does not require a licence

Which is why I don't have one

[Duke Wellington]

53 minutes ago, itsnotoutthere said:

In reality you don't. You need a licence if you watch the BBC. If somebody invented a TV that didn't receive BBC but received the 150 other channels they would make an absolute fortune.

And also, it's not really a 'licence' it's a tax, and a tax that ultimately a lot on single mothers end up in prison for.

I dont have a TV, none of us do.

We watch through tablets or monitors, the only time I watch the old channels is the World Cup. These days its Netflix, Prime, and NowTV. Its not right I have to pay for a BBC license because they hi-jack major football matches.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Cookie Monster

[Emma_Acid]

13 hours ago, Cookie Monster said:

lets upset the Commies who work there.

Sorry - "commies"??? Did you get lost on your way back to the 1950s or something? What a utterly naive way of looking at the world.

[pellinore]

1 hour ago, itsnotoutthere said:

In reality you don't. You need a licence if you watch the BBC. If somebody invented a TV that didn't receive BBC but received the 150 other channels they would make an absolute fortune.

And also, it's not really a 'licence' it's a tax, and a tax that ultimately a lot on single mothers end up in prison for.

Liz Truss made this claim; as usual she was talking out of her ****:

Fullfact says:

You can’t go to prison simply for not having a TV licence

Although it is a criminal offence to watch television without a valid licence, you cannot be sent to prison for this alone. 

However, a court can issue a fine of up to £1,000. You can receive a custodial sentence for wilfully refusing to pay this fine, after other methods of trying to recover the fine have failed. 

For a case to be prosecuted, it must pass a public interest test, which considers factors such as “the personal circumstances of the individual – for example, their health – and whether an alternative to prosecution could be offered”.

 

 

 

[pellinore]

35 minutes ago, Cookie Monster said:

I dont have a TV, none of us do.

We watch through tablets or monitors, the only time I watch the old channels is the World Cup. These days its Netflix, Prime, and NowTV. Its not right I have to pay for a BBC license because they hi-jack major football matches.

But you have to pay Sky for sporting events. Is that okay because it is Sky?

[pellinore]

7 hours ago, Scholar4Truth said:

I am amazed you even need a licence for a tv.

I'm sure the funding model will change. The TV licence was introduced about 70 years ago, before there was even ITV, let alone all the streaming channels we now have. I think the licence fee will be abolished in a few years, I personally think it would be a great shame because the BBC provides a quality service, including radio and the world services which a lot of countries rely on to give impartial news.

[Duke Wellington]

5 minutes ago, pellinore said:

But you have to pay Sky for sporting events. Is that okay because it is Sky?

I dont have Sky.

But the difference for those who have is choice, they pay for what they want to watch.

Edited March 29, 2023 by Cookie Monster

[itsnotoutthere]

11 minutes ago, pellinore said:

But you have to pay Sky for sporting events. Is that okay because it is Sky?

No, It's ok because it's optional.

Edited March 29, 2023 by itsnotoutthere

[itsnotoutthere]

26 minutes ago, pellinore said:

I'm sure the funding model will change. The TV licence was introduced about 70 years ago, before there was even ITV, let alone all the streaming channels we now have. I think the licence fee will be abolished in a few years, I personally think it would be a great shame because the BBC provides a quality service, including radio and the world services which a lot of countries rely on to give impartial news.

Hang on!! what about all that tory right wing bias you were telling us about? 

Edited March 29, 2023 by itsnotoutthere

[itsnotoutthere]

5 minutes ago, pellinore said:

I'm sure the funding model will change. The TV licence was introduced about 70 years ago, before there was even ITV, let alone all the streaming channels we now have. I think the licence fee will be abolished in a few years, I personally think it would be a great shame because the BBC provides a quality service, including radio and the world services which a lot of countries rely on to give impartial news.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tv-licence-fee-women-convictions-b1763192.html

"Almost a third of women’s convictions are for not paying the TV licence fee, figures have revealed.

Women are ten times more likely to be convicted for not paying the £157.50 annual fee than men – with growing numbers of women then being slapped with criminal records, Ministry of Justice data shows."

[pellinore]

22 minutes ago, itsnotoutthere said:

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/tv-licence-fee-women-convictions-b1763192.html

"Almost a third of women’s convictions are for not paying the TV licence fee, figures have revealed.

Women are ten times more likely to be convicted for not paying the £157.50 annual fee than men – with growing numbers of women then being slapped with criminal records, Ministry of Justice data shows."

You said: And also, it's not really a 'licence' it's a tax, and a tax that ultimately a lot on single mothers end up in prison for.

It's no different to shop-lifting. You get caught, you pay the fine. Refuse to pay the fine, go to jail. If people want to stop funding the BBC, they can stop watching it. If they don't want to go to court for shoplifting, they can stop shoplifting as well.

[Myles]

Are there "over the air" channels over there?  Taxing people $172 if they watch BBC seems crazy to me.  

[Alchopwn]

Does anyone watch free to air TV anymore?

[itsnotoutthere]

5 minutes ago, pellinore said:

You said: And also, it's not really a 'licence' it's a tax, and a tax that ultimately a lot on single mothers end up in prison for.

It's no different to shop-lifting. You get caught, you pay the fine. Refuse to pay the fine, go to jail. If people want to stop funding the BBC, they can stop watching it. If they don't want to go to court for shoplifting, they can stop shoplifting as well.

I don't watch it, but i own a tv. Is that ok?

[itsnotoutthere]

2 minutes ago, Myles said:

Are there "over the air" channels over there?  Taxing people $172 if they watch BBC seems crazy to me.  

yes there are & yes it is.

[Myles]

5 minutes ago, Alchopwn said:

Does anyone watch free to air TV anymore?

In the states, many people do.   I get 18 channels over the air.  I have Dish Network currently, so I don't what the over the air stuff too often, but I will be cancelling Dish soon.

[Essan]

2 hours ago, Cookie Monster said:

I dont have Sky.

But the difference for those who have is choice, they pay for what they want to watch.

And likewise with the TV licence - you have the choice to pay and watch some channels, or not pay and not watch them.   It's exactly the same as Sky

[Myles]

7 minutes ago, Essan said:

And likewise with the TV licence - you have the choice to pay and watch some channels, or not pay and not watch them.   It's exactly the same as Sky

So BBC is not "over the air"?  If that is the case, then this is just like any other subscription channel.  Why doesn't the BBC just charge the fees instead of the government?

[Essan]

20 minutes ago, Myles said:

So BBC is not "over the air"?  If that is the case, then this is just like any other subscription channel.  Why doesn't the BBC just charge the fees instead of the government?

It's "over the air" but the point is you still only have to buy a licence if you watch it, just as you only have to subscribe to Sky or Netflix if you watch it.   Watch and pay or don't watch it and don't pay.

The only real issue is that you also need to pay the same licence to watch the other UK terrestrial channels (but only if "live" - not if you stream them afterwards).  So if you only watch live programmes on ITV and Channel 4, you still have to buy a BBC TV licence ....