Woman fined £438 and threatened with prison over '15 day' TV Licence mistake

You can be fined up to £1,000 if you watch or record live TV without a BBC TV Licence - and Oldham Times reporter Olivia Bridge has documented her story with TV Licensing.

A woman faced a £438, fine, bailiffs and prison for not having a TV licence for 15 days. You can be fined up to £1,000 if you watch or record live TV without a BBC TV Licence - and Oldham Times reporter Olivia Bridge has documented her story with TV Licensing.

She explained how she was visited by a TV Licence Officer in January, who asked if she was aware that I had no TV licence. Olivia says her ex-partner used to pay it monthly but had recently moved out, and she hadn't received any reminder letters.

She said: "I received a verbal caution for my honest confession and set up a direct debit to resume paying the licence. A confirmation letter in the post then came the next day for my payment plan - and a second letter, with my name misspelt, which stated I wouldn't be prosecuted "this time". I forgot all about the interaction."

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She went on, explaining how she moved when her landlord sold the house a few months later, transferring all her bills to a new property. But her life changed when she received a letter through the post demanding £438 'or else'.

The 'further steps notice' came from the Greater Manchester Accounts and Enforcement Unit. When she rang the number, she was told; "You've been prosecuted. There's footage of you admitting to watching BBC iPlayer." The fine had skrocketed from an initial fine due to her 'failure' to turn up in court.

Thankfully, when she turned up at magistrates, they decided her not paying the fee was unintentional. In a statement, a TV Licensing spokesperson said: “Anyone who watches live TV or iPlayer must have a current TV Licence. TV Licensing Visiting Officers look for evidence that the law has been broken during visits, and if the customer has agreed to make payments to avoid prosecution, officers explain that these must be maintained.

“We then write to customers explaining again the need to maintain payments and asking if there are particular reasons which led to them not having a licence. If we receive any information from the customer, we consider it before a case is laid at court. TV Licensing’s primary aim is to help people stay licensed and prosecution is always a last resort.

"We offer guidance on the TV Licensing website to support customers stay licensed, including information on what to do when moving home." It is the BBC's main source of funding - providing around £3.7 billion of its £5 billion annual income. If you watch or record live TV programmes on any channel, then you'll need to pay for a TV licence.

You also need one if you use BBC iPlayer - even if only watching shows on catch up. However, you do not need one if you're watching shows on catch-up using streaming services such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, ITVX, Disney Plus, YouTube, All 4 or My5.

An annual TV licence costs £159 per year. The current rate has been frozen until April 2024.