BBC bosses have sent warnings to UK pensioners threatening to call on them on Christmas Day if they don’t have a TV license.
The corporation has been accused of “thuggish” tactics and attempting to force vulnerable people out to fork out.
The notice, threatens a £1,000 fine and legal costs, and reads: “Will you be in on December 25?
“As there’s no record of a TV licence at your address, you should expect a visit from an enforcement officer. It may be on December 25 or another day.
“You could be prosecuted if you are caught watching, recording or downloading programmes illegally.”
It adds: “Our officers visit an address every 10 seconds. And if no one answers, they can come back.”
Campaigner Dennis Reed, of the over-60s group Silver Voices, told the Sun that the “threatening” behaviour was nothing more than a “thuggish tactic”.
He said: “It’s an underhanded, desperate attempt to try to pressure older and vulnerable people into paying. To specify Christmas Day of all days is astonishing. Clearly they won’t be calling on December 25.”
But a TV Licensing spokesman has said that the letters were sent in error, reassuring recipients that they will not be visited on Christmas Day.
In a grovelling apology, they said: “We apologise to anyone who received one. There will be no visits on Christmas Day.”
It comes after the BBC’s annual report, published on July 23, revealed that approximately 500,000 households cancelled their TV licences last year in a huge blow to the national broadcaster.
TV Licensing bosses say that you can cancel your licence and may be eligible for a refund if, before your licence expires, you won’t be:
- watching TV on any channel, like BBC, ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels
- watching TV on pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV
- watching live TV on streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video
- using BBC iPlayer
This includes recording and downloading, on any device.
