Dear LPG,

I read recently on line that the cost of a colour TV license rose from £147 to £150 from 4th April.  Ministers who set the cost for BBC programming announced that the annual fee would go up again, having risen last year for the first time since 2010.

The TV license will continue to rise in line with inflation for five years, and the charges will be applicable to anyone using a television, a computer, tablet, mobile phone or any other device to watch, catch up or record TV programmes.

I have also read that there are a few ways that the government have closed all of the old loopholes that there used to be.  It used to be that if you could prove that you did not watch BBC you could get away with not paying, but as mentioned above if you have access to the internet in any way it is more or less certain that you will need one. 

There are a few exceptions though, I am 77 and don’t have to pay anymore and the rules say that if you are 74 you only need pay for a short-term licence to cover you until you get to your next birthday.  I live with my son so he doesn’t have to pay either because the rules apply to the whole household and not just the 75-year-old person living there. 

There are different rules for people living in residential homes and students (but I am never going to be one of those again).  If you are registered blind or partially sighted there is a 50% discount that you can apply for and if you still have a black and white set the cost is only £50.00.  But not having a licence when you need one can cost dearly if you get caught.  The maximum penalty is £1000 at the moment.   The powers that be have an extensive database and also operate a taskforce of detector vans, although there are differing reports about the effectiveness of the mobile fleet.

Lastly it is to be noted that you should still expect to get notification of your TV licence and a renewed document showing its validation regardless of how much you pay.

KM Catford.

LPG has added some pertinent information

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