It is perfectly legal and legitimate to not have a TV licence in the UK. The TV licence is in place for people who watch TV as it’s being broadcast or use BBC iPlayer. If you don’t require those, then congrats you don’t need to pay for a TV licence.
There are 2 main ways to stop paying for the TV licence. In this slightly older video, Jon will tell you all about it.
We always recommend option 2, but both ways work so it’s up to you. You can read on to find out more.
Yes, it is that simple. Cancel your direct debit and just stop paying for it.
You don’t have to tell them you don’t require a licence, I mean if you don’t drive you do not need to tell the DVLA you don’t want a licence do you.
So if you pay by direct debit, simply cancel it. Done.
By telling them you no do not require a TV licence you are helping the cause of getting the telly licence abolished. You add to the real numbers of people doing it right, the more people that do it this way, the more strength this movement has and change will come quicker.
Great news. The more people who cancel then the quicker this ridiculous tax will be abolished.
Now you have 2 or 3 things you need to…
If you pay by direct debit the first thing to do is cancel it, even if you are due a refund you should do this first. Sometimes the people at tv licensing can have some ‘administration errors’ and you can continue to be billed even though you cancelled. If you kill the DD first that can’t happen.
Here is the number you need 0300 790 6165
They will ask why you want to cancel, if you have read this website you will have the answers to that question. You no longer watch live TV, you plan to watch everything you want to watch on catchup services, but you will never use BBC iPlayer.
They should process everything for you there, many people are telling me that they are quite friendly on the phone lately. Hopefully you may even get a refund.
Here is the link you need Tv Licence No Longer Needed Form
They may well have processed everything for you on the phone, if you trust them then thats ok you don’t need to do this bit. But you should anyway, it will only take a couple of minutes to complete and you will get an email confirmation of your declaration of no longer needing a tv licence.
And that’s it. Please don’t forget to share how to cancel your TV licence with your friends!