List of people who can cancel BBC TV licence & save £174

THE price of the BBC TV license went up this year but you could get your money back and save £174.

You may find yourself no longer needing to use your TV licence before its expiry date, which means you could be entitled to a refund when you cancel.

Even though the cost of a BBC TV licence went up this year, you could be eligible for a refund[/caption]

A TV license currently costs £174.50 annually and is required if you want to watch broadcast television[/caption]

The price of the annual BBC licence fee increased by £5 on April 1, rising from £169.90 per year to £174.50.

Any household that watches or records live TV on any channel or service, including ITV and Channel 4 or watches content on BBC iPlayer, is legally required to have a TV Licence.

This includes watching, recording and downloading TV content on any device.

But you could be eligible for a refund under a range of circumstances if you no longer need your license.

Moving to an address already covered

Firstly, if you’re moving to a property that already has a TV licence, you may no longer need one.

You could be covered if the person who holds a TV license is your spouse, partner, family member or joint tenant or mortgage holder.

If you’re moving out of the country entirely, you’re also able to cancel your TV licence.

Free over-75 licence

If you are aged 75 or over and you, or your partner living at the same address, receive Pension Credit then you are entitled to a free licence which covers everyone living at your address.

You’re entitled as soon as you hit 75 so you can apply for a refund for any remaining months on your licence that fall after your 75th birthday.

Or you can avoid having to apply for a refund altogether when you turn 75 by applying for one when you’re 74.

However, you’ll need to pay for the licence until the end of the month before your 75th birthday.

Residential care homes and sheltered accommodation

If you live in or are moving into a residential care home, supporting housing or sheltered accommodation, you could also be eligible for a refund.

This is because you would benefit from a concessionary TV license which costs £7.50 per room, flat or bungalow.

TV isn’t being watched live or on iPlayer

Finally, if you simply don’t watch TV or BBC iPlayer, you would also be able to cancel your licence.

It’s important to note that if you only use streaming services that aren’t BBC iPlayer, you don’t need to shell out the £174.

So if you only watch TV on Netflix, Amazon Prime, ITVX, Disney Plus, All 4 or My 5, you won’t need a TV licence.

Applying for a refund

The money you get back depends on how much time remains on your existing TV licence – refunds are usually calculated in complete months.

If you are looking for a refund, you must have at least one month left on your TV licence.

You’ll pay for your licence either monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Applications can be made up to 14 days before the date a licence is no longer needed.

Refund claims can be made online via TV Licensing’s refund page.

TV Licensing says refunds are usually processed and issued within 21 days, paid either by cheque or directly into a bank account – once the refund is approved, your licence is cancelled automatically.

You’ll have to complete a declaration on the TV Licensing website if you don’t require one.

Those who don’t have a licence while watching TV that requires one, you could be slapped with a £1,000.

That rises to £2,000 in Guersney and is in addition to legal costs or compensation you may be forced to pay.