Urgent warning TV licence rise is being used to scam Brits – money saving expert reveals danger signs
A MONEY-saving expert has warned brazen con artists are using the upcoming TV licence rise to try to dupe Brits.
Nicholas Hill, senior advice manager at Money and Pensions Service (MAPS), told The Sun how to spot these types of messages.
The cost of an annual TV licence will shoot up from £159 to £169.50 from Monday, April 1 – after a two-year freeze ended.
Criminals may send a text or email claiming to be from the TV Licencing authority and asking for personal information, according to Nick.
These messages might claim the receiver is due a refund, but it’s important not to open any links, he added.
He said: “Watch out for scams. People are receiving scam emails. It looks like it’s from the TV Licencing company, they click on the link and it’s asking for details.
“All of a sudden you’re giving away your bank details. If you do get an email from TV licencing saying you’re due a refund be very very cautious.
“Don’t click on any links on the email. Go to the core website and navigate from them. Talk to them directly.
“If you think you’ve given your bank details away contact your bank and let them know.”
A bank will be able to help anyone who falls victim to a scam, he added.
“They’ll keep and eye on it for you or may cancel your card. If you’re really nervous you can pay for Cifas to put a flag on your credit report so no one can access credit on your behalf.
“But that does mean it’ll be harder to apply for credit yourself. If you’re not sure how to get started go to the Money Helper website.”
Everyone who watches TV in the UK needs to pay their annual licence fee, which counts for any live TV or anything on BBC iPlayer on any device.
If you watch TV without one it’s a criminal offence and you could be landed with a fine of £1,000.
But not everyone has to pay.
Over 75s on pension credits can watch TV without paying for a licence, and students whose parents have a licence can watch TV on phones and laptops.
Nick added: “We know 12million are living on the financial edge so this increase is a really big burden. It’s just another bill.
“It’s tricky for people so I’d encourage them to consider all their options.”
It comes after former chairman Richard Sharp called for the BBC licence fee to be means-tested.
If you look at what the consumer gets, for the subscription on a monthly basis, it is very good value for money.
Richard Sharp
In his first interview with the BBC since leaving the corporation, he said lower income households could pay “less than those people who are well off”.
Sharp, 68, claimed everybody should “have the opportunity to consume BBC content” and should be subsidised accordingly for the “very good value” service.
He said it offered far more – with the World Service, news, sport and radio – than rival platforms such as Netflix.
The former chairman suggested there were “opportunities for creativity” to ensure people don’t get “left behind in their opportunities for free media consumption”.
Sharp resigned as chairman of the BBC in April last year after a report into his appointment found he had ‘failed to disclose potential perceived conflicts of interest’, including his involvement in the facilitation of an £800,000 loan for then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
His comments come after its director general Tim Davie this week announced the corporation’s plans to explore how to reform the licence fee.
From April 1, the controversial fee will go up by to £169.50, after being frozen at £159 for two years.
COMMENT: Colin Robertson on TV licences
By COLIN ROBERTSON
SOME April Fool’s Day jokes are funny, some less so.
This year it is the BBC’s turn to take the role of jester-in-chief when it will declare on April 1 that the licence fee will rise by £10.50 a year.
Haha. Hilarious. Hold on to your sides, folks!
But wait. This is no April Fool.
This is the latest, government-sanctioned cash grab by a broadcaster already funded by us to the tune of £3.74BILLION.
Yes, you will now have to pay even more for services that many of us are using less and less (88 per cent of adults use BBC services compared to 96 per cent ten years ago).
And it will keep going up.
The new annual charge of £169.50, which comes into force on Monday, will rise with inflation until 2028.
If inflation continues to run at the 4.5 per cent recorded in February then you will be paying nearly £200 by 2028.
Speaking on The Today podcast, Sharp said: “I’m old enough to remember The Life of Brian and that scene of ‘what have the Romans ever done for you?’
“You know, Netflix doesn’t provide sport, Netflix doesn’t provide radio, Netflix doesn’t provide local radio, Netflix doesn’t provide a news website – doesn’t provide world service or news at all.
“If you look at what the consumer gets, for the subscription on a monthly basis, it is very good value for money.”
Asked if it should be means tested, he said: “I personally am of the view that one of the great things we need to be concerned about is the future changing nature of the media industry.
“What you’re increasingly going to have is consolidation – we saw that with Warner Brother, Paramount, failing to get together – and then you’re going to have a very strong price control from the oligopolistic players.
“In which case, there is an element where people will be left behind in their opportunities for free media consumption.
“So, I do think the BBC has to be well-enough funded but in a way that also provides the opportunity for people to get a rich media consumption, who are on lower incomes.
Obviously it shouldn’t be over-complicated.
Richard Sharp
“Naturally, that leads you to a view – it’s a personal view, it’s up to the politicians and government of the day to decide – I do believe there is an opportunity to have some limited differential in terms of how consumers pay for it.
“Where the lower incomes still have the opportunity to benefit from the BBC at a lower threshold.”
He suggested it could be tested by broadband or council taxes and added: “Obviously it shouldn’t be over-complicated.
“I think most people would understand the importance, particularly now if you look at the pressures the cost of living has had on lower income households who are really struggling, they should have the opportunity in their homes to consume BBC content.
“At potentially a rate that may be less than those people who are well off.
“But that is an issue not for the BBC management or board.
“The BBC has to be efficient, it has to be well-run, and that’s the board’s job to challenge itself constructively, but it shouldn’t be under-funded.”