If you're watching live or on-demand TV in the UK, you'll likely need a licence to do so - and the system for paying can be surprisingly flexible.
For one thing, if you realize that you've been paying for a licence that you haven't used, you have up to two years in which to claim that cost back as a refund, and you can also now pay the fee very easily online.
At the start of April 2024, the TV Licence fee is increasing for the first time in a little while and will cost £169.50, instead of the current price of £159.
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By percentage that's not a huge change, but it's an extra tenner out of your pocket, so if you're not using your licence at all this could be a great moment to reassess and potentially cancel it to save some money.
The details around when you can claim a refund on your TV Licence are quite complicated, but also cover a quite long list of reasons:
- TV receiving equipment is no longer in use
- The address is covered by another licence
- TV Licence is bought in error
- A replacement TV Licence has been bought
- Blind concession refunds
- You've got a free TV Licence application
- The death of the licence holder
For most of us, though, the real key will be the bullet point that reads 'TV Licence is bought in error', as this covers anyone who didn't actually need a licence. The question becomes whether or not you watch any live content of any sort at home, even including livestreams on YouTube or a football match on Amazon Prime Video (as weird as that might sound). If you do, you sadly still need a licence, but if you don't then you're home and dry.
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We've all seen the adverts down the years, too - if you don't pay your TV licence and continue to watch live TV then you could be hit with a fine of up to £1,000, which is enough to make most people think twice.
Still, the question of the fee has obviously become a more complicated in recent years as politicians and normal people alike have questioned whether it offers value for money.
Many people would point to the BBC's TV output alone and say that compared to the annual cost of a Netflix or Prime Video subscription it looks like money well spent each year, but that's clearly not a unanimously-held opinion.
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If you're looking to apply for a refund before that price rise on 1 April, then, head to the TV Licence website here and start the process of requesting a refund now - you should get your money back in 21 days.