its harassment --- if a private person went around posting and telephoning a single person over and over again, it would be harassment.

"Will you be in on the 12th of December" was the main heading of a letter i got. I was in...i was quite excited......ooh! a visitor! I had my annual shower, scraped my underwear, went to Poundland to buy some soap. .......and guess what? .......i was stood up! buggers didn't turn up!

8 years!!!!! I have been waiting for them for 8 years to visit and they still haven’t come. My disappointment is immeasurable.

Dozens of letters? I have saved well over 200 of them, it has become something of a quirky hobby. I am legally Licence free and have been since the '90s. They are the only entity in the UK/World where you are required by them to provide proof of your innocence. Even the highest Courts in the UK cannot do that.

Someone should do a freedom of information request to the BBC tv licence asking how many trees they use for the letters I mean there carbon footprint will be ginormous ❤

What we need is a crowd funded action to test this in court.

How about this excerpt from one of their letters? "You have not responded to our previous letters. We want to ensure you have the information you may need before a hearing is set at your local court." Isn't it an offence to threaten legal action, for the purpose of coercing someone to do something they're not required to do?

For most of the world, the need to have a license for a television, is bizarre. Really bizarre. Even more bizarre is that not having a license is a criminal offence.

It is harassment. It is malicious communications. And it is unacceptable. I am up to 2 dozen threats from them so far.

Well past time for a "Class Action Suite" if that is possible in the UK. This is without doubt Bullying and Harassment!

I have no need for a TV licence and absolutely refuse to give them any of my details. I get these letters monthly and they go straight in the bin.

I've been receiving these letters for over 10 years. I know you can theoretically stop them by completing a "No Licence Needed" declaration, but I'm not a customer of the BBC and I'm not willing to hand over my personal information to a company on the off chance they might be kind enough to stop sending me harassing letters every month.

I haven't had a TV or watched BBC progs for decades. My address was created by myself as a legal entity 20 years ago, and since then I've regularly had threats by TV Licencing as being an unlicenced property. Clearly unable to conceive of the possibilty that I don't require their licence, and I refuse to contact them to tell them of this on principle, I've yet to meet one of their officers who are "currently in your area". I now put their missives on the woodstove, unopened.

The last time I went (bullied into) to TV Licensing site to repeat my previous declaration(s) (is that the right word?) that I perform NOLicensable Activities at this address, after answering all the questions, I was left with a list of 'reasons' why No licence was required. Try as I might, I could not find an option for, simply: "I don't watch/record live TV or use iPlayer". Without that option - out of frustration -, I simply chose "the property is unoccupied" - until the year 2099! The website reply was along the lines of, "Thank you for telling us, we won’t bother you again until then." You bet they won’t. And not then either - unless I'm still at this address aged 145 years! That said, I haven't had any letters from TVL for quite a few months.

The most disgusting letter I've received. The words "WHAT TO EXPECT IN COURT" Above the fold. Seriously, he dare they?

There's about a six month cycle of these letters, they arrive roughly monthly and then repeat. I've got a collection and am quite pleased when a new one arrives. They've never visited.

Many years ago, I threatened TV licencing with harassment proceedings over repeated threatening letters. It worked to a degree. It stopped the letters being addressed to me personally. Instead, I started to get, and still do, get letters addressed to the householder! I treat these as junk mail and immediately throw them away.

Bearing in mind that the end purpose of these letters is to intimidate a person into BUYING a product that they don't want or need, this case goes beyond the definition of harassment (to worry someone until they eg change their behaviour or take down CCTV) and enters the realm of extortion, with menaces. ie "If you don't buy this off us, we will see that you come to harm". I would respectfully suggest to the Learned Gentleman that TV Licensing (and/or their representatives) have exceeded the Statutory terms of their authority, and are using their high profile as a public body to intimidate and obtain monies that they are NOT entitled to, mirroring, in some respects, the Post Office and it's blackmailing/extortion tactics re. the Horizon debacle. Concur?

I have received many red envelopes in five years, which swiftly end up in the bin 😂 I only watch KZfaq these days and podcasts! More entertaining than anything on BBC in my opinion

Goodness knows how many people have been intimidated into getting a licence by letters like this. They're not only harassing people, they're profiting from it. They wouldn't be doing this hard sell if it didn't work. At one time, when most people watched and enjoyed TV, there wasn't much sympathy for those who didn't toe the line and conform. But harassment like this is getting more and more intolerable.

I don't even bother opening/reading mail from TV Licensing - it goes in the bin along with everything else trying to sell me goods and services I don't need or want.

I reported each of their letters via a police website as harassment. I wrote the date and the crime reference number on the letter and filed them. At some point the police must have told the BBC, because the letters have stopped completely.

Sue them for harassment

We purchased the next door property in 1998, using it from that time as an annex extension to our main home. We informed TV Licensing that we didn't need a TV License at that time and all was well until 2000 when we started to receive the threatening letters. These letters start off quite innocuously and then ramp up over time to finally threatening a visit, which in our case will be futile as there are closed security gates and tall impenetrable spikey hedges around the property. The next letter will then revert to the least threatening one and again ramp up. This cycle goes on and on for mow 24 years with nothing coming from it. We had considered taking TV Licencing to court under the Harassment Act but the hassle and the legal fees simply don't make it worthwhile, especially as all the letters get chucked on the fire. Our contention is that we have informed TV Licensing the we don't need a license in 1998 and that should be sufficient as nothing has changed and if TV Licensing had carried out due diligence they would have realised that from a simple question to the LA..

Should be an opt in not an opt out. Meaning make it a subscription

Just watched a u tube vid , where police personally delivered a “ stop harassment “ order to a home owner who went to bbc headquarters to deliver letters back , If they say that so can we ,

"watching tv illegally" how can that be a sensible statement lol.

I have ALWAYS found these letters to be threatening and harassment. Basically in my view if you send somebody regular uninvited mail with threats of visitation its a stalking offence.

I write Return to sender on the envelope, and let the Royal mail handle it.

I have x56 TVL threat-o-gram letters sitting next to me right now. Literally received another one yesterday and have every single threat letter they have in their arsenal.

We need a class action test case to see how the court rules on all the harassing letters, we keep receiving each month year after year!

Three years running I called the police and asked this question, they said sorry you can't do them for harassment as they are the BBC... this was over 20 different police officers

When my business closed at my home (shared use of just one room) I was hassarred and threatened as they couldn't find a TV license for the business. I was seriously ill but was threatened with multiple claims that they were entitled to enter the house etc for 2 years. They do not act reasonably or within the law relying on repeated threats.

If I SORN a vehicle, the DVLA accept that it is staying off the road unless I advise them otherwise. Why does TV Licensing think I have to tell them more than once?

If it’s obviously harassment, why hasn’t anyone done anything about it. I’m surprised that a No Win , No Fee firm hasn’t already got involved

Has anyone ever tried to take them to court? It seems no one ever does!

Since September 2017 I have received 71 threatening letters, first visit from a goon on the 1st March 2018 followed by the same letter you have in April 2018. Second visit 11th November 2019 followed by the same letter you have later the same month. I have all the original letters and would be happy to join a class action against TV LICENSING, CAPITA AND BBC.

For a year, I have been returning their letters unopened. I mark then "Return to sender. Unsolicited communication". The PO box is at the end of my street, so it is easy for me. Now the flow of letters has stopped. I had been receiving up to three a month. If everyone did the same, that would be the end of this problem. I am now considering doing the same with all the junk mail the Post Office delivers to my address. In the past, they stated that they consider all the advertising they deliver to be first class mail. I wonder how they would react if they had to return at their cost tons of unwanted first class junk mail.

Several years ago I was receiving constant threatening letters from them. I wrote asking if they would stop contacting me. I said I would not be giving my name and was under no obligation to follow their process for declaring that I don't have a television. I asked that they leave me alone. I received back a rather unhinged letter accusing me of holding some very peculiar views of the "sovereign citizen" variety and was informed they intended to continue to write as often they liked. Accusing them of harassment seemed melodramatic so I took to filling their stamped address envelopes with large stones and other bulky objects. I have never heard from them since. In the past I had found the process of declaring I didn't need a license over the phone intimidating and it seemed designed to trick me into making a false declaration. I was asked, "Do you own a device that is used to receive live television?" I own a laptop and a smart phone so I answered yes. Would this fact be presented to an ill-informed magistrate as evidence of evasion and used to search my home? Probably not. But the experience was unnerving enough to cause me to opt out of future communication.

"We will give you 10 days to come up with our money, or we'll send the boys round." How do they get away with these threats.

I get 1 letter every month and have done so for the last 3 1/2 years (41 and counting).. Each one is UNOPENED and simply dated and numbered and put into a draw (i find it amusing that they waste money). BTW i have never owned a TV in this time but also am fully aware of what i can and cannot watch on my Laptop.

Meter readers and, preumably, other unrelated visitors (Ithink those that work for Capita) get a bonus for reporting TV use.

Without even listening to your video first, yes... yes it is a campaign of harassment.

I’ve had two in the past 10 days. The first told me a visit has been scheduled. Amusingly, the second told me an investigation has been opened. Happily Mr Legal Occupier doesn’t watch any television of any kind and doesn’t require a TV licence.

I just wish someone would actually take them to court about it, they've been allowed to get away with this for far too long .

When I moved to my current place (just over 5 years ago) the previous tenant had taken his big expensive TV ariel. Not expecting that, but it was his so I moved, didn't get round to replacing it, and I started to go through my DVDs. So many TVL letters!! 🙄 A couple of years ago Thames Valley Police were having a "meet the team" thing in the town centre and without disclosing that it was TVL I mentioned that I was being harassed for money by a company I didn't use, weren't contracted to etc. as soon as TVP found out I meant TVL, no interest at all from them.

can you imagine if the DVLA were sending threatening letters out to everyone saying we have no recored of you having a licence you might be breaking the law if you drive without one

I told them I dont need a license and the letters started coming not even 3 months after, been ignoring them for years now

Cyber bullying is against the Law , time to take them to Court.

How much money are they wasting with all these letters? Its basically littering through my letter box.

I watched hardly live tv and so decided recently to drop it entirely watching mostly KZfaq material. Have just received my first letter. I was going to use the online method to inform them and was amazed to find that rather than just accepting my declaration there are warnings of possible fines and a possible visit from one of their "goons". Absolutely outrageous that they are allowed to get away this.

Its interesting now that the government have actually admitted that the TV license is essentially a tax which is why i dont see them abolishing it anytime soon. Also, the royal charter runs out in 2027 and also their contract with Capita who collect the license fee on behalf of the BBC runs out around the same time so my guess is theyll move to a subscription / media tax hybrid model so theyll be a basic license fee (say around £10) and then an additional subscription fee for additional content. Or theyll just whack it on your broadband bill which is what the BBC wants

Perhaps BBB will talk us through how to do a DIY injunction at the courthouse. What it costs, what forms to fill in, etc

I have a multi fuel burner in my living room . . . i love nuisance letters, gather them up, great kindling 👍

The problem with the harassment claim is that TV Licensing does a sneaky thing with the letters in order to get out of harassment claims. What they do is send you a letter in your name, send you a reminder letter and then start sending letters to "The Legal Occupier". They know you still live there but because they are not addressing you personally in the harassing letters they have plausible deniability against harassment.

I have 35 of these letters in my cupboard collected over 3 years. I haven't watched mainstream TV for over ten years.

I had a pile of 600+ letters demanding I buy a TV license. Never had a TV (apart from the one I converted into an oscilloscope) Several years ago being short of fire lighters I used most of them to light my fire.

I find that their envelopes make great notepaper for my shopping list! Regards

I contacted TVL when my mother died, leaving an empty house. They offered to stop sending letters for 2 months. I politely expressed my indignation....

I had no TV for 2 years about 15 years ago. I received from TV Licensing headed in large black letters "You Could be Fined £1000". I wrote back declaring that I had no TV. But some time later, I got an identical letter to the first. They had taken no notice. So, as a lawyer, I took no notice of that letter and heard nothing more. What worried me was if an old and/or frail person received such a letter. I can imagine that it might well cause great anxiety. And two letters of course could qualify under the Protection from Harassment Act as harassment, particularly if they are worded as mine were. The letters could have said please sign this form to declare if you have/have not a TV and maybe with some small print stating that the penalty for no licence was £1000. I see that TV Licensing have now changed their letter heading to a slightly less threatening tone --but not much.. It is not so much the volume of letters but their tone which might engender anxiety and therefore the offence

Great video and clearly explained. I’ve been getting these letters every couple of months for the past 4 years. I definitely do not require a BBC licence! This must be HARASSMENT, mustn’t it?? How do we stop them or can we sue them? That’s the million dollar question we all wish to know. Cheers.

A few years ago I moved into a ground floor flat and tv licence hounded me for 2 years! They constantly sent me letters out every month and sometimes I received up 2 or 3 letters a month. I rang them when I first moved in to tell them I didn't watch TV because I could not afford the licence and told them they were welcome to visit anytime so I could show them I had no Ariel going into the tv.( I used my tv for just dvds). Every month I got threatening letters saying they were taking me to court because I had not paid them. It took them a year and a half before they sent someone out to see I was telling them the truth. I showed them straight into living room and pointed out the lack of a Ariel The man who turned up accused me of hiding the Ariel to which I replied I just showed u straight in and showed u no Ariel and you never told me you was coming! So how could I have hidden it?, He stood in my living room and insisted that I should pay them or I would be taken to court! I was so upset and felt intimidated and I was a nervous wreck everytime I received threatening letters from them. Anyway I said get out! there's no talking to you!. He left still insisting I needed to pay and not just one payment but 2 payments because I was now in my 2nd year of living there. I was soo upset and then became angry and slammed the firedoor hard on his way out. After that I just stopped responding to letters because I was sick of ringing them every month.

I have been under investigation since 2009 and have yet to meet an investigator/enforcement agent.

When an elderly lady died dozens of TV Licensing letters with threats were delivered to her empty house for a few years until after it was sold by her relatives. None of the threats were carried out.

I feel it is both threatening and harassment. I've had two fines (back when the possession of a TV was enough to be fined), and a house visit after I declared via their website that I didn't need a licence. I currently receive a threatening letter about twice each month, and they got straight into the bin. The main reason I don't answer my front door when I'm not expecting anyone is the fear of a TV licencing officer calling around. Being autistic I don't handle that kind of situation well so it is better for me to avoid it. I've never had any interest in watching TV but I've been constantly harassed by the TV licence company. What would it cost to take them to court for harassment? I wonder if it would be worth starting a gofundme or something to raise the funds for you to take it on?

,.i now return to sender.i believe that now companies get charged for returned letters.imagine that.the BBC getting charged,1000,s of letters getting posted back every month...

I wonder how many people have been frightened into paying for a licesne that they do not need !?!

When I 1st moved into my own place in the 1980’s I couldn’t afford a TV so was licence free, but I still felt extremely intimidated by these letters and felt nervous and insecure about the threats to which they were suggesting because I believed their propaganda about what powers they allude to having. Over time I became educated that they don’t have any actual powers at all, but I still felt intimidated. Now after 35 years of never having had a licence I laugh at their threats and throw everything I receive in the bin. [never talk to them on the phone, never answer their letters, or write emails, never speak to them if they turn up at you door.] *Without communication they have no legal purchase, and the lack of legal purchase means that they are legally completely and utterly impotent*

I've had this since 2009. Still happens

Question: Why is it that's you can unsubscribe to emails but you can't to post under the GDPR regs?

Under any other circumstances, surely this would be demanding money with menaces. An actual crime.

If everyone who receives an unsolicited communication from TVL re-addressed and posted it to 10 Downing Street, without a stamp, would they then all be collectively guilty of causing harassment?

Not at all like council busy bodies to throw their weight around without any knowledge of the law. "Enforcement agent" 😂 They've less powers than a lollypop lady. These letters are to frighten little old ladies into paying up.

The reason the BBC has to do this is because if they didn't, nobody would willingly buy the license. If it went to a subscription model, it wouldn't last a year.

"Demand for Monies with the threat of Menace" ... as I hinted at about a year ago. Congratulations for catching up.

I never owned a television for 25 years and received many letters and was constantly harassed by TV licensing. They just didn't believe I didn't have a television, as I wouldn't let them in to search my house for one.. Any letter I receive from them now, I don't even open, I just cross out the address and write on the envelope. "Return to sender. I do not use or wish to purchase your product" and pop it back in the post box.

If you don't need a licence and you inform the TV licencing agency that you don't need one they will stop sending you any further letters for a period of 12 months, after that they will continue with their harrassment campaign. I know this from personal experiance and now dno't bother informing them and just bin the letters or write on the envelope 'Licence not needed, stop harrassing us' before putting them in the post box with RTS written on the front.

This is why Alex Bellfield ended up in prison, because he harassed multiple people _repeatedly_ over a period of 10 years. With emails, phone calls, calls to employers and relatives, he relentlessly harassed people for such a long time. It's tragic that he ended up in prison, instead of getting some help, because it seems to me that such a lengthy, obsessive campaign against multiple victims is a sign of serious mental health issues.

If you live on the Isle of man and they come to your door ask them do they have a work permit and is the vehicle they are using insured for business purposes on the Isle of Man. They don't like this.

I got a letter about TV Licence I din't open it I threw it in the dustbin they like wasting paper

It would be nice if there was a test case and it was deemed harassment when 'x' number of threatening letters had been received. Then a pay out of £2000? per case was issued against TV Licensing. I'd imagine they'd be heading to the bankruptcy court pretty quick.

I've just received a letter with red text on it stating 'Official notice: investigation opened'. It looks like I have done something illegal to anyone who sees it. There's nothing on it to say it's from TV Licensing, so it looks shameful. I don't have a TV, nor do I record or watch live or player. I did inform them by email, which they acknowledged, but when they kept on sending bullying letters, I didn't respond further. I've had threats that they will visit on a specific date, which they didn't. This latest is absolutely disgusting and has caused anxiety.

Frankly, how DARE they?! As so many tv programmes deteriorated to the point of being repugnant, I didn't bother replacing my old set when it stopped working. I used to reply to such letters that it's against my religion to have nonces and their ponces in my home via a screen. After doing that 3 or 4 times over the years I simply stopped brothering to reply at all. I still see a little bit when visiting friends, and I don't think I am missing much. I spent more time on the Web and rediscovered my love of reading books, and listening to good music.

I have not had a licence for some years. I am a grown up, I can read and I can clearly understand what constitutes the need and requirement for a TV licence. I have previously (out of pure belligerence) refused to communicate with the company empowered to try to frighten or convince you that you are breaking the law and I have collected letter after letter and filed them away under B for bin. I have now decided to complete the online declaration stating that I do not need or want a licence but even then there is a last attempt to intimidate by questioning the info supplied and a forced period of waiting whilst they examine my response. I have done this because I know that if anyone does turn up at my door I shall be likely to resort to my new second language I have been learning (tourrettes) and severely test my blood pressure and to be honest I would rather they stay the f@@k away. This constant barrage of threats needs to be stopped we do have a choice on what we want to pay for.

I have now received over 16 letters last year alone despite having the green TV licence exempt form that they sent me, admittedly I return them but am totally fed up.

I got to 71 letters…having a clear out I returned them all to TV Licensing in a jiffy envelope but without postage…they would have to pay their end. Note to them on the top letter to cease and desist their campaign of harassment…will see how it goes but quiet for now.

If it wasn't the establishment doing the harassment this case would have been easily solved. Trying to get the civil service to stop another part of the establishment from harassing people is practically impossible.

Just get one letter every two years... Not had any TV licence visits for 10+ years.

I watched a Talk Radio video here on YT with another retired Lawyer who stated that TVLisencing is managed by CAPITA and he suspected they got paid commission for the 'recovered' Lisence fee. He also mentioned the similarity of this behaviour to the Post Office Scandal.

I'm in Scotland, never had a license in over 40 years, all letters are binned. They've came to the door a few times, i don't speak i just close it.

I`ve not had one letter in 6 months after cancelling. I don`t subscribe to any TV services.

And thank you for the "Livestream" clarification. I have been known to watch the live proceedings of the House of Commons, not on a "TV" channel, but the House of Commons video channel or You Tube. it's nice to know that it was not a criminal activity. Prepared to drag my MP and the Speaker into any prosecution for that!

These letters are known as "Threat O' Grams".

Also, when you DO agree to pay for a licence by direct debit, they charge you £5 per month charge, make you pay the first year within 6 months, then start 'saving towards' the next year's licence straight away. This has happened to my daughter. For a £159 licence, she will have paid (in the first year)... £298.50!!

I once saw a KZfaq video about this harassment. Someone had found a contact at the BBC that he called and sent letters to discuss this. One day there was a knock at his door, it was the police. They were there to give him a formal warning about…… harassment 🤦‍♂️

Do we need to submit a "No license required" as I did. AGAIN. Because I was so stressed and confused, upon returning home, after a 6 week hospital stay. After multiple Strokes. To find that my previous "No license required" submission had supposedly run out of time. And I had received all these letters that you showed. They were all pushed through the letterbox. So I read them ALL in one go. They scared and panicked the crap out of me. I immediately went online to re-submit the Not required thingy. But sat back panicking and wondering everyday whether I'd be fined for the period that I'd been NOT been covered. This did not aid in my recovery one bit.

I have a nosey neighbour with a ring doorbell. If I walk past he sometimes comes out shortly behind me too see where I’m going

The amount they waste in postage fees must be astronomical...!!!

Very interesting cant believe the harassment from supposedly responsible companies

I owned my late father's flat for four years whilst trying to sell it. I visited after Covid and there were 2 years worth of these letters, all addressed to "The Occupier". The flat was empty, therefore there was no occupier, so I binned them unopened.