TV Licensing is urging residents in Bradford to ensure they have an up-to-date TV Licence if they need one, ahead of an enforcement campaign that gets underway in the area this Friday (1 July).
The campaign will target unlicensed properties identified by TV Licensing’s comprehensive database of more than 30 million addresses. It comes after a community information initiative kicked off this week to remind people in Bradford when they need a licence, how they can pay for one and the variety of resources available to them should they need more information.
The initiative will encourage residents to get a licence if they need one and give advance warning of possible visiting by enquiry officers during July. Anyone caught watching or recording TV programmes as they are being shown on TV without a licence risks prosecution and a fine of up to £1,000. TV Licensing’s effectiveness in enforcing the licence fee is helping to keep evasion levels low at around five per cent nationally.
The enforcement campaign is part of TV Licensing’s ongoing efforts to make sure, on behalf of the honest majority who do pay, that anybody who needs a licence has one.
TV Licensing spokesperson Tim Downs said:
“To be fair to the honest majority who pay the licence fee, we have to be firm with those who don’t. We urge people who are not licensed but should be to take action before the campaign kicks off on Friday. We would always rather people buy a TV Licence than risk prosecution – which is why we make it as easy as possible to pay and work hard to ensure people are aware of the licensing requirements.
“We appreciate that some people might find it difficult to pay the whole fee at once which is why we offer a range of ways to spread the cost into monthly or weekly payments and include options to pay online and by text message.”
To help raise awareness of when a licence is needed and how to buy one in Bradford TV Licensing has been in touch with councils, housing associations and other community groups in the area to provide a range of useful information. These organisations have also been informed that leaflets about TV Licensing are available in 18 different languages, and that an over-the-phone interpreter service is available in over 180 languages.
