People who fail to pay the licence fee can be fined up to £1000 or even face imprisonment under the current rules. Millions of over-75s have already started receiving letters telling them to pay their licence fee, unless they are entitled to Pension Credit. The BBC said that “an enforcement system” would be necessary if paying the licence fee is decriminalised. But campaigners warned that the prospect of bailiffs enforcing payment of the licence fee would be “distressing and frightening” to elderly people. “The vast majority of people pay the licence fee voluntarily, but as a universal service we need an enforcement system with appropriate sanctions otherwise it is unfair to those who do pay.

Source: Daily Mirror August 06, 2020 16:39 UTC