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Free TV licence scrapped for (most) over 75-s

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DarloRich

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You know BBC worldwide is not for profit and the money it makes goes back to the BBC and keeps the cost of the license fee down.

That doesn't fit the narrative pushed by Murdoch,. Of course he overlooks that Sky have vastly more resources than the BBC ( i think i read somewhere that it was 15bn p/a v 6bn)

Can you please furnish figures as to how many millionaire pensioners there are in this country?

Plenty rattling about in massive family houses worth a bundle rather than sell up and move to a granny flat. They might not have £1m in cash but they have it bricks and mortar.

A Television Licence isn't needed to listen to BBC radio programmes.

Indeed, nor is it needed to view the BBC News or Sport sites which the only medium from which I've 'consumed' BBC content in years.

Radio does not require a TV licence despite references on this thread suggesting otherwise.

While radio and Internet do not need a license to listen to or use they are paid for by the license fee. They are not self funding. No licensee fee: no web or radio.

I note many posters here seem happy to consume a product without paying for it yet expect to be able to continue to do so if no payments are made!

BBC are not working independently in public interests in case anyone imagined they do, being an arm of the right-wing establishment sad as it is.

why on earth do people write things like this. It is tinfoilery of the highest order. Perhaps you would prefer your news form Russia Toady.
 
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Puffing Devil

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Scrap the licence fee it's anachronistic nonsense; save on the collection costs and remove many 1000's from the court system for non-payment. £2*/week on my tax bill and I'd be happy.

*Assuming that there are as many homes with dual income as no income and the equates to £3/week for all.
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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Bottom line is that the BBC Licence fee is probably long past it's sell-by date and for obvious reasons, they are reluctant to remove in line of subscription-based service as other providers already do. BBC are not working independently in public interests in case anyone imagined they do, being an arm of the right-wing establishment sad as it is.

Is that why the BBC employ Laura Kuenssberg, the verbal cynical scourge of the Conservative Party, to balance their stated "right-wing establishment" standpoint?
 

433N

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Is that why the BBC employ Laura Kuenssberg, the verbal cynical scourge of the Conservative Party, to balance their stated "right-wing establishment" standpoint?

To be fair, following the referendum with Cameron having scarpered and the Tories having left the country aimless, divided, leaderless and up a creak without a paddle, all she did was bang on about the Labour leadership argy-bargy for weeks on end. It's nice to see that she is annoying Tories now ; BBC bias ?
 

DarloRich

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Is that why the BBC employ Laura Kuenssberg, the verbal cynical scourge of the Conservative Party, to balance their stated "right-wing establishment" standpoint?

BBC bias ?

My view is that if everyone thinks you are biased against them then you must be somewhere in the middle! There does seem to be a total lack of objectivity in society when it comes to the BBC!
 

Bletchleyite

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My view is that if everyone thinks you are biased against them then you must be somewhere in the middle! There does seem to be a total lack of objectivity in society when it comes to the BBC!

Yes, in essence everyone thinks the Beeb is biased against them, which probably means it actually isn't, it's just investigative and therefore biased against everyone, which is precisely how any media outlet should be.
 

Robin Edwards

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why on earth do people write things like this. It is tinfoilery of the highest order. Perhaps you would prefer your news form Russia Toady.

No of course not Rich, just more balance required from BBC, nothing more. More balance does not take us straight to communist state as I'm sure you'd agree!
 

WelshBluebird

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I am sorry, but Ive read some of these posts with dismay.Many Pensioners are too proud to ask for additional benefits, theyve worked hard all their life, and deserve the 3 concessions. And they will probably be too proud to go to Food Banks, unlike the people we see on CH 5 on the Dole claiming Benefits, and still Smoking and Drinking, and have Dogs, Cats etc..Yes you are right it is an unfair society, when these people get more than pensioners!

And what about the pensioners who get more than those who work?
Why is it fair that they get free TV licences, money towards heating etc, when those who work but earn less don't get those free things?
 
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And what about the pensioners who get more than those who work?
Why is it fair that they get free TV licences, money towards heating etc, when those who work but earn less don't get those free things?
Anybody would think we pensioners have never worked..We did, and we never received benefits either, such as heating allowances etc..It comes with retirement, weve paid our taxes to society?
 

Xenophon PCDGS

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And what about the pensioners who get more than those who work?
Why is it fair that they get free TV licences, money towards heating etc, when those who work but earn less don't get those free things?

Conversely, there are those now-single elderly women who only receive the basic state pension. Could you live on that amount of money?
 

WelshBluebird

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Conversely, there are those now-single elderly women who only receive the basic state pension. Could you live on that amount of money?

As part of what has been announced if you get pension credit, you still get a free TV license. So that covers those getting the very least possible.
As for others, some working people have to survive on less money than the full state pension yet still don't get free TV licences.

Which is why it should be means tested for everyone IMO, though sadly I don't know the numbers to know if that is feasible or not.
 

WelshBluebird

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"Means tested"....the very epitome of treating the poor as second-class citizens, held for purposes of investigation.

So you think it is right that an 83 year old bringing in £168 a week gets a free TV licence but a 23 year old who brings in £150 a week has to pay?
Because I don't think that is right at all.
We are in a time now where after housing costs, the average pensioner is more well off than the average working age person. Think about that for a minute.

Also I assume you believe everyone should get Universal Credit (or whatever means tested benefits are in place in your area) then, since you are so against means testing.
 

bramling

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"Means tested"....the very epitome of treating the poor as second-class citizens, held for purposes of investigation.

May well be so, but what other way is there?

Every time I go to a garden centre the cafe seems to be overflowing with old people on a social outing, and likewise every preserved railway or stately home I visit seems to be full to bursting with coach tours. Perhaps I’m turning into a Scrooge but if there’s money for these things then there’s money for a TV licence! (set against a background of younger people struggling to afford property).

The nice thing about being middle aged is I can see things both ways. I don’t like the way many things in this country have turned into an X versus Y spat, but equally some of the freebies for old people I find a step too far. Let’s face it we all know that in many cases they’re electoral gimmicks aimed at a group which is well known to have a high electoral turnout.
 
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GB

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Perhaps the fee should be lower for OAPs rather than be free or full price?
 

underbank

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Many Pensioners are too proud to ask for additional benefits

But they've had to claim the free tv licence for the last 20 years. As far as I know, the TV licence people don't know your date of birth, so it's up to the householder to claim exemption. Not sure what the difference is???
 

alxndr

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I'm for keeping it free for over-75s. Too many elderly people are isolated, and at least it gives some semblance of company. I like a quiet house, but can fully appreciate how some people (not just the elderly) feel they need a constant background noise of human activity when alone at home. As a society we don't do enough to look after the more isolated people in our community, surely this is the least we can do?

I'd prefer them to go about it by allowing those who already recieve free licensing to be able to continue, just not include any new people in the scheme. I also feel concerned for those who genuinely don't use it and might feel bullied into paying by their threatening letters. This happens to younger people too, of course, but a higher percentage of older people are more vulnerable that type of thing (as with scams etc).

Personally, I dislike the licence fee and the means they go about asking for it. I didn't have one for a few years, but now pay almost solely to watch Casualty (which is naff but the one family activity we did and something I've continued doing out of habit) now that you need it for iPlayer. The TV gets switched on once or twice a month at most.
 

PeterC

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And what about the pensioners who get more than those who work?
Why is it fair that they get free TV licences, money towards heating etc, when those who work but earn less don't get those free things?
You mean those evil people who worked hard and saved rather than blowing it all of fags, booze and foreign holidays?
 

Typhoon

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So you think it is right that an 83 year old bringing in £168 a week gets a free TV licence but a 23 year old who brings in £150 a week has to pay?
Because I don't think that is right at all.
We are in a time now where after housing costs, the average pensioner is more well off than the average working age person. Think about that for a minute.
Someone who is aged 83 gets the lower state pension of £129.20. It is only those born after April 1951 who get the new higher state pension. If it was suggested that those who get the new state pension (of £168.60) should not get the free TV Licence, then I could go along with that, but none of them do, it only applies to the over 75s!

Figures from https://www.ftadviser.com/pensions/2018/11/23/state-pension-raise-confirmed/
 

LOL The Irony

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Perhaps the fee should be lower for OAPs rather than be free or full price?
Yes, someone hire this person! Excellent idea!
You mean those evil people who worked hard and saved rather than blowing it all of fags, booze and foreign holidays?
How dare they work all their lives and be better off than some 23 year old who want's to go on holiday every 6 months.

Yes people are less well off now than their elders but we'd be better off if we managed our money better.
 

Kite159

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In my mind the TV licence is outdated and should be scrapped, with the BBC being funded from general taxation.
 
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