They are a sneaky lot. I once was out of work and my TV broke down, the TV licence ran out at the same time. As I was skint I could not afford to buy a new TV or a licence. Four months later I got a job and bought a TV and a licence.
3 weeks after that i got a letter saying '' the licence you bought has been cancelled and your new licence is enclosed'' The 'new' licence was backdated 4 months to cover the time I did not have a tv or a licence. I wrote and complained but they would not change their mind.
emmie, they have NO authority to come in to your house unless you tell them they can. But they just keep coming back and asking again, they say 'just let us in to check and we can end this now' most people give in and buy a licence.
Emmie, tv licencing have NO authority to enter your house, if they put one foot on your doormat, ask them to remove it !
They can ASK your permission to enter and check 'the equipment' but if you refuse they must return with a police officer and a search warrant (very rare).
They work solely on the database of un-licensed addresses, but have been known to nose through windows, listen at doors etc. so be careful.
tonyav , that would be good news if people had a choice of what to watch we will soon see how good people think the bbc shows are or will they go for the you need a card to watch any channel but we will keep all the money.