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  • / Covid-19: Managing your TV Licence during the pandemic

Covid-19: Managing your TV Licence during the pandemic

We appreciate this is a challenging time for many people. Please check our advice below for help on managing your licence during the current situation.

Managing your licence online

There are many services available on our website to help you:

Other questions you may have

I normally pay at a PayPoint. Can I pay another way due to Covid?

Due to current government restrictions we advise you to use one of our other ways to make a payment:

TV Licensing Payment Card customers:

If you usually pay in full at a PayPoint:

I’m struggling to afford to make any payments on my TV Licensing payment card at the moment

We appreciate that it may be particularly difficult to keep up with your payments on your TV Licensing payment card at the moment.

We recommend that you try and keep to your payment plan if you can as this will keep your future payments as low as possible.

If you're unable to keep up to date with your payments please call us on 0300 555 0300* and we’ll do what we can to help you. Please have your customer number to hand, and choose the option to talk to us about your account.

If you are in financial difficulty it might also help to speak to a debt advice charity. And you can find the most up to date information on financial assistance offered by the government at: gov.uk/coronavirus.

I can’t afford to make my next Direct Debit payment - what should I do?

We appreciate that in the current situation you may be struggling to keep up with your payments.

If you need to urgently stop a Direct Debit payment, please call us on 0300 790 6068* and we’ll do what we can to help you. Please have your licence number to hand and choose the option to cancel your licence.

I need to cancel my licence (and apply for a refund)

You can cancel your licence if you no longer:

  • watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV, on any channel
  • watch or stream programmes live on an online TV service (such as ITVX, All 4, YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, NOW TV, Sky Go)
  • download or watch any BBC programmes on BBC iPlayer.

If you need to cancel your licence (and receive a refund if applicable) please call us on:

0300 790 6068* – If you pay by Direct Debit or all in one go. Please have your licence number to hand and choose the option to cancel your licence.

0300 555 0300* – If you pay by TV Licensing payment card. Please have your customer number to hand and choose the option to cancel your licence.
 

Update on debt collection

We appreciate that some customers may be struggling to make payments at the moment. We have temporarily stopped passing customers who have not kept up their payments to our debt collection agency. Note - we never use bailiffs as part of our debt collection.

It remains a legal requirement to be covered by a licence if you need one. We will do all we can to help you stay licensed. So please do get in touch if you’re not able to keep up to date with your payments:

  • If you’re a TV Licensing payment card customer, please call our team on 0300 555 0300*
  • If you pay by Direct Debit or usually pay in full, please call our team on 0300 790 6068*

You can also get free, confidential, and independent debt advice.

If you have an existing payment arrangement with our debt collection agency you can continue to clear your debt in this way.

*Our contact centre is open Monday to Friday: 08:30 to 18:30. We are closed on Saturday, Sunday and public holidays.

Calls to our 0300 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number, whether from a mobile or landline. If you get inclusive minutes with your mobile, calls to an 0300 number will be included.

General information about TV Licensing is available in other languages:

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