TV licence: Thousands of Britons can get 50 percent off their bill or get it for free | Personal Finance | Finance
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A television licence is needed to watch live TV or record programmes to watch later on any channel, including live streaming on services such as Amazon Prime. Britons also need a TV Licence to watch or download BBC programmes on the BBC iPlayer.
Being £159 a year, many families may struggle to pay for this expense especially with the rising cost of living, however research shows that many people could be paying less.
Britons who just watch Netflix don’t need a TV licence meaning they could save themselves £159.
Approximately 589,000 people are not claiming their free TV licence which could save them £159 a year, according to charity Turn2us.
It was reported that one third of pensioners who are eligible aren’t even claiming pension credit, the benefit that offers the free TV license.
In certain circumstances, households may be eligible to apply for a refund on their TV licence.
Currently, the full price of a colour television licence is £159 for households and businesses.
A discounted rate is given to those who use black and white TV sets at £53.50, or half price is offered for those who are blind.
For one property, a single licence can cover all television sets, computers, laptops, phones, tablets and any other devices with a TV signal.
Additionally, people who are blind or who have a severe sight impairment can also claim a 50 percent reduction on the cost of their licence.
Care home residents will pay a concessionary rate of £7.50, while over-75s in residences that have ARC schemes are eligible for a free licence.
Across the UK, there are over two million people living and dealing with some form of sight loss, according to NHS statistics from December.
Of this staggering amount of people, some 360,000 are registered as legally blind or partially sighted by the public health provider.
In order to apply for this concession, potential claimants will need to prove to the TV Licensing body that they are in fact legally blind.
Qualifying documentation can include either a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI) or a BD8 Certificate.
Furthermore, a letter from an eye surgeon confirming their blindness and a certificate from someone’s Local Authority would also count as proof to the assessor.
It should be noted that those who are registered as only partially sighted or visually impaired will not qualify for the half off discount on their television licence fee.
Anyone who has already paid for a TV licence and now realises they could be eligible for a free one, can apply for a refund.
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