Letters have been sent threatening action from enforcement teams (Image: Getty)
BBC bosses have sent warnings to threatening to call on them on if they don’t have a TV license.
has been accused of “thuggish” tactics and attempting to force vulnerable people out to fork out.
The notice, threatens a £1,000 fine and legal costs, and reads: “Will you be in on December 25?
“As there’s no record of a at your address, you should expect a visit from an enforcement officer. It may be on December 25 or another day.
“You could be prosecuted if you are caught watching, recording or downloading programmes illegally.”
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You need to pay a TV license to watch BBC shows (Image: Getty)
It adds: “Our officers visit an address every 10 seconds. And if no one answers, they can come back.”
Campaigner Dennis Reed, of the over-60s group Silver Voices, told that the “threatening” behaviour was nothing more than a “thuggish tactic”.
He said: “It’s an underhanded, desperate attempt to try to pressure older and vulnerable people into paying. To specify Christmas Day of all days is astonishing. Clearly they won’t be calling on December 25.”
But a TV Licensing spokesman has said that the letters were sent in error, reassuring recipients that they will not be visited on Christmas Day.
In a grovelling apology, they said: “We apologise to anyone who received one. There will be no visits on Christmas Day.”
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It comes after , published on July 23, revealed that approximately 500,000 households cancelled their TV licences last year in a huge blow to the national broadcaster.
bosses say that you can cancel your licence and may be eligible for a refund if, before your licence expires, you won’t be:
- watching TV on any channel, like , ITV, Channel 4, U&Dave and international channels
- watching TV on pay TV services, like Sky, Virgin Media and EE TV
- watching live TV on streaming services, like YouTube and Amazon Prime Video
- using iPlayer
This includes recording and downloading, on any device.