TV Licensing is reminding UEA students who will be heading off to university in September to ensure that they are correctly licensed as they start the new term.
Anyone who installs or uses
a device to watch or record television programmes as they are being
shown on TV is legally required to be covered by a valid TV
licence.
Whether they are watching on a
traditional TV set, a PC screen or a laptop, TV Licensing is reminding students
to make sure their most prized equipment doesn’t land them with a fine.
Many of those students who have achieved the A-level grades
they need to secure their place at university will soon be leaving home for the
first time, with plenty on their minds as they start their student
careers. To ensure their TV licence
doesn’t slip off their “to do” list, TV Licensing provides a handy “pre-registration”
service.
Students can sign up online now by visiting www.tvlicensing.co.uk,
and TV Licensing will get in touch once the autumn term has begun to remind
them to buy a licence. The website also features lots of helpful information
about how to get a TV licence and the different ways to pay.
The pre-registration service is part of TV Licensing’s ‘no
excuse’ campaign. Universities and colleges across the UK are being provided with
information leaflets and posters highlighting the importance of having a valid
TV licence, rather than making excuses.
Unless your TV is powered by internal batteries, your
parents’ TV licence will not cover you away from home[ii].
Anyone without a valid TV licence, who
watches or records television programmes on any channel (including terrestrial, satellite, cable
or digital television channels) as
they are being broadcast in the UK, risks prosecution
and a fine of up to £1,000.
·
If you live in halls of residence and use a TV
in your own room, you need your own separate TV licence.
·
You also need your own licence if you are
sharing a house with other students and use a TV in your room, and your room is
a separately occupied place (a separate tenancy agreement would normally
indicate that this is the case).
·
If you have a separate tenancy agreement but a
television is only being used in a communal area, then only one licence is
required.
·
If you are sharing a house with other students
and you use a TV in your own room, but the house can be treated as one place
shared by all, then only one TV licence is required (a joint tenancy agreement
would usually be evidence that the house is a single licensable place for this
purpose).
A TV licence currently costs £139.50 and a black
and white licence is £45.50.
TV Licensing wants to
make it as easy as possible for people to pay for their TV licence. To find out about the many ways to pay, including
over-the-counter services and the ease of Direct Debit, visit www.tvlicensing.co.uk/students2007
or call 0870 242 1417.
[i] Assuming that a TV licence is purchased in the month it
is needed, it will expire 12 months from the first of that month. TV Licensing will be able to provide a refund
if you will not need the TV licence again
before it expires. Refunds are only available
on unused quarters (three calendar months.) So, for example, if you bought your
licence in October, it would normally expire at the end of September the
following year. Therefore, if a student were away from their term time address in July, August and September for the summer holidays they
would be able to claim a refund.
[ii]
A TV set powered by its own internal
batteries - a pocket sized TV or a mobile phone for example - may be covered by
a licence at the student’s parents'
address. However, you must not install the device
(plug it into the mains) when using it to receive television. If there is no TV licence at your parents’ address, you
will need to obtain one to watch TV.
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A of bit a patronising title?