Chorley pensioner warned he faces TV licensing investigation - despite not owning a television

Pensioner David Lloyd Jones from Chorley hasn’t owned a television since before the Covid pandemic.
By Emma Downey
Published 20th Mar 2023, 12:48 BST
Updated 21st Mar 2023, 09:22 BST
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However, the 77-year-old says he is being threatened with legal action despite repeatedly telling the authority he binned his set in 2018. The retired engineer says he prefers reading to watching to telly but that has not stopped the TV Licensing Authority from sending letters warning him he faces prosecution for not paying the £159 annual fee.

He says he receives a letter every year marked for the occupier of the house and, that while most of them are ‘mild’, the last couple he has received have been more menacing. The last letter he received a week ago states that his address has been scheduled for a visit by an enforcement officer.

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It reads: “Dear Sir/Madam, you did not respond to the last letter within the 10 days we gave you. This means we have no option but to start an investigation of your address. If you are prosecuted you could be fined up to £1,000 plus legal costs and or any compensation you may be ordered to pay.” The letter also states that he still had a chance to avoid this visit, but Mr Jones claims he has sent many letter to the office which have been met with no response.

The letter received by retired engineer David Lloyd Jones, 77, who claims the TV Licensing Authority is threatening him with legal action despite him constantly telling them that he does not own a televisionThe letter received by retired engineer David Lloyd Jones, 77, who claims the TV Licensing Authority is threatening him with legal action despite him constantly telling them that he does not own a television
The letter received by retired engineer David Lloyd Jones, 77, who claims the TV Licensing Authority is threatening him with legal action despite him constantly telling them that he does not own a television
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He said: “I have been receiving one of these letters each year for the past five years. Despite my telling this office at Preston and a Darlington one that I do not own a television, they keep on sending me threatening letters. Their last letter says that they intend to visit my house. I'm wondering how many other OAPs have been threatened in this way. I'm a retired engineer at 77 years of age, with a limited income.

"The last time I owned a TV was over five years ago. When it finally went I put it in the wheelie bin. Nowadays I read books on the design of aeroplanes as I like to keep my mind active. My house contains lots books, drawings and calculations on two ships I am currently designing, namely a fisheries protection vessel and the next Royal Yacht and I do not want to let strangers in.”

A TV Licensing spokesperson said they were looking into the matter.

Related topics:ChorleyPrestonDarlington