Many people assume that if they don't watch live TV then they don't have to pay for a TV licence.
However, this is incorrect and failing to pay your TV licence could land you with a hefty £1,000 fine. If you are avoiding getting a TV licence then you are breaking the law as this is a criminal offence.
According to legal expert Hatti Suvari, who is the founder and CEO at Red Bar Law LLP, 49,000 people were prosecuted for not paying their TV licence last year - which costs £159 a year for a standard viewing and £53.50 for black and white.
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It seems people are getting caught out by hidden rules, which the legal expert highlighted in a TikTok video. She said: " Not many of us know that if you don't have a TV licence if you need to, then it's a criminal offence to avoid getting one, so here are key points to remember.
"If you watch TV live or on a streaming service such as ITV Hub, YouTube, Amazon Prime, Sky Go or BBC iPlayer then you need a TV licence. If you watch or record TV on channels such as Sky, Virgin or Freeview, then you need a TV licence."
That means that if you watch live TV – even if it's on streaming services – you still need to pay a TV licence. The same applies if you record a live programme that you watch later.
It doesn't matter what device you use either. Even if you don't own an actual television the same rules apply to any device, including a computer, laptop, phone, tablet, games console or digital box.
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