On This Morning Grace Forell said ‘Not many people know this, but you can get a refund’
Consumer expert Grace Forell explained how to get a TV licence refund (Image: ITV)
An ITV expert has explained how thousands could be due a television licence refund of up to £180. Appearing on This Morning, consumer expert Grace Forell said that under some circumstances people are due money back – and explained how to go about it.
Appearing on the ITV show, she said that people need a licence if they watch TV – any channel, it’s not just a BBC thing – and also if you stream live TV broadcasts on platforms like YouTube or Amazon Prime, e.g., football matches.
She said people also need one if you’re watching BBC iPlayer content – regardless of the device you watch it on. A standard UK colour TV Licence costs £180 per year.
Ms Forell said that if a person’s circumstances change, they can apply for a refund for the unused months.
She said on the subject of being in shared houses or being a student: “You need a TV license if you’re planning to watch any kind of live TV on any channel. And this actually includes live broadcasts on platforms like YouTube or Amazon Prime if it’s being shown on TV.
“You also need it for BBC iPlayer, even if it’s on demand on a laptop or a phone. You don’t need one if you’re only watching platforms like Netflix or Disney Plus or regular YouTube content. But it’s £180 a year. One license should be enough for the whole household as long as you’re on a joint tenancy agreement.”
Ms Forell explained that many people ‘don’t realise’ when they can get some of the fee back. She said: ”Not many people know this, but you can get a refund if there are months that you don’t use. So, if you buy a licence and then, you know, move back home 9 months later, you can fill out a form on the TV licence website for that.”
She added: “Say you move into university halls and buy a licence, but then move back home 9 months later, as long as your family home has a suitable licence you can cancel yours and get money back.
“Or if you move in with your partner and they have a licence, you can request a refund for yours before you move. You just need to have at least one complete month remaining on your license.”
For people who have just started life at university, Ms Forell explained that there are some special discounts they can enjoy for streaming.
She said: “Prime Student is a very good one. So, that’s Amazon Prime. You get six months for free. And then it’s only £4.49 £49 a month and that includes Prime Delivery, Amazon music and all of that.
“So, that’s very good. I would look at Spotify as well because the student version is less than half the price of the standard version and a lot of students watch YouTube and they do have their own offer as well.”