BBC urged to make major TV licence rule change - as households miss out on free licence

• Pensioners over the age of 75 could be missing out of free TV licences.
• A staggering 500,000 households are eligible, but have not applied.
• Campaigners are calling for ‘auto-enrolment’ to be introduced.

The BBC has been urged to act as hundreds of thousands of households are missing out on free TV licences - despite being eligible. It comes as the price is set to rise in a matter of weeks.

Under the current royal charter, the Beeb is once again upping its prices from April. The cost is set to rise to £174.50 a year in less than two months.

But thousands of pensioners who are eligible for an exemption are missing out. Campaigners are calling on ‘auto-enrolment’ to be introduced.

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Thousands could be missing out on a free TV licence

According to campaign group Policy in Practice, 500,000 households in the UK could be eligible for a free TV licence, but have yet to apply. Over-75s who qualify for pension credit can get an exemption from paying the fee - however many are missing out.

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And with the latest licence fee price rise just weeks away, pensioners are being urged to check if they could be eligible for a free TV licence.

Deven Ghelani, director of Policy in Practice, stated: “There are almost half a million people over 75 missing out on the free TV licence, most of them because they aren't claiming pension credit when they could.

"People on pension credit have to firstly be aware that they are eligible for a free TV licence, and then they have to apply for one. Policy in Practice's local authority partners have contacted the BBC about auto-enrolment, and we are hoping for a positive response."

In response, TV Licensing said it “routinely promotes the concessions and support available in the letters we send to customers, directly during calls to our customer service line, and as part of our communications campaigns and social media output”.

See how much the BBC licence fee is going to rise by this year. While there are other people who could be eligible for exemptions - see if you could be one of them.