Protect yourself from TV Licensing scams: how to spot and report a fake email or text
7th of October, 2026
We have been made aware of TV licencing scams circulating to a number of our residents see below example, a scam letter will often tell you there is a problem with your licence or that you are due a refund. This is to try to get you to go to a fake website or call a fake number to sort it out.
If you get an email like this, don't reply with any details or click on any links or attachments. You can report phishing attempts to:
- Report Fraud: Not all reports will be investigated, but every report will help Report Fraud better understand the scale of the problem and the methods that scammers are using.
- report@phishing.gov.uk: forward the email to this government account to help them keep up to date on scammers' methods.
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Your TV Licence payment has failed |
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We are writing to inform you that we were unable to process your most recent payment for your TV Licence. This may have been due to insufficient funds in your account, or a problem with your payment provider. Under the Communications Act 2003 (Section 363), anyone in the UK who watches or records live television on any channel, or streams content via BBC iPlayer, is required by law to hold a valid TV Licence. If you continue to use licensable services without a valid licence, you could face prosecution and a fine of up to 1,000, in addition to legal costs. |
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If you do not watch or record live TV, or use BBC iPlayer, you may not need a licence. Confirm at tvlicensing.co.uk/no-licence. |
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TV Licensing Customer Services |
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TV Licensing is administered on behalf of the BBC by Capita Business Services Ltd. The licence fee is set by the UK Government and regulated by Ofcom. |