The NPC are sharing just some of the latest scams with regards to TV Licensing, Test & Trace and COVID-19. Please be ever vigilant and see the below information.
As of this week TV Licensing have started sending letters to anyone aged over 75 asking them to either pay for their TV licence or apply for a free one. The letter TV Licensing sends will include your licence number, your title and your last name and they will only ask you to pay using the following options:
By post using the address TV Licensing, PO Box 578, Darlington DL98 1AN
Online at tvl.co.uk/75pay or tvl.co.uk/75apply
Over the phone on 0300 790 6151
If you are contacted and asked to pay for your TV licence using a different phone number, a different website or by posting your details to a different address, this is a scam.
TV Licensing will not come to your doorstep to collect the licence fee if you are over 75, so anyone who claims to do so is also a scammer.
If you’re unsure about anything, you can call TV Licensing on 0300 303 9695 to speak with someone who can help.
Some people are receiving texts offering a free TV licence for a year. They ask you to text your bank details back to them in order to get the free licence. Please don’t respond to this text, it is a scam and you have the potential to lose your money and your identity.
Emails claiming you owe money to the TVLA and to go online to pay it. Some emails also state you could go to court if you don’t pay.
Letters supposedly from Television Licensing Authority (TVLA) saying your details need updating because there is something wrong. They ask you to go online and put your personal details in. Again this is a scam.
COVID-19: anyone offering cheap sanitiser, masks or purporting to have test equipment is likely to be a scam. In some cases, the sanitiser has been known to cause damage to the skin. Do not pay for test equipment. The NHS or your GP will offer it free.
NHS Test & Trace – the original scam on this was shut down by the Fraud Action Line. However, it is operating from another phone number and will text you asking for payment, The NHS will never ask you to pay. Report to Fraud Action Line on 0300 123 2040
As time passes, we are likely to see more scams around the TV licence issue, so please make sure by just making a phone call that whatever you have received is legitimate. TVLA will always use the last part of your post code along with your TV licence number in any communication they have with you. For more information on scams see the below links https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/ https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/scams/check-if-something-might-be-a-scam/ https://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/scams https://www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart