TV License summons

rondog

Hi All,
My Mother in law is a widow aged 66.She lives alone in her house.
She has paid and renewed her TV license for 40 years but recently forgot to renew this time.She got a summons and is terrified that she has to appear in court.
Is there any way we can talk to someone to see common sense and sort something out so she doesn't have to go to court?
As mentioned she is a widow and doesn't have a lot of funds so solicitors etc would be difficult to get but necessary if needs be.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

witchgirl26

OP easiest thing would be for your mother to buy the licence, turn up to the court with the new licence and apologise. Say it was a mistake and as soon as she realised, she got a new licence. Anecdotely I've heard that they'll just dismiss it then as it has been sorted.

That said - I forgot to pay the licence one point and there was a notification sent out stating I had 30 days to get a licence or a summons would follow. Not sure if that's changed but I'd be surprised if it was a summons straight away.

It might be worth checking if your mother is entitled to the household benefits package which includes the free tv licence. It's normally for over 70's but you can qualify from age 66 if you are getting the below:

State Pension (Contributory)
State Pension (Non-Contributory)
Widow's, Widower's or Surviving Civil Partner's (Contributory) Pension
Deserted Wife's Benefit or Allowance
An ordinary Garda Widow's Pension from the Department of Justice and Equality or
An equivalent Social Security Pension/Benefit from a country covered by EU Regulations or from a country with which Ireland has a Bilateral Social Security Agreement

There's also a means test if your mother is not getting any of the above that can be done.

TheChizler

I have a friend who used to work in TV license prosecutions. He told me that if they met 'on the courthouse steps' and they agreed to pay the license fee they would always drop the case. Not sure if it's the same in every county but she's better off just getting it now and letting them know.

Duffryman

I covered local courts for a long time for the local newspaper, and saw a variety of judges deal with TV licence cases. Proceedings were always dismissed if the person involved just apologised and showed that they'd since taken out a new licence, and paid any arrears due. It involves having to turn up all right, but it's really nothing to be worried about.

Don't let her fret about those stories you hear about people being jailed for not having a TV licence. That's only ever a very last resort for people who ignore proceedings long-term and refuse chance after chance to ever put things right.

splinter65

rondog wrote: »

Hi All,
My Mother in law is a widow aged 66.She lives alone in her house.
She has paid and renewed her TV license for 40 years but recently forgot to renew this time.She got a summons and is terrified that she has to appear in court.
Is there any way we can talk to someone to see common sense and sort something out so she doesn't have to go to court?
As mentioned she is a widow and doesn't have a lot of funds so solicitors etc would be difficult to get but necessary if needs be.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

If she is 66 and living alone then she is now entitled to a free TV license.
If she has received a summons then that means she has ignored previous notices from TV license.
She should apply straight away for the HBP via the form which you can download from citizensinformation.ie
You should email tv license and explain the situation to them pointing out that she has applied for the package and ask them to allow time for her application to be processed.
I wouldn’t take the attitude of “common sense” being applied because everyone must have a tv license wether you buy one or have one awarded by DSP.
Incidentally, if her tv license expired before her 66 birthday then she will still have to purchase a license.

jimmycrackcorm

Pay the licence and ring An Post section. Once you give them the details they will cancel the summons.

They have so many to prosecute that they're glad to withdraw them. There's no need to turn up at court and they'll tell you that.

rondog

She paid for the license.Which section is that you are referring to?An post section online or where?

C3PO

As a regular "late payer" of my TV licence I know that your mother in law would have got numerous letters and at least a one visit from an inspector before receiving a summons?
As suggested, her best bet is to turn up in court with the new licence and apologise to the judge - she will probably get off!

Homer

C3PO wrote: »

As a regular "late payer" of my TV licence I know that your mother in law would have got numerous letters and at least a one visit from an inspector before receiving a summons?
As suggested, her best bet is to turn up in court with the new licence and apologise to the judge - she will probably get off!

Totally unnecessary. I had a similar situation and all I had to do was pay the arrears from the last date they had on file for us having a licence and a new licence and they cancelled the summons. Absolutely no need to go to court or worry at all. Just call the relevant department and explain and have all the details in front of you.

rondog

Thanks Homer.Turns out that's all that was needed.

Issue resolved.
thanks to all who replied.

vladdt

Hmm, what if I have a big screen, but it not a TV? And it have no ability to receive TV programs? (Huge monitor, removed TV module?) What in this case?

splinter65

rondog wrote: »

Thanks Homer.Turns out that's all that was needed.

Issue resolved.
thanks to all who replied.

Hope your mam has applied for the HBP

TheChizler

vladdt wrote: »

Hmm, what if I have a big screen, but it not a TV? And it have no ability to receive TV programs? (Huge monitor, removed TV module?) What in this case?

If it was sold with a TV module or a slot for one then it's technically capable of being repaired and needs a license.

Fred Swanson

This post has been deleted.

TheChizler

Fred Swanson wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Depends on how it was removed. To me it sounded like they were talking about a pluggable module that anyone can remove. If someone professionally disabled it then fair enough.

Bob24

vladdt wrote: »

Hmm, what if I have a big screen, but it not a TV? And it have no ability to receive TV programs? (Huge monitor, removed TV module?) What in this case?

A large monitor will do the trick ... just make sure it doesn't come with a tuner built-in (and keep in mind that if you associate it to a cable/satellite/Soarview receiver it still requires a licence).

I recently got this 43in 4K monitor to use with an Apple TV and gaming console, and it does the job pretty well while looking decent in a living room (although and came with a small defect and will need replacement!).

kingcon28

Hi,

Same thing happened to us recently.

Ring the license office and pay for the TV license. You will have to pay for the arrears as well and an post will send u a letter to say they consider the matter closed. You will not have to go to court.