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Welcome to TV Licensing’s Privacy Policy




 

This policy explains what personal data we collect from and about you, who has access to it, why we collect it, what we do with it, how long we keep it and what your rights are.

Your privacy matters to us

When you pay for a TV Licence, update your details, or have any other contact with TV Licensing, you give us personal data. As a responsible organisation with public obligations, we comply with data protection law when collecting and using your data.

This law is known as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), and came into force on 25 May 2018. The GDPR requires that personal data shall be:

  • Used lawfully, fairly and transparently
  • Collected for a specific purpose, and not used for any other reason
  • Limited to what's necessary
  • Accurate and kept up to date, with mistakes amended quickly
  • Kept for no longer than necessary
  • Secure, and protected against misuse, loss or damage.

We comply with the Data Protection Act 2018.

This policy contains important information about how we will process your personal data. You should read it carefully. Find out more about what we do with your personal data.

Links to other websites

The TV Licensing website may contain links and references to other websites. Please be aware that this Privacy Policy does not apply to those websites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any other website you visit.

Our privacy promise

The GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018 contain principles that organisations must follow to protect their customers’ data. Our privacy promise is based on these principles.

  1. Your personal data is used for the legitimate purpose of operating the TV Licensing system (including issuing licences, collecting fees and enforcing the requirement to have a licence) and we will not use your data in any other way that is not related to this purpose.
  2. Your personal data will be used lawfully, fairly and transparently. We will never sell your data. We will not share it with anyone outside of the BBC, TV Licensing and its suppliers unless we have a legitimate reason to do so (for example, to share information with the police) and we are allowed or obliged to disclose it by law.
  3. The personal data we collect will be limited to information that is relevant and necessary for us to issue and manage your TV Licence, or confirm that you don’t need one.
  4. We will tell you why we need the information we ask for.
  5. We will not keep your personal data any longer than necessary for our purpose of administering the TV Licensing system. Find out more about how long we keep your personal data.
  6. We aim to keep your personal data accurate and up to date, and to amend incorrect details quickly.
  7. We will take all reasonable measures to protect your personal data against unauthorised or unlawful use, loss, damage or destruction. Find out more about data security.
  8. We will communicate with you about the TV Licensing system (for example, renewal notices and other messages aimed at ensuring you are correctly licensed) but we will keep this to a minimum. Find out more about how we contact you.
  9. We will identify ourselves when we contact you and tell you how to contact us. Find out more about how we contact you.
  10. If you contact us, we may ask you questions about the personal data you have given us to help us identify you – this is for your security.
  11. We always put your privacy first. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, and commit to protecting your privacy by keeping your information safe.

The law gives you rights relating to your data. Those rights may apply differently if we are investigating you, or you are involved in court proceedings. Find out more about your rights.

Six principles to
protect your privacy

Trust. Who we are and what we do.
Openness. What data we collect, what we do with it and why.
Security. How we protect your data.
Fairness. How we respect your legal rights to your data.
Accuracy. How we make sure your data is accurate.
Communication. Contacting you, and how you can contact us.


Trust

About us

We let people know when they need a TV Licence. We send renewal letters and emails and handle queries, as well as applications and payments. We also keep a database of licensed and unlicensed UK addresses. We use this to identify, write to and visit people who may be using TV receiving equipment without being covered by a valid TV Licence or sometimes those that have told us they don’t need one.

‘TV Licensing' is a trade mark of the BBC. This trade mark is used by the BBC in respect of its TV Licensing functions and under licence by companies contracted by the BBC to administer the collection of the licence fee and enforcement of the TV Licensing system. The BBC is a public authority in respect of its television licensing functions.

We have a statutory duty under Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003 to collect and enforce the licence fee. We operate the TV Licensing system and are responsible for controlling all data directly associated with it. This includes issuing licences, collecting fees and enforcing the legal requirement to have a TV Licence.

The BBC is responsible for the personal data you supply to TV Licensing. In data protection law, this is called being a data controller. This means we decide how to collect and use your data as part of our duty to administer the TV Licence. We are responsible for ensuring that your data is used lawfully, fairly and in a transparent manner.

The BBC also sets out strict rules about how its suppliers collect, store and handle personal data. The BBC’s contractors are data processors within the law. The primary TV Licensing contractors are: Capita, Adare, Communisis Postal, Havas, PayPoint, RAPP (formerly Proximity) and Target. These organisations are also bound by data protection law, as well as our commitment to our six principles to protect your personal data.

Changes to this policy

We regularly review why we hold personal data. We may amend this policy if the way we process your data, or the law relating to this, changes. If we make any significant changes to the way we process your data for TV Licensing, we will let you know by alerting you to new versions of this policy on tvlicensing.co.uk.

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Openness

What the law says and what it means for TV Licensing and your data

The law requires us to be open with you about what personal data we collect, and what we do with it. We only collect the data we need for the specific and legitimate purpose of operating the TV Licensing system. We have to use personal data – and only do so – to carry out our public and legal duty of operating the TV Licensing system.

Your data and what we do with it

If we hold your personal data, you are known as a data subject in the eyes of the law. Being open with you means being clear about how and why we use your personal data.

Organisations must have a legal reason to collect and use personal data. For TV Licensing, this data enables us to operate the TV Licensing system. We carry out this task in the public interest and in the exercise of official authority, under Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003. This is the primary legal basis for our collection and use of personal data.

What personal data do we collect?

By law, the data we collect must be limited to what is necessary and relevant to our purpose. This means we may hold certain data about you including (but not limited to):

  • Your name
  • Your postal address(es)
  • Your phone number(s)
  • Other contact details such as an email address
  • Your bank account or credit/debit card details*
  • Your TV Licence number (or membership number for some of our cash payment schemes)
  • Any change to your address or contact details
  • Information about payments for your licence
  • When you tell us you do not need a licence
  • Information about a visit, or what happens at your property if it is visited by our Visiting Officers
  • The details of any complaint you make
  • Phone calls made to and from TV Licensing which are recorded for quality, audit and training purposes
  • Which pages you visit on our website
  • How you get to our website (for example, if you clicked on a link from an email or another website)
  • Records of correspondence if you contact us
  • Changes you make to information you give us
  • Where we’ve sent letters and they are returned to us, as the addressee no longer lives there
  • Your responses to customer and market research surveys carried out on our behalf. These are usually anonymous. We will tell you if they’re not before you agree to take part. You can also tell the researcher if you are happy for them to give us your name and contact details
  • Your mobile phone number for the purpose of carrying out text (SMS) customer satisfaction surveys about your experience with us and texting confirmations of certain transactions – we will collect your mobile number automatically for these purposes. Note, we may also collect your mobile number directly over the phone or other direct contact from you for contact purposes
  • If you apply for a free TV Licence we may ask for evidence of your age, that you receive Pension Credit, and your National Insurance number. This allows us to check eligibility, and we may share your data with the Department for Work and Pensions for that purpose, including to check whether anyone who had a free TV Licence is now deceased. When that is the case, the licence will run to its expiry date so anyone else in the household will still be covered by it, and we will write to the address shortly before that expiry to check which licence may be required.
  • Sometimes we may need to ask for other proof of identity or proof of residence at an address
  • IP addresses (we’ll only use these if strictly necessary, e.g. for security related issues)
  • Data collected from other parts of the BBC, for example, to establish if and how you are using BBC iPlayer when you’ve told us you don’t need a TV Licence
  • Data on when you open emails you receive from us.

You do have a choice about whether you give us some personal data, but basic information such as your name and address is essential to us. Without it, we may be unable to issue you with a TV Licence, or record that you don’t need one.

* We store card details on our secure system, with the cardholder’s permission and will delete these details when it expires. We always ask permission before we take any further payments.

Special categories and sensitive personal data

Data protection law treats certain types of personal data as sensitive (called ‘special categories data’ within the law) and has extra rules about how it is used. This includes information about racial or ethnic origins, political or other views, sexual orientation and health. We also collect some information that is not classed as ‘special categories data’ within the law, but is nonetheless more sensitive (for example, information about an address which is found not to have a licence when it needs one).

Normally, we do not need to collect sensitive personal data, except:

  • We may process data on physical and mental health impairments or conditions, for example, in managing visit cases or complaint management
  • If you apply for a blind concession TV Licence, we will record this and ask for supporting evidence (this may include data relating to a child if the concession is on behalf of a child)
  • We may gather information about you, such as whether you:
    • would prefer communications in an alternative format, e.g. letters in Braille
    • have a disability, including if someone acting for you tells us you have a disability
    • do not speak English well
    • have personal circumstances that make you vulnerable, or in need of extra support
  • We may also collect information like this, to help us improve our services and meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010.

Our legal basis for collecting this information is to carry out our statutory functions in connection with the TV Licensing system. This is considered a reason of substantial public interest.

Personal data from third parties

We may also use personal data from third parties. This helps keep our database as accurate as possible, and also helps us contact the right people at the right time. These organisations include data suppliers who may provide us with the following types of data:

  • Indicators of house moves
  • Indicators of someone occupying an address
  • Additional contact data for licence holders
  • Geo-demographic classifications of customer types
  • Classifications of household types
  • Names of new businesses
  • Classifications of business types
  • Classifications of residential and commercial property types

What do we do with the information we collect?

We can only use your personal data in relation to the TV Licensing system. This means we use it to manage your TV Licence, collect and enforce the licence fee and to help us make sure your licence status and details are correctly recorded on the database.

Among other things, this means we may use your details to:

  • Identify who you are by confirming your personal details (e.g. name and address)
  • Confirm whether a licence is needed
  • Manage financial transactions, your payment plan, cash scheme or savings card
  • Remind you when your licence needs to be renewed
  • Send automated service messages to help you stay licensed
  • Tell you if we’ve been unable to take a payment from you
  • Help us choose which service messages to send you
  • Check if you’re eligible for a concessionary licence
  • Process an application for a free TV Licence, or renew it if you already have one
  • Check if you’re due a refund, and process the payment if you are
  • Monitor calls in the Contact Centre for training and quality purposes and transactions in our Back Office for training purposes
  • Decide whether your address should be visited by a Visiting Officer
  • Prosecute for TV Licensing offences and maintain a record of TV Licensing offences
  • Invite you to take part in surveys and research about TV Licensing (e.g. after you’ve contacted us) and then process the results. This helps us improve our service. You don’t have to take part and you can also opt out of future invites if you wish, and we will explain how this will be done should you request this.

We also use data that isn't used to identify you personally for statistical and analytical purposes. We do this:

  • To improve our website, letters, emails and online advertising
  • When reporting to the BBC Board and other bodies on our performance
  • For statistical or research purposes
  • To help us improve our operation of the TV Licensing system.

How long do we keep your personal data?

By law, personal data must not be kept any longer than necessary for our purpose of operating the TV Licensing system.

We hold personal data so that we can identify you and your address, to help us collect and enforce the licence fee and retain historical and auditable records.

We keep personal data (for example, basic account information) for as long as a customer holds the same licence with us. Data is generally held for up to seven years, although this can vary, depending on what kind of data it is.

We decide how long to keep your personal data by asking ourselves the following questions:

  • Why do we need it and why might our customers need us to retain it?
  • Is there any law or guidance we need to take into account?
  • Can we make sure it stays accurate and up to date?

We retain certain types of personal data in case we need to refer to it later or contact you again, for example:

  • We keep phone recordings for 13 months
  • We keep records of complaints for three years or seven years, depending on the level of escalation of the complaint

The prosecution process

The BBC is the licensing authority. This means we enforce the requirement to have a TV Licence. We can prosecute people who need a licence but do not have one – or report to the appropriate prosecuting authority in Scotland and the Channel Islands – under Part 4 of the Communications Act 2003. TV Licensing is also a ‘relevant prosecutor’ for the purposes of the single justice procedure under the Criminal Justice Act 2003, in England and Wales.

The GDPR generally applies to personal data processed by competent authorities for law enforcement purposes (preventing, investigating, detecting or prosecuting criminal offences) but is modified by the Law Enforcement Directive.

If a Visiting Officer visits a property, they may collect information to prove that someone at that address has been engaging in an activity that requires a TV licence, without being covered by one.

If a Visiting Officer visits your address they will identify themselves clearly to you, and may also collect the following data:

  • Your name
  • Your postal address(es)
  • Your phone number(s)
  • Other contact details such as an email address
  • Date of birth and National Insurance number.

Occasionally, we may obtain personal data from other sources such as law enforcement agencies, legal representatives, courts, local government, suppliers of goods and services and members of the public.

We also process personal data relating to offences (including alleged offences), criminal proceedings, outcomes and sentences for law enforcement purposes.

This information may be used to send enforcement messages asking you to obtain a licence, to help you stay licensed or check if you still need one.

The evidence we have gathered will be used, along with any additional information we may have, to make the decision to prosecute. We may write to the individual in question, to inform them of that decision and we may use that information to subsequently decide whether to visit them after prosecution.

We may transfer your information to a court of law if we decide to prosecute you (or if a prosecuting authority has decided to prosecute you, depending on where the prosecution occurs).

You have rights under the Data Protection Act 2018, even where we are ‘processing your data for law enforcement purposes’, but these differ from your rights under the GDPR in the following three areas:

  • The right to access, and see information about, your personal data
  • The right to update your personal data if it’s wrong
  • The right to delete your personal data, or limit how we use it.

Find out more about your rights relating to your personal data for Law Enforcement purposes (opens in a new window).

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Security

What the law says, and what it means for TV Licensing and your data

Data protection law instructs us to take all appropriate measures to keep your personal data secure. This means we have to take steps to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful use, and against accidental loss, destruction or damage.

Will your personal data be kept secure?

Your personal data is personal to you, and should stay safe, and private. We know this is crucial in maintaining your trust in TV Licensing. We protect your details in many different ways. These include staff training, investing in technology and following strict access, handling and storage procedures.

The personal data we collect is limited to information that is relevant and necessary, in order for us to issue and manage your TV Licence, or to confirm that you don’t need one. We take all appropriate steps to keep your data secure. We always follow data protection law and aim to apply best practice for information security.

Our technology and information security systems are there to protect your personal data. We apply up to date data encryption tools and have specific policies in place, with dedicated staff training materials and contracts to ensure personal data is fully protected. This aims to prevent your data being lost, damaged or destroyed, or its unauthorised or unlawful use.

We train our staff to take care of your personal data and give them detailed guidance on security requirements. So if you contact us, we’ll always ask you to identify yourself before we share any of your data with you.

An email isn’t always secure. Unless you password protect or encrypt it, someone else could read it. If you wish to email us, in addition to your enquiry, you should only send sufficient personal information to allow us to identify you, for example your name, address and licence number. We recommend that you do not include bank or credit card details in an email. When we email you, we will clearly identify ourselves but if you have any concerns about the sender, read our advice about email scams.

Will your data be moved outside the European Economic Area?

Most of your personal data is handled and stored within the UK, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Some is processed outside the European Economic Area (EEA).

We only allow data to be transferred when we are completely satisfied that our customers’ data is secure. Our suppliers are contractually obliged to incorporate technical, organisational and auditable measures into their own processes, to ensure any data is transferred safely.

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Fairness

What the law says and what it means for TV Licensing and your data

Data protection law gives you clear rights relating to your personal data, and gives us clear rules about using it. The law says we must use your data lawfully, fairly and transparently. This means telling you how we use your data, who we can share it with, and letting you see what data we hold about you, if you ask. You can ask us to correct errors in your data, and sometimes you can ask us to erase it.

How to find out what personal data we hold on you

You have the right to know what information we hold about you. You can ask to see specific personal data that we hold about you. This is known as a Subject Access Request, or SAR (under GDPR this is known as the right of access).

We don’t charge for the first request, but we may charge a reasonable fee if the request is repetitive or unreasonable. A request for information under data protection law should be responded to within one month.

Will we share your personal data with anyone?

We do not share your personal data with anyone else unless there is a legitimate interest in sharing it. For example, we may receive lawful requests from law enforcement agencies, or similar organisations, such as the police or Department for Work and Pensions. Sometimes we share information with other parts of the BBC. We do this, for example, to check if you are using BBC iPlayer and are covered by a TV Licence.

If you make a “paperless” application to set up a Direct Debit to pay for a TV Licence (e.g. you apply by phone) we will share your title, name, address and bank details with a third party identity-checking agency to verify your bank details. This is to comply with the rules of the Bankers Automated Clearing Service, (“BACS”, the UK authority responsible for clearing payments through Direct Debit).

We may also collect data from other organisations to check the data we already hold, or to add information that we don’t have. For example, we might need to confirm whether an address is occupied, or check that the information on our own database is correct. These organisations include:

  • Marketing services and solutions companies
  • Third party data owners
  • Data processing companies
  • Market research companies

These suppliers are contracted to us, and work on our behalf. They are subject to the same data protection laws that we are. Find out more about third parties.

Your rights as a data subject

Data protection law gives you the right to object to TV Licensing using your personal data. However, that right is not automatically granted because if we could no longer use your personal data, it would affect our ability to perform our legal duties.

1. The right to rectification

If we hold personal data about you that is out of date or incomplete, you can request that we correct it.

2. The right to erase data from our systems

In some circumstances, you can ask us to erase your personal data. We may need to keep some details so that we can contact you personally about your licence or your licence status.

There is some personal data that we are lawfully entitled to store and use, and you won’t be able to erase this.

3. The right to restrict processing

You can ask us to limit our use of your personal data. You can do this if it’s wrong, or if you’ve objected to us using it and are waiting for our reply.

4. The right to object to processing

You can object to TV Licensing using your personal data.

Data protection law gives you the right to object to TV Licensing using your personal data. However, that right is not automatically granted. This is because, if we could no longer use your personal data, it would affect our ability to perform our legal duties.

To find out how to exercise your rights relating to accessing your personal data, please email tvl.policy@capita.co.uk or write to the Data Protection Manager, TV Licensing, Darlington, DL98 1TL.

If having contacted us you are not satisfied with our response, the law also gives you the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO - opens in a new window) to complain about how we use your personal data. In certain circumstances, you may also ask the ICO to act on your behalf to check the way we use your data.

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Accuracy

What the law says, and what it means for TV Licensing and your data

Your personal data must be kept accurate and up to date, with every reasonable step taken to ensure that inaccuracies are erased or rectified. This means that if a mistake or an error is discovered, by you or by us, we will put it right.

How accurate is the data held on our systems?

We will take all appropriate measures to make sure our records are correct. You can ask us to update any personal data if you think it’s wrong, out of date, or incomplete.

Please help us keep your personal data up to date. For example, let us know if you move, if your email address or phone number changes, if your surname changes or has been misspelled, or if your postcode is wrong.

If your details have changed, the easiest way to let us know is to update your details on our website.

You can also view, check and download your TV Licence.

Alternatively, you can let us know about changes by calling 0300 790 6131 or writing to TV Licensing, Darlington DL98 1TL, giving us the details we currently hold on you, together with the correct ones.

Keeping your details up to date means you will only receive essential and helpful service messages from us about your TV Licence, to keep you correctly licensed. It also means we have an accurate record on our system, if you do not require a licence.

If you have permission to update personal details on behalf of a licence holder, we may ask you to provide proof that they have allowed you to do this.

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Communication

How we contact you

We may use your name, address, email address and phone number when we need to contact you. Our service messages are designed to help you stay licensed, or confirm that you don’t need a licence.

Our public duty to collect the licence fee requires us to keep costs as low as possible. So we would rather contact you by email. Doing this saves us money, which can then be invested in BBC programmes and services.

So, if you have given us an email address, we will only use this to contact you with essential service messages, including a link to your online TV Licence (unless you have asked us to send it by post). At the moment, due to systems limitations, we cannot send you standard service messages by email if you have a free TV Licence, or if you pay for your TV Licence using a TV Licensing payment card.

You can tell us if you do not want us to contact you by email. But please note, this means we will have to write to you by post, and may need to call you instead.

If you have given us a mobile number, we may send you SMS messages. For example, to let you know if a payment has failed.

If you want to tell us not to send you text messages, you can email us, call us on 0300 790 6131* or write to us at TV Licensing, Darlington DL98 1TL. From then on, if we need to contact you, we will instead call you, write to you by post or email you (if you've provided an email address).

Please note that if you pay for your TV Licence using the Simple Payment Plan, and you want us to stop emailing you or sending you texts, you can write to us at:
The Simple Payment Plan Team, TV Licensing, PO BOX 923, Newport NP20 9PR. Or you can call us on 0300 555 0510.

How you can contact us

About your TV Licence or TV Licensing

If you have any questions about your TV Licence or TV Licensing, here’s how to contact us.

About our Privacy Policy or your data

If you have any questions, comments or complaints about TV Licensing’s Privacy Policy, please write to us at:

TV Licensing Data Protection Manager
BBC TV Licensing Management Team
Broadcast Centre BC2 C6
White City Place
201 Wood Lane
London W12 7TP

However, if you prefer, you can DataProtection.Officer@bbc.co.uk or write to them at BBC DPO, BC2 A4, 201 Wood Lane, W12 7TP.

The law gives you the right to contact the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO - opens in a new window) about how we use your personal data. The British Broadcasting Corporations ICO registration number is Z517352X.

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Use of cookies

Table of contents

What is a cookie?

Can I browse the TV Licensing website without receiving any cookies?

How TV Licensing uses cookies

Cookies used on the TV Licensing website

Other tracking technologies

How can I view and control cookies?

Other links with more information about cookies

Related links to other websites

A cookie is a small amount of data stored on your computer or mobile device by a website, so the information in it can be retrieved later.

A website can send its own cookie to your device. It's unique to your web browser and will contain information such as a unique ID, the site you are browsing, and a uniquely generated number that lets a website remember your preferences, or what you’ve entered and your progress through an online form.

By using cookies, websites can track the number of visitors they have and also record the number of visitors they have and where they went to next. Similar technologies are used to determine whether an email has been read or a link clicked on.

Can I browse the TV Licensing website without receiving any cookies?

Depending on the web browser you use, you may have the ability to accept or decline cookies. If you set it to reject cookies, you can still browse tvlicensing.co.uk. But certain important features will be unavailable to you, including paying for your TV Licence and updating your details. By continuing to use our website you are consenting to our cookies – but you can also find out how to control our use of cookies.

How TV Licensing uses cookies

Cookies let us identify your device and track its unique interaction with the TV Licensing website. We never use cookies to create a personal profile of you – and we assess their performance anonymously, without identifying you personally (unless we are obliged to in reaction to any criminal or security related activity which has affected our customers).

Strictly necessary cookies

We use strictly necessary cookies to let you to move around the site or provide features you have requested – for instance, to pay for your TV Licence or update your details.

Performance cookies

We also use cookies to help us to measure and improve the performance of our website, to give you a better browsing experience and help measure the effectiveness of our online communications, letters and emails.

Advertising cookies

Finally, we may also use advertising cookies to present more relevant advertisements on other websites to customers who’ve previously visited the TV Licensing website and may not have completed a transaction (you may be prompted on a different device to the one you were previously using). These cookies are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of our campaigns.

  • First party cookies are applied to our website by TV Licensing (the BBC and its suppliers). Only they can retrieve the information in these cookies.
  • Third party advertising cookies are set by Havas Media Ltd, a contracted supplier of the BBC. Havas uses third party companies like Amazon, Google Doubleclick and Adwords to provide relevant online advertisements (banners on other websites and ads on search engines) to encourage people to buy a licence or change their details. These cookies are used to monitor the overall performance of those advertisements.
  • Find out how you can view and control the cookies we use.

Cookies used on the TV Licensing website:

Strictly necessary:

  • JSESSIONID
  • TVL-JSESSIONID

This creates a unique identifier (a random number specific just to your session on the website) so we can store data about it. It expires at the end of your session (when you leave the TV Licensing website) and is removed from your device when you close your browser.

  • ROUTEID
  • SSROUTEID
  • CSROUTEID

Because our website uses more than one server, this is used to make sure all the activity during your visit is directed to the same one. It expires at the end of your session (when you leave the TV Licensing website) and is removed when you close your browser.

X-Mapping

This is used to keep your browser's session intact and is removed when you close your browser.

  • Incap_ses_
  • Visid_incap_

These cookies maintain security and performance of the TV Licensing website. The first expires at the end of your browser session – also known as a session cookie. The second expires after 2 years.

tvlicensingCookieConsent

This is captured by displaying a banner to you the first time your device’s browser visits our website (or the next time you visit the site after clearing cookies from your browser).

Your acceptance is given either when you accept the banner or you continue to browse the website.

This cookie expires after 5 years.

firstVisit

This cookie is captured by displaying a banner to you explaining our use of cookies to you the first time your device’s browser visits the Simple Payment Plan or the 75+ Plan website (or the next time you visit the site after clearing cookies from your browser). This cookie persists unless you clear it from your browser.

Performance cookies:

WT_FPC (Webtrends)

This cookie is used to anonymously track your session on the TV Licensing website, as part of the WebTrends session tracking. TV Licensing uses WebTrends to monitor and improve customer journeys on the website. It expires after 10 years.

ACOOKIE

This is used to anonymously track your session by the WebTrends Data Collector domain, to improve the WebTrends Analytics reporting when sites span multiple domains. It expires after 2 years.

wt. (WebTrends Optimize)

These cookies are used to allow us to test and measure the performance of improvements to content and functions on the TV Licensing website. They also allow us to provide additional customer service messages and helpful prompts when needed. These cookies expire at the end of your session (when you leave the TV Licensing website) and are removed from your device when you close your browser.

Google Analytics

TV Licensing uses Google Analytics to monitor how customers interact with our websites. We analyse this data to improve website performance. Visit Google Analytics (opens in a new window) for further detail about the types of tags they use.

Third party advertising cookies:

Google Doubleclick

This helps us to understand / improve customer journeys, and to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether a user device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 390 days.

Google Adwords

This helps us to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether the device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 390 days.

Xandr

This helps us to understand / improve customer journeys, and to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether a user device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

     

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 90 days.

Amazon Advertising

This helps us to understand / improve customer journeys, and to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether a user device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 400 days.

Yahoo Advertising

This helps us to understand / improve customer journeys, and to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether a user device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 365 days.

Meta Pixel

This helps us to understand / improve customer journeys, and to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether a user device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 390 days.

Snapchat Pixel

This helps us to understand / improve customer journeys, and to tailor communications to devices used to access third party search engines and websites after leaving the TV Licensing website. We do this by measuring whether a user device:

  • Makes a transaction (e.g. bought a licence or updated licence details)
  • Leaves the website without completing a transaction
  • Views and interacts with specific pages on the TV Licensing website after viewing a TV Licensing online communication (e.g. banner)

These cookies can persist for a maximum of 396 days.

It is the responsibility of third party websites to provide information about non-TV Licensing cookies that may be served from their sites. We recommend you check the cookies policy of any external sites if you would like to know more about their use.

Other tracking technologies

Internet Protocol Addresses

Technical information is also gathered about you through the use of Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. An IP address is a number assigned to your computer by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), so you can access the Internet.

In most cases an IP address is dynamic (meaning it changes from time to time as you connect to the Internet), rather than static (unique to a particular user's computer). We log the IP address of any user visiting the website, primarily to track geo-location and understand how people interact with our website. IP address along with webtrends keys may also be used in exceptional circumstances to identify customers who may have been affected by a security incident.

How can I view and control cookies?

To view cookies that have been stored on your computer or mobile device, check your browser settings. If you don’t want cookies, you can modify your browser so it notifies you when they are sent to it, or you can refuse cookies altogether. You can also delete cookies that have already been set.

If you set your computer to reject cookies, you can still browse tvlicensing.co.uk but certain important features will be unavailable to you. For example, you won’t be able to pay for your TV licence or update your details.

You can normally control all cookies via your web browser. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. To understand these settings, the following links may be helpful, or you can use the Help option in your browser for more details.

Cookie settings in Internet Explorer (opens in a new window)

Cookie settings in Firefox (opens in a new window)

Cookie settings in Chrome (opens in a new window)

Cookie settings in Safari web (opens in a new window) and iOS (opens in a new window).

Alternatively, visit www.aboutcookies.org (opens in a new window) which has comprehensive instructions for a wide variety of browsers.

To manage third party advertising cookies, you will need to visit the cookies policy section on their websites to find out how they use cookies and how to control them. The links below are to cookies providers we currently use on TV Licensing’s websites.

Amazon’s cookie policy (opens in a new window)

Google’s cookie policy (opens in a new window)


Certain targeted advertisements that we (or a service provider acting on our behalf) display to you based on information about your online activities across websites and other interactive properties operated by third parties may include the “Ad Choices” icon or another mechanism to opt out of receiving interest-based advertisements. You can click on the AdChoices icon or visit www.aboutads.info to receive more information about the collection and use of information about your online activities for interest-based advertising

Youronlinechoices.com/uk/ (opens in a new window)

ghostery.com (opens in a new window)

BBC – About cookies

Information Commissioner’s Office (opens in a new window)

Aboutcookies.org (opens in a new window)

Allaboutcookies.org (opens in a new window)

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Thank you for reading the TV Licensing Privacy Policy

You can also read the BBC’s Privacy Policy.

The TV Licensing Privacy Policy was last updated on 7 September 2023.

*Calls to our 0300 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number, whether from a mobile or landline. If you get inclusive minutes with your mobile, calls to an 0300 number will be included.

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