Madam,

Oh what a tangled web we weave when free TV licences we try to retrieve.

The responsibility has returned to the BBC TV Licensing by the UK government in respect of free TV licences for the over 75s.

Only those on Pension Credit will continue to have their licences funded by the BBC.

This begs so many questions regarding the administration of such a change to the present scheme.

One has to question what the cost will be to the BBC?

With Pension Credit, the government is not at liberty to divulge any information held whatsoever to external bodies such as the BBC. So how will their licensing department establish which of their viewers are the over 75s who should benefit?

Surely it would involve immense cost in contacting all viewers in the hope that they will respond. There is also the possibility of many over 75s innocently believing that their monthly DHSS pension is ‘Pension Credit’.

So many viewers who have received free TV licences for years have moved address, moved to residential care or sadly died.

And what will they do if the thousands of justiifiably disgruntled pensioners refuse to co-operate by ignoring their correspondence, some returning unopened bills as a protest?

I am writing as I have previously as in the role of secretary of the North Ceredigion Forum For Elderly Care as there are so many over 75s, in fact pensioners of all ages, who are just above Pension Credit criteria, who are some of the poorest in the UK.

Yours etc, Patricia Bates, Maes-Maelor, Penparcau.

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