BBC calls in debt collectors as licence fee evasion hits record levels

The move signals growing desperation at the corporation, which has warned of “managed decline” without action on falling revenues.

Licence fee dodging has nearly doubled in five years, climbing from under seven per cent to 12.5 per cent.

Themis Recoveries has been tasked with dispatching enforcement letters to homes suspected of avoiding payment, operating on a temporary contract while the BBC evaluates whether the approach delivers value.

The firm will work alongside Capita, which already handles enforcement duties including home visits. This year marked the first time the licence fee reached £180.

Some consumers have voiced frustration online after receiving payment demands despite insisting they neither watch live broadcasts nor use BBC services.

A Commons public accounts committee report published last year laid bare the scale of the problem, finding the corporation was losing up to £550million annually through non-payment.

Themis was inadvertently involved in chasing erroneous debts from a couple targeted in a £7,300 fraud scheme, court documents uncovered by The Telegraph reveal. The company maintains it did nothing wrong in that case.

Themis describes itself as Britain’s “leading customer engagement, retention and arrears management specialist” but maintains a low public profile.

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David Elstein, former BBC producer and ex-chief executive of Channel 5, said “until recently, the BBC’s attitude towards a surge in explicit licence fee cancellations, and in the failure to renew licences, had been surprisingly complacent”.

He attributed the acceleration in non-payment to several factors: enforcement weakened during the pandemic, households shifting to streaming platforms, and what he called a “measurable level of dissatisfaction with BBC output”.

Mr Elstein noted that “non-renewal is categorised as illegal ‘evasion’, even though many thousands of the new non-payers have simply given up television”.

Criminal proceedings for failing to pay have dropped sharply. Parliamentary figures showed 28,542 prosecutions in the year to 2024, compared with 39,870 the previous year.

Matt Brittin took over as director general last week, immediately cautioning that job losses and service reductions would be necessary to balance the corporation’s finances.

His predecessor Tim Davie departed after a leaked internal memo alleging bias, including claims that a Panorama documentary had misleadingly edited footage of Donald Trump to suggest he encouraged the Capitol riot.

The BBC’s future hangs on its 10th Charter review, currently underway, which could introduce advertising on the corporation’s website and YouTube channel, alongside subscription models or paywalls.

A TV Licensing spokesman said the BBC worked “hard to support people in staying licensed so that they avoid a potential criminal conviction for non-payment of the licence fee”.

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“We regularly test new approaches to achieve this. The Themis campaign explains when a TV Licence is needed, how to let us know if one isn’t required, and signposts the support available if additional help is needed,” they added.

Michael Court, the director of Themis Global, said the company “prides itself on its faultless compliance record, and invests significant resources into providing industry-leading support to its customers and clients”.

On the company’s involvement with the two fraud victims, he said Themis “acted in good faith based on the information provided to them by their client”.

“Strict protocols are maintained to ensure that further communication attempts are ceased immediately after Themis Global becomes aware of a query, such as an allegation of fraud,” he added.