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 * / TV Licensing privacy and security policies


WELCOME TO TV LICENSING’S PRIVACY POLICY

View in Welsh



 

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

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, 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.

Back to menu

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).

Back to menu

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.

Back to menu

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.

Back to menu

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.

Back to menu

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.

Back to menu

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

WHAT IS A COOKIE?

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.

Mediamath

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 397 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)

MediaMath'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


OTHER LINKS WITH MORE INFORMATION ABOUT COOKIES

See below some links to other sites where you can read more about cookies and
other tracking technologies, as well as the BBC’s own cookies policy.

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)

Back to menu

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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