Alistair Bonnington sues TV Licensing chiefs over threats

He said he was hounded with the threat of prosecution after moving to his new house, despite having a licence.

TV Licensing threatened to take court action against him and to fine him up to £1,000.

The retired lawyer, who has four grandchildren, said: “They have hounded me and made threats but because of my legal background I wasn’t intimidated, although it was unpleasant.

“For others – for example, a parent of young children or an elderly and vulnerable person – it’s not hard to imagine that they would just say, ‘Fair enough, I’ll pay this’, to put an end to it, even though they’d already paid.

“The problem is that TV Licensing did not respond to most of my emails or letters, or listen to what I was telling them, so something that could have been resolved easily drags on for many months.”

Having moved from Glasgow to Berwick-upon-Tweed in December 2022 he “almost immediately” received a letter from TV Licensing.

He said: “The letters just kept coming and I would email them or write – sending letters by recorded delivery – and explain that I had already paid for a licence, but it got me nowhere.”

He is now taking legal action against the BBC in the county court in England for compensation of £1,000.

A TV Licensing spokesman said it “would be inappropriate to comment or speculate on next steps while the legal process is ongoing”.