My son is 19 and on the autism spectrum.  He and his young girlfriend Mary (not her real name) moved into a flat together just recently. The first time in both of their lives that they have lived independently from their parents.

It has been very stressful for them and a huge learning curve. Mary suffers from extreme anxiety.  She takes strong medication to keep this in check.

A threatening letter from TV Licensing breached the sanctity of their new home via the letter box of their flat.

Addressed to 'Present Occupier',at their address, Mary opened it.  She was on her own, as my son was out for the day. 

She was immediately sent into a state of extreme anxiety by the contents.

The menacing threats in the letter read as follows:-

A LARGE RED CIRCLE with - Maximum Fine £1,000 in bold large font inside the circle.
A heading of IGNORING THIS LETTER COULD COST YOU A LOT MORE THAN THE LICENSE FEE
Top right of letter - VISIT BEING AUTHORISED

At the bottom of this menacing letter, it states that in Scotland, Scottish Criminal Law applies. A report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal, who will decide on Prosecution. 

The very first sentence states SINCE YOU DIDN'T RESPOND TO OUR LAST LETTER, AN INVESTIGATION INTO YOUR PROPERTY HAS NOW BEGUN

You can still stop the investigation But you need to buy a TV License without delay

A court appearance could cost you over £1,000

As your details have now been passed to our Enforcement Division, a visit to your property is being authorised

These threats caused young Mary to be so gripped with fear and distress, that she immediately paid the £159 license fee in one go via bank transfer even though they have little money to spare, even though they don't watch any live TV or BBC iPlayer and even though they don't even have a working TV socket or arial. 

I verily believe that the BBC obtained this £159 by threat.  The Theft Act 1968 refers to blackmail as the making of any unwarranted demands with menaces by a person with the intention of gain for himself or another or with intent to cause loss to another. “Menaces” refers to a high degree of coercion – so “demanding money with menaces” refers to a person threatening to do something the victim would not wish them to do if payment is not made.

Court Prosecutors needs to stop colluding with TV Licensing's menacing demands for money, and instead take action to stop it.

TV Licensing send menacing letters to any address, even when they don't know who lives there, or what disability they may suffer from, using 'Present Occupier' as the addressee.

We all know that 'present occupier' is not an actual person who can be prosecuted, so this threat is without any merit and is just menace for the sake of extortion.

The fact is, the BBC/TV Licensing have no idea who they are sending their menacing letters to, and neither do they care. Whether it's an elderly widow who has perhaps recently lost her husband who took care of all financial affairs, or a vulnerable young person who is already struggling to live independently, and of course, in this situation, a vulnerable young couple with documented mental health and learning disabilities/autism.

Not everyone has someone to help them understand that these threats are wrongful and to ignore them or respond that they don't need a license.  Not everyone has the mental capacity to understand that they don't need to pay the £159 which would leave them unable to pay their rent or groceries.

The fact that young Mary paid this, out of fear, proves that these menacing letters cause such fear and distress, that people pay even though they don't need to.

I firmly believe that the BBC/TV Licensing, backed up by the law, is an obscenity and a breach of human rights.

I am therefore hereby standing up for not only this gentle young couple, but all other vulnerable people who are menaced into paying for a TV Licensing they neither want nor need. 

The BBC/TV Licensing will accept these extorted payments and only then stop sending threats and menace into the sanctity of homes where the elderly and vulnerable should feel safe from threat from the outside world.

THIS MENACE MUST STOP!

TV LICENSING also make it impossible to email them, to make it simple for people to respond that they don't need a license, by never giving out an email address on their website or in their threatening letters. 

They only offer a complaint form (which is currently not even working) where one's complaint cannot be kept within one's email system as a record of communication (I copy and paste everything into another document before I hit SEND, but most people don't realise they can do that).

This method of leaving out any email address, is a cynical ploy used deliberately by TV Licensing and other unethical organisations, so that there is no proof that the message has been sent and they can easily deny receiving it. 

They must be forced to put an email address on their letters and website.

I therefore appeal to you all, to help end this cycle of abuse of vulnerable people by BBC/TV Licensing by signing this petition to stop the menace, the threats of prosecution, threats of visits being authorised, and threats of Prosecutors being sent a report.