However much like NHK here in Japan, it wouldn't be at all surprising if many people simply snubbed the collections guy because they don't own a TV, don't watch BBC, or just don't want to pay.
"The latest official evasion rate for the United Kingdom is 5.2% of all licensable places (for the 2009/10 financial year). The official evasion rate estimates the percentage (not the number) of all premises (not individuals or households) evading the licence fee in the UK. It is calculated for the Department for Culture, Media and Sport using a model that compares the number of licences in force to external statistics on the number of households and other licensable places in the UK."
This is based on data that suggests "Under 3% of UK households don’t have a television set (this figure does not include other premises like businesses)." Approximately 25 million TV licenses are in force.
Possibly there is more evasion in things like holiday homes and caravans, which should be licensed. But generally data suggests, as does my anecotal evidence, that most UK home-owners just see the TV license as a standard bill that is paid annually.
Interesting, thanks for the info. This article (http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fl20060801zg.html) is a couple years old but give a decent summary in English of what the situation is here. An official billing with all the necessary legal documentation would probably go a lot further than some of the goons going around as collection agents.
