Fed up paying for a TV licence? Join me

My name is Mat Growcott and I don't have a TV Licence. Yes, I admit it.

I promise I don't need it, I've 'fessed up to the TV Licensing people and that, m'lord, is the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

In the court of public opinion – spurred on by several of the bigger newspapers, I might add – I'm a scammy "evader", looking to enjoy all of the BBC's quality Dad's Army re-runs on the dime of honest, hardworking British citizens.

To so many people we might as well kick puppies for fun or unapologetically take the last Ferrero Rocher at dinner parties. We're single-handedly bringing down an English institution by not paying for something we don't use.

But the reality is very different. I'm part of a rapidly growing group of mostly younger people for whom watching live TV has gone the same way as fighting lions, painting caves or laughing at Beadle's About.

There's not many of us – the latest figures reveal there are a record-breaking 25.6 million licences in force – but for the most part we're happy to be out of the loop when it comes to Bake Off. Sorry Ms Berry.

The exact number of people who correctly don't need a TV Licence is difficult to know exactly. In 2008 it was about a million people, but since the closure of the "iPlayer Loophole" that allowed people to watch the most recent programmes for free that figure may have gone down.

The far more publicised number is that only up to six per cent of homes "evade" the TV licence – meaning they don't pay but watch live, broadcast TV anyway. Last year there were 800 evaders caught daily, a whopping 291,000 people. Some of them will have been fined up to £1,000 and 99 per cent of the cases they take to court result in conviction.

So why are younger people dropping the TV Licence?

Netflix and Amazon revenue surged by almost 23 per cent to £1.3bn in UK last year, taking them ahead of Blu-ray and DVD sales for the very first time.

Being able to control what you watch and when you watch it was a complete fantasy 10 years ago, but today it's very much part of modern life. Imagine never having to watch adverts or never having to see Graham Norton or Jimmy Carr ever again. The power is very much in your hands.

Almost everything worth watching is available legally via catch-up services or, if it's on the Beeb, then they tend to release their programmes quite quickly. The first half of the most recent series of Doctor Who was available to buy on DVD and Blu-ray just days after the last episode in the set aired.

Smartphones take care of almost everything else. Football scores, news, gossip – almost everything you could want is at your fingertips and, most importantly, every catch-up service except the iPlayer is still legal to use without a TV Licence.

So if you find yourself struggling to find anything to watch, you may be able to save yourself some money.

Telling TV Licensing that you're quitting is as easy as visiting their website and filling out a form. They will send a letter thanking you for telling them and warning you that they may pop out to check you're not secretly watching live TV.

Occasionally you'll get another letter asking you to reconfirm that you don't watch live TV, and that's all you'll ever hear from them.

The rules are very clear, but prepare yourself for a sea of worried expressions every time you mention you don't have a TV licence.

"But you have a TV and a tablet," they say. "What happens if a detector van comes your way? Don't you listen to the radio in the car?"

You only need a licence if you're watching or recording live broadcast TV on any device, or if you use the iPlayer.

Joseph Innes, of TV Licensing, said: “If you watch or record programmes as they’re being shown on TV or live on an online TV service you need to be covered by a TV Licence.

"You also need to be covered by a TV Licence to download or watch BBC programmes on demand – including catch up TV – on BBC iPlayer.

"More than 95 per cent of people watch live TV or BBC programmes on iPlayer, so need a licence.”

In short, there's one simple rule to follow if you think you would like to stop paying your licence fee. Don't watch live TV. Don't use the iPlayer. Don't record the football and think that's a safe way of avoiding paying.

No, you have to go cold turkey. Give up on your morning news, your weekend sports and your Sunday night drama.

If you can't do it, pay your licence fee. I'm told it's worth every penny.