TV licence by Direct Debit

A question about : TV licence by Direct Debit

I have been paying it yearly by a credit card so far, but am thinking of switching to a DD because many bank current accounts require DDs nowadays and the interest I can get over-weights 0.5% CC cashback.

Is my understanding correct that monthly option doesn't incur any extra fees unlike the quarterly one?

This doesn't make much sense to me and I don't want wasting my time on trying to understand this nonsense.

I do understand that my first 6 payments will be higher.
ETA: on second thought this seems to mean that after 6 months I will always be paying in advance for the next 6 months (instead of 12 currently) - correct?

Best answers:

• Yes that's correct
• The licence is annual, and payments to account and designed to clear both the current viewing and the upcoming year which is why it costs more. You are correct in that it's not straightforward - especially when you expect it to be a PAYG process (payment in respect of that month's viewing).
• Can anyone explain why it is Ј12.18 p.m. after the first 6 months, not 145.50/12=Ј12.12?!
  Not that 5p-6p make any difference to me. Just trying to understand how arithmetic works in this crazy company... Do they not say "at no extra cost"?
  Their calculators seem to work fine for the first 6 payments: 145.50/6=24.25
• Thanks, but the figures were for monthly payments, not quarterly:
  Quote:
• This TVL monthly DD scheme seems to be designed to confuse.
  The exact figures depends on when you ask to go on the scheme. If your old licence has 1-6 months to run, then your DD payments can start now at less than double rate to begin paying for your next licence.
  If you start from scratch, then the payments work out like this:-
  Month 1-6: Double payments for your first licence, which starts at month 1.
  Month 7-12: Advance single payments for your second licence. The licence won't start until month 13.
  Month 13-18: Single payments for the rest of your second licence, which runs from Month 13.
  Month 18-24: Advance single payments for your third licence, which won't start until month 25.
  And so on.
  The idea being that for half the year you are paying in advance and half the year you are paying in arrears. If you cancel the licence, you will possibly get a refund, depending on where in the cycle you are.