Can I keep Youview and box if I don't renew TV?

[richiecrighton]

Hi there,

I'm not intending on renewing the TV package when it expires later this month, however I will still be a BT broadband customer. Will I still be able to keep the Youview box and channels after it expires?

Thanks in advance.

[rbz5416 · Accepted solution]

Depends when you received it. BT changed to rules so that kit was only loaned around 19th December 2019 IIRC. If you received it prior to that it's yours, but that doesn't stop BT trying to get you to return it under threat of a penalty charge. Many similar threads if you search, which will also confirm the date.

[rbz5416]

As for keeping Freeview channels, only via an aerial. You need an active subscription to receive them over IP. I'm not entirely sure but I think you may also lose access to previous recordings of anything delivered over IP.

[richiecrighton]

Thanks for the response. May look at purchasing it off them or if that's not possible, buying another box.

[rbz5416]

You can pay the penalty to keep the box if it's on loan but it's generally cheaper to pick one up elsewhere. Although that does carry some risk that BT could decide to brick it at some point.

It's also a grey area with paying the penalty, in that doing so doesn't necessarily pass ownership to you.