Dennis Reed, the director of Silver Voices, urged Clare Sumner, director of policy at the BBC, and Shirley Cameron, director of revenue and customer management, to open discussions on resolving the long-running dispute.
Mr Reed said: “BBC policy on the over 75s is intransigent and leading the BBC into a cul-de-sac from which they will be unable to reverse.
“Their hardline, no-negotiation policy will weaken their hand in future discussions on the future funding of the BBC.”
During the virtual meeting on April 18, Mr Reed pointed out that the existing BBC policy of sending increasing numbers of threatening letters to older households, but maintaining a no prosecutions policy, was untenable.
He warned it was making the BBC look “weak, vindictive, and even ridiculous”.
Up to 350,000 older households have declined to pay the £159 licence fee, nearly three years on from when the benefit was withdrawn.
A TV licensing spokeswoman said:“It remains the case that over 9 in 10 households are correctly licensed and evasion remains low.
“We work hard to support people to stay licensed, providing a range options to help spread the cost. The BBC also pays for over 700,000 free TV Licences for over 75s in receipt of Pension Credit.
“We meet regularly with organisations like Silver Voices to discuss these matters and we’re happy to continue to do so.”
Mr Reed said: “Over 75s now know that they can safely ignore the threatening letters from TV Licensing because no enforcement visits take place and no prosecutions have occurred.
“Indeed, people who reach the age of 75 are beginning to join our campaign as they reach their birthdays, heaping further pressure on the BBC to resolve the dispute”.
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