“I'm Upset With the SABC”: SA Broadcaster Lerato Höffele Shares Struggle To Cancel TV Licence

• Former 947 Joburg news anchor Lerato Höffele shared a video revealing how complicated it was to cancel her SABC TV licence after emigrating to Germany
• Höffele said she proactively emailed the SABC before leaving South Africa, but was later hit with debt collection notices and a R477 bill
• South Africans flooded her comments with their own SABC TV licence horror stories, with many saying they simply stopped paying
• Briefly News reached out to the former 947 news anchor for comment on the administrative hurdles she faced with the SABC

A former Johannesburg radio news anchor found out the hard way that doing the right thing with the SABC does not always pay off. Lerato Höffele, a former 947 Joburg news anchor now based in Germany, posted an Instagram reel on 31 August 2026 venting about her failed attempt to cancel her South African TV licence from abroad.

Höffele said she had done everything by the book before emigrating. She emailed the SABC ahead of her departure, informing them she was moving to Germany and would no longer need her licence. The SABC replied early in the new year with a form requiring an affidavit, her passport exit stamp, and a commissioner of oaths signature from a South African police station.

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Unable to get the paperwork stamped from Germany, she decided to sort it out on a future trip back home and assumed the matter was on hold. It was not. When she switched on her South African SIM card weeks later, she was met with a flood of messages from a debt collection team threatening a credit bureau trace alert. Her outstanding balance had grown to R477, made up of a R265 fee plus added interest.

“I told them I’m leaving,” she said in the video.

Lerato Höffele also pointed to a stat she had come across suggesting that 85% of South Africans do not pay their TV licences, and asked her followers whether they were among the majority quietly ignoring the SABC.

Lerato Höffele speaks to Briefly News

Höffele told Briefly News that her frustration stems from a broader administrative failure that affects many South Africans trying to close their accounts. She noted that the process is unnecessarily complex.

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“In my view, it seems like the cancellation process is cumbersome due to the poor management of their own administrative processes,” she said.

She explained that she has not made further contact directly with the public broadcaster.

“I haven’t made contact with SABC again, as my account has now been handed over to their debt collectors.”

Reflecting on the flood of comments from fellow South Africans sharing similar struggles, Höffele added that she was “not at all surprised” by their experiences and fully understands their frustration.

Despite the headache, she plans to resolve the matter properly, confirming she will submit the required affidavit and settle any outstanding amount due up to her submission date.

Watch Lerato’s full Instagram reel here.

South Africans share their own SABC battles

Her followers had plenty to say:

@noohmohapi wrote:

“They must never know your name, that’s the trick. I’ve never purchased a TV. I watched my father’s TV until I got married. Now it’s my husband’s TV.”

@amandla_mahle_cutu said:

“I did the same when I was unemployed, and guess what, they said they don’t care I need to pay.

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@simply_londekam shared:

“Girl, they say I owe them over R10K and even offer me discounts so I can pay it, but hell will freeze over.”

@wlm_rx advised:

“Ignore the threats. I tried unsuccessfully to stop them from billing me since 2007.”

@zane_nkosi joked:

“It’s because you're part of the 15% that they will create huddles before cancelling. SABC is that ex that will refuse to break up with you.”

More stories about TV licences

• South African TV licence holders are facing a new risk as a deceptive email phishing scam spreads nationwide.
• The SABC outlined the steps required to cancel a TV licence for those who no longer own a television set.
• The South African Broadcasting Corporation is moving closer to scrapping the traditional TV licence system amid growing financial pressure.

Source: Briefly News