Extra arts charge

When attending a recent event at the Lyceum theatre – Kazuo Ishiguro being interviewed on his recent publication – I was surprised to be charged a £1 transaction fee on top of the price.

The transaction in question was giving money across the counter and getting a ticket.

I would expect to pay a charge if there had been a transaction which involved exchanging or cancelling a ticket or even paying by credit card but not for simply handing over cash – pounds, not euros or dollars.

When I questioned this I asked if there had been other queries from customers and was told there had.

Our theatres, concert halls and other arts venues operate, as we know, in hard times but please can we avoid those revenue-earning techniques favoured by certain airlines. They demean the product.

Richard Ellis

Jordan Lane

Edinburgh