SIR – A £238,200 surcharge on theatre and concert tickets for Bradford Council in 2008 – it’s a hidden tax.

There is a £1 booking fee per ticket per transaction if you use any plastic – £17 on the tickets I wanted, just for using plastic. That will do nicely.

Use the internet or the phone and you pay the surcharge. Use a debit or a credit card and you pay too. Pay cash and you get the ticket at face value.

Don’t tell me “it’s in the rules,” or “other Council’s do this”.

Does BMDC like having cash in its safe at the Alhambra? Does it like asking its staff to take cash? Does it like asking its customers to walk across the city centre with large quantities of cash in their wallets?

I think this is an intellectually-dishonest, greedy, unsafe, unbusinesslike and oddly old-fashioned practice. In short, it’s a rip-off. What do readers think?

Dale Barton, Barkerend Road, Bradford