Theatre-goers often put up with a great deal but they will forgive cramped seating and poor facilities for the sheer pleasure of the show itself. But they shouldn't have to put up with being stung by hidden extras when booking tickets which are often prohibitively expensive in the first place. Worse still, it's often only when you get to the end of the booking process that you realise that there are extra costs, which can include a fee for each ticket and then a transaction fee on top.
So it's good news that – in a ruling which came about because of adverts from theatres including London's Old Vic – the Advertising Standards Authority have said that, in future, those booking theatre tickets must be advised in advance of booking and transaction fees. This means that advertisers will now have to make clear in the ticket price itself if there are compulsory per-ticket charges.
It's a step in the right direction. But the real issue is whether any theatre tickets should be subject to such fees in the first place. Why should theatre-goers have to pay for buying something – tickets – that theatres are eager to sell? Your thoughts please.
