CAS Trust welcomes the announcement made by the club yesterday:

"The club are removing the £2.50 administration fee for matchday tickets bought in person at the club’s ticket office at The Valley.

Driving online ticket purchasing is an important part of the club’s development. However, after conversation and consultation including last week’s Fans’ Forum, on fan emails and fan communication with our ticket office, the feedback was that there are still a lot of fans who traditionally purchase in-person who don’t have the facilities and/or knowledge to purchase online.

With this in mind, we are removing the administration charge for in-person purchases at The Valley as of July 26th. As initially planned we will also install a computer at The Valley’s reception where our ticketing office staff can show those who need support, how to register and purchase online. This will be ready before the start of the season."

The club hierarchy has been roundly criticised for many of the poorly thought through decisions it has made over the last 30 months. CAS Trust has often been at the forefront of this criticism and we strongly opposed this surcharge on our website and at the Fans Forum last week. We believe that, if the club had had the wisdom to consult with fans before imposing the administration fee,  they would have avoided the negative publicity that it provoked.

We also note that the charge will still apply to telephone purchases and we are disappointed that the £3 surcharge per adult ticket will continue to be applied for purchases made in-person in the two hours before kick off.

However, we applaud the decision to respond positively to feedback from supporters on the matter of the personal caller administration fee. Is it too much to hope that it might signal the beginnings of a more consultative approach to the management of the club?