Selling out

SIR – At one time we had the traditional new year sales. These did not always start on New Year’s Day, and people would look out for them eagerly.

In recent years, however, retailers have decided to ruin Christmas Day for their staff by holding sales on Boxing Day. In some stores this year, staff had to start work at 3am. This is not the free market in action; it is the exploitation of staff and of the public’s desire for a bargain. Andrew J Rixon

Hertford