Finance company advises consumers to 'shop around'

Borrowers should not be put off by tales of lenders refusing applications for mortgages, loans and credit cards, an advisory service has said.

A quarterly review of financial services produced by Moneyextra.com, a website offering financial advice, suggests that consumers could be making significant savings if they "shop around".

Moneyextra estimates that borrowers could save over £3,000 per year by looking more carefully at the deals on the financial services they have signed up to.

In the current economic climate mortgages have increased significantly and, according to Moneyextra, arrangement fees have nearly doubled, but savings can still be made.

Robin Amlot of Moneyextra.com commented, "Mortgages aren't cheap and lenders aren't fighting for our custom in the way they used to but you could still save yourself almost £2,000 a year just by making the right mortgage choices."

Consumers should also keep an eye on the rates they are paying on their credit cards. Mr Amlot said: "Despite three cuts in the base interest rate, you still need to keep an eye on your savings - there's a three per cent spread between the top and bottom of the ISA tables."

Mortgages News posted on 22/05/2008 17:11:24