Borrowers facing 110 fees says survey

The average UK consumer with just five standard financial products to their name faces 110 penalty fees, with even the smartest and most organised struggling to avoid them.

Simply by taking out a mortgage, current account, personal loan, savings account and credit you could face up to £295 in fees in the course of a month.

"It is unbelievable that five financial products alone can be the root of so much penalty pain," said Stuart Glendinning of Moneysupermarket, which conducted the survey.

"There is a huge number of default and penalty charges of which even the most astute consumer can fall foul.

"It is important to raise the flag of awareness on these penalties and blow the whistle on providers who do not make their penalty fees transparent to consumers from the outset."

Personal loans contain up to 11 forms of fees, including early repayment charges, late payment charges and unpaid direct debit charges of between £25 and £30.

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