‘Borrowing Brits are being overcharged’

An estimated figure the company puts on the apparent overspending amounts to as much as £9.3 billion a year, which will not help those looking for a debt solution as repayment bills mount up.

The claims are based on Zopa’s own research, which suggests that if unsecured borrowers were paying interest payments in line with their own the country’s “personal debt crisis” might be eased considerably.

James Alexander, co-founder and chief executive officer of Zopa, remarked: “The scale of personal debt in the UK is quite astonishing and the extent to which people are being ripped off by their banks, credit card and personal loan companies is simply outrageous.”

Earlier this month, the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee voted to maintain interest rates on cash borrowed in the UK after having agreed an increase was required in January.