Unsecured: Representative example: Assumed borrowing of £12,000 over 4 years with an interest rate of 16.9% APR (fixed) repayments of £338.36 per month. The total charge for credit would be £4,241.28. The total amount repayable would be £16,241.28

Secured lending: Representative example: Assumed borrowing of £37,700 over 180 months, with a fixed borrowing rate of 6.4% per annum for the first 36 months, followed by 144 months at the lenders standard variable borrowing rate of 5.9%. There would be 36 monthly instalments of £356.89 followed by 144 instalments of £347.59. Total amount payable £63,021 comprised of loan amount (£37,700) interest (£21,791) Broker fee (£3,000) Lender fee (£530). This would result in an overall cost of 7.8% APRC. Think carefully before securing other debts against your home. Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.

If you are thinking of consolidating existing borrowing you should be aware that you may be extending the terms of the debt and increasing the total amount you repay.