The research indicated that this equated to home owners staying on standard variable rate (SVR) products losing around £2,600 each.
Louise Cuming, head of mortgages at moneysupermarket.com, said: “This shows how vital it is for home owners to find the most competitive product when their fixed rate deal comes to an end. Lenders have long played on the fact that home owners can be slow to react when their deal ends. Switching to an SVR increases bank and building society profits at our expense.
“People should remember that for just a little work comparing mortgages, the rewards can be huge. Anyone coming to the end of a fixed product should be looking for their next deal now, not leave it until they have languished on an SVR for a while. With one in five home owners on an SVR, it is crucial people look for a better deal.”
Gavin May, director at Independent Mortgage Matters, said: “People who are referred to us on SVR are usually unsure of what they’re paying and are normally paying over the odds as they were not serviced properly by their old brokers or banks research.”
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