Britons waste ?2.2bn annually on their mortgages

Homeowners in the UK are collectively paying ?2.2bn a year too much for their mortgages, according to a report published today.

Monthly mortgage repayment are often the biggest household outgoing, with the average homeowner paying out ?391 a month, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

The report, by consumer magazine Which?, urged mortgage borrowers currently paying their lenders' standard variable rate (SVR) to consider switching mortgages to cut down on monthly expenditure. The organisation said that a person paying the SVR on a ?58,000 mortgage stands to save as much as ?475 per year by changing to a lower-cost home loan.

Borrowers, according to the report, are victims of their own apathy, and should take action to ensure they are getting the best value for money and not falling prey to lenders' higher rates.

Melanie Green, principal researcher at Which?, said: "Providers are using their customers' inertia to their advantage and getting away with charging longer-term customers high rates. It's customers themselves who are in the best position to change this by finding the best deal for them and either approaching their lender for a better deal or taking their business elsewhere."