uSwitch.com has highlighted the fact that three unsecured personal loan providers have increased their rates by up to 1.2% since the beginning of September.

It says this could cost personal loan customers an extra £322 in interest paid on a typical loan of £10,000.

Marks and Spencer Money has hiked selected rates by 1.2% and Egg has increased the rate on loans between £3,000-£20,000 increased by 1% to 14.9%.

Also, Alliance & Leicester has increased rates of loans of £5,000-£7,499 by 0.1% to 8.9% and for those between £7,500-£15,000 by 0.8% to 8.7%.

There are currently 36 personal loans currently available to consumers, compared to 57 loans that were available this time last year, a drop of 37%. At the same time, the average loan rate has increased from 9.04% to 9.08% in the last year.

Also, the best deals are currently being offered to existing customers rather than new customers.

The average interest rate in the uSwitch Best Buy table for existing customers is currently 7.94% with Nationwide topping the table with its Existing Customer Personal Loan Plan at 7.7%. However, new customers can expect to be hit with an average interest rate for a Best Buy loan of 8.08%, 0.14% higher.

Louise Bond, personal finance commentator at uSwitch.com, said: “As consumers struggle to make ends meet and manage their finances