Supermarkets Financial Products Poor Value for Money

Fri, 03 Nov 2006
 
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A new study by consumer group Which? has revealed how consumers are paying over the odds when taking out a loan or credit card through supermarket chains.

Which? have investigated the financial products on offer from UK supermarkets and calculated, for example, that going to Marks and Spencer for a £5,000 personal loan can cost £384 more over a three year peroid than if the consumer went to a specialist loan provider .

It isn’t just loans that can be poor value for money . Credit cards from shops more familiar with food than finances can also prove a bad buy, for example Morrisons’ credit card charges 18.9 per cent APR and Tesco charges 12.9 per cent APR. When compared to a bank such as Halifax were it's Flat Rate Online offer charges 5.9 per cent, you can see the huge difference in value, and why supermarkets are not a smart choice.

Which? editor Neil Fowler, said, "Just because supermarkets offer good value on groceries, don't assume this applies across the board .

"You can pay well over the odds for the convenience of picking up a financial product with your weekly shopping," he continued.

However if consumers take their time to do thourough research on supermarkets then good deals can be found.

Sainsbury's, Asda and M&S’s life insurance was seen as good value by Which? research. Sainsbury’s also came recommended for it's internet savings account, which was seen as one of the best on the market .

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