With new research indicating that more than 20 million Britons are looking to update their kitchen in the near future, or having done so since 2000, Alliance & Leicester states that a collective £1.2 billion is being wasted on uneconomical deals.

More than a quarter (28 per cent) of those installing a new kitchen, at an average cost of £6,000, take out personal loans to cover the costs, but many kitchen dealers finance deals charge interest rates that run into double figures.

The devil is in the detail for those taking hellishly expensive kitchen dealer finance, which will probably end up burning a large hole in their pockets,” said Ash Mukadam, personal loans manager at Alliance & Leicester.

By taking finance from a kitchen dealer at an average APR of 15.2 per cent over five years, consumers would pay £2,425 in interest – more than double the interest payable on a low-rate personal loan such as that offered by Alliance & Leicester at 6.4 per cent.

“What is surprising is that people do not appear to put as much effort into looking for a good rate of finance as they put into the style of their cupboards or the colour of their worktops,” Mr Mukadam added.

“With the approaching Bank Holiday weekend being a time people sign up to home improvement deals, it is extremely important that they shop around for finance or risk putting their finances in expensive limbo for the duration of the loan.”

Click here to find the best personal loan to make your kitchen finance a dream, not hell.

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