The cost of personal loans has increased again, with lenders once again increasing interest rates on unsecured loans according to research by a financial price comparison site.

Moneysupermarket.com claimed that the cost of interest on a £10,000 loan has increased by an average of £322 after some lenders increased their typical APRs by up to 1.2% for new customers since the beginning of the month.

Marks and Spencer Money was highlighted by the site as one of the biggest culprits, claimed to have increased selected rates by 1.2%, while Egg is said to have increased the interest rates on loans between £3,000 to £20,000 by 1% to 14.9%.

Alliance & Leicester, now part of Santander, also increased its rates for loans of £5,000 to £7,499 by 0.1% to 8.9% whilst the cost of loans of £7,500 to £15,000 saw an increase by 0.8% to 8.7%.

The site claimed that the increase was due to lenders’ continuing efforts to be more selective over who they offer the best rates to, increasing the cost of borrowing for those customers with less than perfect credit scores.

"As consumers struggle to make ends meet and manage their finances, loan providers are looking to offer the best rates to those whose financial behaviour they can closely inspect - which are their existing customers,” claimed Louise Bond from moneysupermarket.com.

"Last year 1.3 million consumers used an unsecured personal loan for debt consolidation purposes. However, with the number of personal loans available dropping by 37% this year and rejection running high, it would be highly unlikely that a similar number of consumers would be able to consolidate their debts this year.

“However, for those that are thinking about, or attempting to do this, it would definitely be worthwhile finding out what rates existing providers can offer, as it seems loyalty is one of the only aspects that could win consumers better interest rates at the moment."