Personal loan deals are getting more expensive as far as British borrowers are concerned, it has been claimed.

According to a report from research firm Defaqto, the typical cost of taking on a personal loan in the UK is higher now than it was when the base rate of interest was last set at five per cent in December 2006.

In fact, a loan of £2,000 is now on average 3.3 per cent more expensive over the course of 24 months than it would have been 18 months ago.

Many of the UK’s biggest lenders are thought to be tightening their criteria and looking for what Defaqto describes as "better quality business".

"The rejection rate for unsecured loan applicants is higher than it has been in previous years with Nationwide reporting that they’re now declining about 60 per cent of applications," noted the research firm’s principal banking consultant David Black.

A report from the Council of Mortgage Lenders last week suggested that an increasing number of homeowners are opting for fixed-rate mortgage deals in an effort to avoid money problems in years to come.