More than half of Britons do not bother to find out how much interest they are being charged when they borrow money, a survey has revealed.
Some 52% of people who had taken on debt through a credit card, loan or overdraft admitted they had not checked what the interest rate was.
This meant that 65% of people got a shock when they saw how much they were being charged, and 21% of those surveyed said they later regretted borrowing the money.
The most popular method of borrowing was credit cards, with 72% of people getting into debt through this method, while 43% had taken out a loan and 39% had gone overdrawn.
Eight out of 10 people still owed money, with 32% describing their debts as serious, according to a poll of 1,201 people by discount website MyVoucherCodes.co.uk.
Mark Pearson, chairman of MyVoucherCodes.co.uk, said: "Interest rates and APR are something that any borrower should be fully aware of before signing up for anything.
"Some interest rates and APR are set extortionately high and it's a shame that many people are tricked into a false sense of security."
