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People looking to take out personal loans should act sooner rather than later, according to uSwitch.

The group's comments come after Moneyback Bank and Alliance & Leicester announced increases to their unsecured personal loan rates.

Simeon Linstead, head of personal finance at uSwitch, said the average rate for a £10,000 loan over five years has risen from 8.74 per cent APR to 9.14 per cent APR over the course of seven weeks.

People in the UK could be looking at paying £1.2 billion more in interest than they did this time last year, he stated.

However, he added people who are prepared to shop around may find there are still competitive rates available.

"The remaining best buy deals may not be around for much longer so consumers should act now while they can still get some pretty good deals," he said.

Homeowners may find a secured loan is a better bet as interest rates tend to be lower as the risk to the lender is reduced.