Banks and building societies have long been criticized for the high application fees they charge for mortgages and remortgages.

Many times these fees are added to the total mortgage debt (adding to the interest one has to pay), and increases the cost of the loan by thousands of pounds. They do it because it is one method for them to stay profitable, but for the consumer, it can make loans difficult to acquire or pay off.

The website MoneyExpert has recently reported that mortgage lenders are intent on applying fees based on a percentage of the loan they are providing.

MoneyExpert is especially warning those remortgaging to take account of such charges and be aware that over the past twelve months there has been a 14% rise in the number of products demanding a percentage rate. According to the price comparison website, mortgages with percentage fees now account for 49% of the market, with lenders charging between 0.4% and 2.5% of the value of the loan. This study also reported a decrease in the number of fixed-rate deals charging a set fee, from 57% to 51%.