BORROWERS struggling to cope with the cost of Christmas should avoid committing themselves to several years’ worth of pricey payment protection insurance from high street lenders, warns stand-alone online provider Paymentcare.co.uk.

“Far from easing the burden of seasonal debt, the cost of lenders’ own PPI offerings can compound consumers’ debts by locking them into an agreement from which there is no escape,” said Paymentcare.co.uk managing director Shane Craig.

“Switch and save has been the mantra of 2006: gas, electricity, telephone, broadband – it seems there is always a better and cheaper option available at the click of a mouse. But try getting out of your PPI policy and you could well find that you have unwittingly signed up for a lengthy - and expensive - stretch inside.”

In their eagerness to get their hands on a cheap loan, many borrowers simply don’t bother to check the terms of the PPI policy that is offered along with their loan, and may believe they can simply cancel the PPI agreement without this having any impact on the loan agreement.

With Paymentcare.co.uk, if borrowers change loan providers, decide they no longer need protection or just simply change their minds, they can cancel their insurance with one month’s notice.

“Our policies are straight forward and transparent, like all Paymentcare.co.uk policies,” added Craig.