"With 15% of those remortgaging being unaware of how they work, automatically lapsing onto them is a common and costly financial pitfall."
The study found that homeowners on SVR mortgages could save £133.46 per month by switching to a better deal.
12% of mortgage holders in the UK are on an SVR when applying to remortgage, and with nearly 11 million outstanding mortgages in the UK, this means over 1.3 million people may have lapsed onto an SVR.
15% of those enquiring about remortgages were not aware that they will most likely be automatically switched to an SVR or follow-on rate when their initial deal term ends.
Those remortgaging for the first time are more than twice as likely to be unaware that this is how mortgage deals work, compared to those who had remortgaged previously (16% and 7% respectively).
Emma Harvey, consumer affairs spokesperson at MoneySuperMarket, commented: “Standard Variable Rates on mortgages are notoriously expensive and with 15% of those remortgaging being unaware of how they work, automatically lapsing onto them is a common and costly financial pitfall.
“Regardless of whether you’re on an SVR mortgage or another type, there could still be significant savings to be made when your initial mortgage deal comes to an end. In fact, we found that the average saving for mortgage holders still within their initial product period is £28.36 per month, which really adds up."
