Martin Lewis has issued a "desperate" plea in the wake of the Bank of England rising interest rates to 5%.
The announcement was made at midday on Thursday, with the rate to jump up by 0.5% from 4.5%. This is the sharpest increase since February, surprising economists who had been expecting a smaller hike of 0.25 percentage points.
Essentially, interest rate rises are good news for savers and bad news for borrowers. Top saving deals have been rising rapidly, as have mortgage repayments for those not on a fixed mortgage.
READ MORE: Bank of England interest rate rise to 5% and what it means for you and your mortgage
The average two-year fixed mortgage rate is now 6.19%, according to Moneyfacts. The average five-year fix is 5.82%, and these are up from 2.59% and 2.82% last year.
Reacting to the news on Twitter on Thursday, Mr Lewis said it is "very hard to know how to react to a 0.5% increase in rates at this time", adding that while there is a clear need to "tackle inflation", this method is "causing huge pain" to many mortgage holders.
He continued: "We need to at least ensure the gain is passed on to savers. Plus spare a thought for #mortgageprisoners who've been paying over the odds for 15 years.
"Many will now have totally unaffordable 9% mortgages. Help for them is desperately needed."
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