A number of supermarkets now offer financial services as well as their traditional products. All the major chains now sell loans, insurance and bank accounts . Consumer group Which? has recently investigated these services, posing the question ‘are they value for money ?’

The research by Which? reveals that many of the financial services products from high street retailers and supermarkets is not good value, despite advertising to the contrary.

A Which? spokesman, Neil Fowler, said: Just because supermarkets offer good value on groceries, don't assume this applies across the board. You can pay well over the odds for the convenience of picking up a financial product with your weekly shopping . Although Which? did not include car finance in their assessment, instead choosing credit cards, loans, savings accounts, travel insurance and life insurance, personal loans are often used for car finance purposes. The review compared the difference between several loan products.

Which? also compared car insurance products, concluding that Sainsbury’s offered the best value for money products.