Prudential banking slams "standing disorders"

Forgotten direct debits and standing orders are costing Britons £427 million a month, Prudential has found.

Branded "derelict debits" and "standing disorders", they mean the average person loses £53 a month, or £630 a year, to unnecessary payments.

Nearly one in five people have discovered forgotten direct debits and standing orders.

Worryingly, 47 per cent or 20 million people do not know exactly how much they are paying for each payment or to whom.

"Millions of people may as well take £15 out of their bank account each week and give it to a complete stranger. That is the net result of their forgetfulness," said Angus Maciver, director of brand and insight at Prudential UK.

He added that the forgotten payments are an "illustration of the negative impact of poor financial management".

The main advice Prudential gives is to check bank statements regularly.

It found the most common forgotten payments are for old club memberships and irrelevant insurance policies, while one person in ten if forking out for unused gym membership.

Mr Maciver concluded: "In times when savings and retirement planning are rarely out of the news, the money frittered away each month would start to address the nation's savings shortfall."