Borrowing on the same account through credit card cheques costs consumers an additional £179 million a year in interest and charges, according to the latest research.

Figures from comparison site uSwitch.com found that the credit card industry makes £443 million a year on credit card cheques.

Of the 18 million cardholders sent cheques for their credit account, almost 100 per cent were sent unsolicited by the card company.

Most issuers charge a handling fee and apply a cash advance rates to the balance and don't allow any interest free period from the date when the cheque is cashed.

One in three people were unaware of the cost involved with using the cheques and 64 per cent did not know what interest rate they were paying.

"There is a danger that many of the people who these cheques are targeted at will already be at risk of falling into over-indebtedness, and the 'convenience' of these cheques, coupled with the manner in which they are marketed by the credit card companies who issue them, could push them over the edge," said Nick White from uSwitch.com.