Interest rates on credit cards have soared to a 12-year high - despite the fact that Bank of England rates have been held at a record low of 0.5% for a year.

It shouldn't come as a huge shock that credit card companies are fleecing us for every penny. We are more than used to it by now.

But that doesn't mean we should be taking it lying down.

Borrowers are being advised to challenge their credit card provider if the interest rates they are charged increase unexpectedly.

Interest rates came down at the end of the 1990s when competition intensified between credit card providers. They hit a low in 2006 when many companies were worried people wouldn't be able to repay their debts.

However, since then interest rates have been on the rise again. The average credit card rate now stands at 18.8%, the highest level since 1998, according to Moneyfacts.

This means that credit card borrowers who have run up a debt of £5,000 and make only the minimum repayment each month, will now pay back £2,289 more over the life of the debt than they would have in February 2006.

"If customers receive notice of a rate increase, they should challenge their provider for the reason why the increase is necessary, especially if their credit status hasn't changed," said Michelle Slade of Moneyfacts.

"Competitive deals for balance transfers and introductory purchases remain on offer, so it is definitely worth taking the time to see if you can transfer to a better credit card with another provider."

Recent Bank of England figures have shown a massive rise in the amount of credit card debt that banks have written off as bad debts. Write-offs doubled to £1.6 billion in the third quarter of last year.

This suggests that higher interest rates on credit cards have been prompted by the rising number of borrowers defaulting on their debts.

And there's no reason why you should be paying for someone else's mistakes.