However, there's been some good news in the past few weeks. Some new lower rates have been launched including a loan from The AA at 8.0%, which is available exclusively through moneysupermarket.com.
What's been happening?
The credit crunch and a clampdown on the sale of payment protection insurance (PPI) have had a significant impact on the loans market.
Banks and building societies are much more cautious about who they will lend to than they were in the pre-credit crunch days which has made it harder for many people to get a loan.
Some providers have pulled out of the market and stopped offering personal loans completely which not only means less choice for borrowers, but it also means reduced competition among lenders.
What's more, lenders are now more restricted in how they can sell PPI. With fewer PPI policies being sold, providers are looking for other ways to recoup the lost revenue.
All this has resulted in personal loan rates going up at a time when the country's official interest rate has been falling. But in recent weeks we've seen a bit of an about turn with a number of providers reducing loan rates or launching new, cheaper products - welcome relief for borrowers.
So, what are the best deals?
A new deal from Sainsbury's Bank is topping the unsecured loan best buy table with a typical annual percentage rate (APR) of 7.9% (the 'typical rate' means it must be offered to at least 66% of successful applicants).
The rate is available for loans between £5,000 and £15,000, and you can apply directly through moneysupermarket.com, but only if you're a Sainsbury's shopper. You must have a Nectar card to qualify and you'll be required to give your Nectar number at the time of application.
If you're not already signed up to the Nectar loyalty scheme, it's easy to do - there's no cost and application forms are available in Sainsbury's or you can apply online. Once you're signed up, you'll earn Nectar points on any spending at Sainsbury's and other Nectar partners (these include BP, EDF Energy, Dollond & Aitchison and Talktalk).
If you do your weekly shop elsewhere then don't panic - you don't have to ditch your favourite supermarket to find a decent rate.
Moneysupermarket.com customers also have access to an exclusive loan from The AA. The typical APR is 8.0%, so only marginally higher than that on the Sainsbury's loan - someone looking to borrow £7,000 over five years would pay just 31p a month more with The AA loan - their repayments would be £141.00 a month, compared with £140.69.
The AA deal is available for loans between £7,000 and £25,000.
For those wishing to borrow a smaller sum of cash - i.e. below £5,000 - there are still attractive deals available. For example, on a three-year loan of £2,000 rates start as low as 8.9% with the Abbey Personal Loan although this deal is only available to Abbey customers. Otherwise, the Post Office Personal Loan has a typical rate of 13.9%.
What else should you look for?
Check the terms and conditions of any loan you apply for and watch out for any hidden fees such as arrangement and administration costs. For more on what to look for when applying for a loan read our article "How to choose a loan".
Remember too that the rates advertised are typical and so won't be offered to every customer. What's more is that the best rates are only available to customers with excellent credit ratings. This means that if you've defaulted on a loan in the past, made a late payment on a household bill, or haven't held a fixed address for long, you may not qualify as your credit score is likely to have been affected. To make matters worse applying for loans and being rejected only further harms your credit profile so you must careful.
Peter Harrison looks at "How to improve your credit rating" in his article this week. However, if you can't wait for your credit score to be back on track before applying for a loan then use our SmartSearch tool which shows rates you're likely to qualify for based on a snapshot of your profile.
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