Check your bank statements! Free-spending Brits claim to have blown the equivalent of £427 million a month in irrelevant direct debits and standing orders, according to new research from Prudential.

A staggering one in five people admit to having found direct debits and standing orders that were no longer relevant an average of £53 a month each. Many were much worse off. More than 10% of them (860,000 people) have wasted over £150 a month on forgotten electronic payments.

The most common forgotten payments are for old club memberships and irrelevant insurance policies.

Yet those that forget about payments for one month are the lucky ones. The survey shows that 42% (3.4 million people) of those who have made pointless payments did so for up to six months, with a further 15% (1.2 million people) forking out needlessly for up to and over a year.

Angus Maciver, Director of Brand and Insight at Prudential UK, said: "Millions of people may as well take fifteen quid out of their bank account each week and give it to a complete stranger. That is the net result of their forgetfulness.

"Electronic payments are highly convenient and effective for those that manage them properly. But the large number of derelict debits and standing disorders are a graphic illustration of the negative impact of poor financial management."

Evidence of financial inertia can also be seen in the fact that nearly half of Brits (46%) admit they don't know exactly how much they are paying electronically or to whom. This is despite people claiming that they spend more than £13 billion a month by direct debits and standing orders (excluding mortgages).

Research conducted by TNS, 10th 12th December, with a representative sample of 1004 GB adults aged 16 plus.

Research conducted by Incepta Research among 93 direct debit / standing order users, aged 16 plus. 41% admitted to making outdated or irrelevant payments.

Direct debit / standing order recipient % people who claim to have made outdated monthly payments: Old club membership fees - 26.8%.

Old insurance policy premiums- 14.6%.

Extended warranties- 9.7%.

Unused gym memberships - 9.7%.

Magazine subscriptions - 7.3%.

Bills for unused services - 7.3%.

Unused roadside breakdown insurance - 4.8%.

Information supplied by www.pru.co.uk.