A little more than half the people refinancing their mortgages pay exit fees and of those who do pay fees only about one-third pay more than $1000.This is the finding of a survey of 1028 people who refinanced in the past 12 months. The survey was commissioned by Mortgage Choice and conducted independently by Ticketek Insights.High exit fees have long been a sore point with bank critics and have been in the news recently because of a consultation paper issued by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, setting out its plans for determining whether exit fees are fair and reasonable.According to the survey, 54 per cent of people paid an exit fee when they refinanced their mortgages. Of those, 10 per cent paid $5000 or more, 20 per cent paid between $1000 and $5000, 30 per cent paid between $500 and $1000, 25 per cent paid between $250 and $500, 10 per cent paid between $100 and $250 and six per cent paid less than $100.Mortgage Choice spokesperson Kristy Sheppard said a quarter of respondents reported that they delayed refinancing to avoid fees. Sheppard said: "It is interesting that respondents researched their options. They weighed up the cost versus the benefit, which is what any savvy borrower would do." The National Credit Code, which took effect on 1 July, provides that a court can annul or reduce an early exit fee if it is unconscionable. ASIC is the regulator.ASIC's consultation paper on the issue says that in determining whether disputed fees are unconscionable, a court must look at whether a deferred establishment fee equals the lender's reasonable establishment and administration costs for that class of contract. For an early termination fee, the question is whether it exceeds a reasonable estimate of the credit provider's loss.Reasonable losses on early termination can include break fees for fixed rate mortgages, administrative costs for calculating the payout figure, administrative costs for processing the early termination, third party costs that arise because of the early termination, deferred establishment costs, legal fees and land registry costs incurred in discharging the mortgage.Cost that would prompt ASIC to take action would have the following components: business development costs, marketing costs, loss of profits.The Mortgage & Finance Association of Australia yesterday issued a response to the ASIC consultation paper. It argues that costs and loss alone cannot determine whether an exit fee is unfair or unconscionable. The submission says: "Costs and losses can appropriately be taken into account but must not be the sole test."The MFAA argues that the fact refinancing makes up 30 to 35 per cent of mortgage sales each month is an indication that borrowers switch lenders with ease.MFAA chief executive Phil Naylor says: "Any regulatory focus on costs would ultimately be to the detriment of consumers. "The reality is that if non-bank lenders were required to diminish deferred establishment fees the end result would be higher upfront fees and higher interest rates."The MFAA is also concerned that ASIC is proposing an accounting of loss and expense