Claiming for excessive charges on returned Direct Debit

quercus56

I had an insurance policy for van insurance. The direct debit was set up on my business a/c with HSBC the amount £31.00 monthly. I had no problems paying this and previous amounts for nearly four years.

Earlier this year my sales dropped dramatically due to the recession (I imagine) and on one occasion HSBC refused the direct debit. I contacted the Insurance company offering to pay the debit using my Lloyds debit card, I was told they did not deal with the finance and was given another number to call.
I then received a letter from Close Premium Finance who were apparently the collection agency for the Insurance company, demanding immediate payment of the £31.00 plus admin fees of £40.00 how can they justify charging that amount? especially as it is more than the original debt and given that I had already offered to pay the £31.00 which was not accepted as they would not take a card payment, it had to be a cheque.
Within a few days the red letter arrived with various threats, so I sent a cheque for the full amount to keep them happy but am wondering if I can claim for excessive charges i.e the £40.00 and if so which template letter should I use? I accept the debit was refused and expected to pay a small fee but not this amount. On top of this HSBC also charged £25.00 for refusing the debit. Hence the whole thing has cost just under £100.
I have spoken to the finance company but they refuse to budge on the £40.00 stating it is a standard charge.

jonesMUFCforever

It can be - it depends on the terms and conditions of the finance you took out to pay the insurance premium.