Foxtons has been accused of overcharging customers of its lettings division for maintenance work on properties, according to a report in the Sunday Times.

The paper reported that a repair firm, JDR Reactive, had said that Foxtons charged it a fee when it was offered repair work on properties managed by the firm, with the owner of JDR Reactive telling the Sunday Times he then had to charge the owners of the property extra in order to recover the expense.

Responding to the report, the firm''s legal counsel told the newspaper: "All approved contractors pay Foxtons an agreed percentage for referring works to them. For JDR Reactive, this rate was 20 per cent. In accordance with the contract, Foxtons was entitled to commission out of — and not in addition to — the amount of each invoice.

"Therefore JDR pays this 20 per cent and not the landlord. If this was JDR''s business practice, it was dishonest."

Foxtons, which is famous for the distinctive Minis driven by its agents, operates in London and Surrey and has recently outlined plans to modernise its operation.

It has begun opening ''cafe-style'' offices designed to make purchasing a home more pleasant, with every office now staying open until 8pm.