A Buckinghamshire estate agent is being taken to court by a former client over a dispute about fees, it has been reported.

According to the Bucks Free Press, County Homesearch – Thames and Chilterns presented a £44,558.94 bill for their services on David Cowham, who bought a £2.3 million home that was on a list of properties he had been sent by the firm after instructing it to help him look for a house.

However, he says that as he ultimately bought the property through a friend who knew the owner, he thus should not have to pay County Homesearch for its service, despite being ordered to by Watford Crown Court last year.

Arguing the case before a new court, his lawyer Mark Warwick suggested that the contract between both parties was flawed.

"These poorly drafted terms were a trap for the client who could find himself contractually obliged to pay the agent a fee provided the property that the client eventually bought was amongst many on any list that the agent supplied," the paper quoted him as saying.

The judges have yet to deliver their verdict.

If they rule in favour of Mr Cowham, the case could have serious ramifications for estate agents who commonly send out a wide range of property details to clients in order to generate sales.