Banks' fees victory spurs Foxtons appeal - report

LONDON (Reuters) - Estate agent Foxtons is to appeal against a High Court ruling that its rental agreements with landlords were unfair and represented a "trap" or "timebomb," the Times reported on Thursday.

The paper said the decision was taken after Britain's consumer watchdog, the Office of Fair Trading, dropped its case against retail lenders over bank charges, giving new hope that an appeal by Foxtons would be successful.

"The Supreme Court in the bank charges case has significantly altered the way in which the courts are to approach the unfair terms regulations," said a Foxtons spokesman, cited by the Times.

The Office of Fair Trading took action against Foxtons in 2008 after it received complaints from landlords about hidden fees. The High Court ruled in July that the estate agent's terms had to be flagged prominently.

In November the UK Supreme Court ruled against the watchdog's right to use consumer protection rules to investigate whether overdraft charges levied by banks were unfair.

Foxtons could not immediately be reached for comment.

(Reporting by William James; Editing by Jon Boyle)