lulu– Sounds like maybe you went through ZipRealty. In that case, you may have some kind of agreement. I’d recommend that you look at their terms of service (that you probably agreed to when you signed up).

That said, I think you can probably get out of most agreements with a buyer’s agent one way or another.

You say this guy was rude. That seems odd. Was there any chance you hinted at the fact you might not want to (or felt obligated to) use his services? I can’t imagine an agent being downright rude since he’s got a vested interested in continuing to work with you.