MORE than £50,000 was lost by council contractors who sent a payment to the wrong company.

Fennells Ltd, based in Banbury Road, Oxford, did construction work for Oxfordshire County Council on a three-class extension at Charlton-on-Otmoor Primary School.

But the local authority said a contractor, which it refused to name, made a £50,002 payment to Fennell Blake & Co Ltd, a building company based in Oakley Road, Horton-Cum-Studley, instead.

Once the mistake was realised, the council made a second payment, this time to Fennells.

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  • Liberal Democrat councillor and finance spokeswoman Roz Smith

But Fennell Blake & Co Ltd had already transferred the money it had received to Fennells, meaning the company had more than £100,000.

When the council requested the second payment back, it found Fennells had gone into liquidation and the cash could not be recovered.

The mistake was made in 2012, but only came to light in the 2014-15 financial monitoring and business strategy delivery report.

The report said: “In 2012-13 a stage payment of £50,002 relating to capital works at a school was made to a contractor with a very similar name to the one carrying out the work. As the latter did not appear to have received payment, they subsequently raised an invoice for the same amount, which was paid by the council.

“Following the transfer to them of the original payment from the contractor with a similar name, the contractor went into liquidation and the council has been unable to recover the duplicate payment.

It is recommended that this amount is written off to the revenue account.”

Council spokesman Paul Smith said there was no suggestion Fennells had deliberately taken the money, and added: “That report makes absolutely no mention of any matters that could be interpreted as criminal. The liquidator concluded that the company had ceased to be profitable. It therefore went into liquidation. There are therefore no matters to be reported to the police.”

He refused to say if anyone had been disciplined for the blunder, if the council had conducted any kind of review, or if the council would apologise for wasting taxpayer’s money.

Opposition leader Liz Brighouse said the error was “dreadful”.

Liberal Democrat councillor and finance spokeswoman Roz Smith said: “It is really regrettable that it is having to be written off when other vital services are having to make cuts.”

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