A letter of credit (L/C) has sparked a dispute between a contractor building a housing complex and a city council in the Canadian province of Ontario.

The City of Kawartha Lakes council is reportedly considering calling in a L/C for C$250,000 put up by Robinson Contracting (Lindsay) Ltd.

Wrong wording

The council has pointed out that it is not calling in the L/C because of any performance issues, but because of the L/C's wording.

An official said the city was not going to cash in the L/C but wanted to extend it until 30 September.

Nearly finished

However, one of the owners of Robinson Contracting is has complained quite vociferously to local media about the council's move.

Brenda Robinson says the project is 98 per cent completed.

Moreover, she says the family firm has been in business for 23 years and "has never had a L/C called in".

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