A PUNTER who bet that Germany would win the World Cup is furious after a Greenock bookmaker refused to honour the odds he was given.

Three years ago, road sweeper John Crawford staked £100 that Germany would take the Brazil 2014 title and he says he was given a price of 16-1 at Betfred in West Blackhall Street.

But when the 47-year-old returned to collect his winnings, he was told that the odds for the ante post wager were only 10-1 — which would see him collect £1,100 instead of the £1,700 payout he was expecting.

Bosses at Betfred say they are investigating the situation but have also stated that the firm had ‘never’ offered 16-1 on Germany to win the competition. But John, of Carrick Lane, fumed: “It was a great tournament but Betfred have ruined it for me.

“I’ve been left feeling rotten.

“They were quite happy to take my £100 at the time but are not going to pay me what I’m due.

“I’m not going to give up on this and have taken it up with the Independent Betting Adjudication Service, which deals with complaints.” John spoke to the Tele whilst clutching his betting slip, which has 16-1 clearly marked in black ink.

He decided to place the bet three years ago as he believed the odds were good after shopping around looking for the best price.

He explained: “As this was a big tournament I visited all the local bookmakers and found that Ladbrokes were offering 7-1 for Germany to win, with Coral offering 5-1 and William Hill 8-1.

“Betfred was my last stop and when the boy said the odds were 16-1, I asked if he was sure as all the other shops were offering lower odds, but he clarified it was 16-1 and I had no reason to doubt him.” Before the tournament started John even popped back into the shop to check that his slip was still in working order.

He said: “My ticket was a bit worn and torn so I wanted to check that the barcode on it could still be scanned.

“The lady who served me said it was fine and again confirmed it was 16-1 and even said she hoped to see me back in four weeks to collect my winnings.” But when John returned to pick up his cash on 14 July — the day after the final which saw Germany defeat Argentina 1-0 — he was left bitterly disappointed.

He said: “I handed my slip over to the girl and she said she had to phone the head office.

“I then heard her say ‘I don’t think the customer is going to like what you want me to tell him’.

“She then told me that the odds were 10-1, not 16-1, so I just asked for my slip back and phoned customer services.

“When I phoned up they told me that the boy who had initially served me three years ago had made a mistake and that the odds were 10-1.” A spokesman at Betfred today confirmed the firm was looking into John’s complaint.

He said: “Germany were never 16/1 to win the World Cup, however we are investigating what has happened.

“I’m sure we will find a satisfactory outcome for the customer and we will be in touch very shortly.”