A Dundee window cleaning boss was sacked from his previous job after being accused of overcharging pensioners then pocketing the cash.
Darren Bonnella was said to have scammed the pensioners at Clement Park Place sheltered housing complex out of their money while working as a supervisor for Dundee Cleaning Services.
Bonnella, of Duffus Court, Dalclaverhouse, has since launched his own business, DWB professional window cleaning services, and challenged the decision to sack him.
However, an employment tribunal upheld Dundee Cleaning Services owner William Strachan’s decision.
Mr Strachan stated that Bonnella had been overcharging elderly residents at Clement Park Place by 50p.
Employment judge Muriel Robison heard that Bonnella had been allowed to play an almost entirely autonomous role in running the window cleaning arm of the business.
She said: “The claimant’s explanations for the different charges for the domestic window cleaning jobs were simply not plausible.”
The tribunal found Mr Strachan “had reasonable grounds on which to sustain his belief that the claimant was guilty of misconduct.”
Mr Bonnella said he would be appealing the tribunal decision and still felt like he had done nothing wrong.
He said: “The money that they were getting charged was the money that Bill Strachan got. I certainly wasn’t overcharging them and keeping the money.
“It wasn’t me that was cleaning the windows it was the other window cleaners. They were charging what they were meant to charge then giving me the money and I was giving Bill Strachan the money.
“When he counted it he would see he was getting the money that he was meant to get.”