I and my husband decided that we were going to replace the older windows in our home. We received presentations and estimates, from several companies. Each of the proposals included a fairly detailed, written estimate, showing the bottom line cost, for everything, with no alleged hidden expenses. In each case, the sales person examined, then measured, the existing windows, explained the differences, between double-pane and triple-pane windows, the different gases used to fill them, plus their various model differences and what is and isn’t included in the price, plus the details of the warranties. All seemed pretty clear and our initial decision was to go with Tri-State Windows, because the salesman, Bill Luftig, repeatedly explained that he had been doing this, for 48 years, was a thorough windows professional and knew everything there was to know, about his windows and every one of his competitor’s products. He made a convincing presentation. Later that day, on Saturday, 6/27, I called Bill Luftig, to come back to our house, then complete the paperwork. He said he would be there, the next day, Sunday, 6/28 at 11am. My husband couldn’t be there, at the time, due to a prior commitment and neither of us expected a problem. Bill Luftig did show up, a bit earlier than scheduled but that was not an issue. The problem arose when he advised me that, because the original windows were Anderson, there would be an additional cost, of $150, per window, because, allegedly, Anderson does not use standard window frames and they would have to build custom frames, to match the openings created by the existing, Anderson windows. When I asked why he didn’t mention this, during the original sales pitch, his only answer was “I forgot.” “I forgot,” from someone, who, at THREE different times, during the sales pitch, claimed to know everything about everyone’s windows? He also pressured me, to give him a deposit check, which I did, because he claimed that, on the afternoon of Monday, 6/29, he was leaving town, on vacation and, if I didn’t complete the contract, then and there, everything would be postponed, for a minimum of several weeks, until he returned. When my husband arrived home, that evening, I explained what happened and, after realizing that we had become the victim of a bait and switch tactic, we decided to cancel the purchase. My husband phoned Bill Luftig, the next morning, from his office, only to get Mr. Luftig’s voice mail, then left a message, telling him we didn’t like the bait and switch tactics, to cancel the purchase not to contact us, again, in any way. Guess what? Less than an hour after being told not to make any more contact, Bill Luftig phoned me, on my cell phone, to tell me how much we’re hurting him, by cancelling the order and tried to get me to reverse the decision. I told him the decision was not going to be reversed and I did not appreciate what he did and did not want any more contact, from anyone, at Tri-State Windows, after which I hung up. About two hours later, after now TWICE being told not to call again, someone, who claimed to be Bill Luftig’s manager, phoned my husband, at his office, insisting that my husband listen to him. My husband told him there was nothing to discuss, then hung up on him. Within two minutes of that, that same “manager” phoned me, on my cell, again trying to get me to change my mind. I told him to stop harrassing us and that there was no chance of changing our minds. We called our 2nd choice window company, then gave them the order. That company had no problem, with the original windows and window openings being Anderson and did not have any “surcharge,” for that or anything else. I phoned our bank, then placed a stop payment order, on the deposit check, expecting Tri-State to ignore our cancellation, then deposit the check. We also returned their contract, via this morning’s mail, marked cancelled. Based on this, we will not only avoid Tri-State Windows, like the plague but make sure that our family and friends learn about their dishonesty and high-pressure tactics. Finally, we filed fraudulent practices complaints, against Tri-State Window Factory, with the Suffolk County Dept. of Consumer Affairs and the with the NYS Dept. of State’s Division of Consumer Protection, suggesting that both licensing agencies closely examine this company’s practices. update 7/10/2020 One of the things we have noticed, with practiced and inveterate liars, is that they always try to incorporate some element of truth into their fantasy, so as to provide a semblance of credibility to their lies. We’ve also noticed that they will change their story, to promote their interest, as the audience changes, in the hope and expectation that the multiple audiences will not be able to compare details. It’s always nice, when the liars are caught, with proof of their lies, which is what we’re about to provide. First, let’s deal with the truth portions of Tri-State’s statement: Truth 1) on the salesman’s initial visit, which was Saturday, June 27th, not Friday, June 26th, as Tri-State claims, we did discuss the idea of replacing only 4 windows. The salesman, Bill, knew they that ALL of our windows, not just the additional 4, were Andersen, from the initial visit. He even commented, during that first visit, that he could tell that they were all the old type of Andersen’s double-pane windows, because he could see the metal strip, inside the double-pane glass. Truth 2) we did phone the salesman, on Saturday, June 27th but that was the same day of his initial visit, not the next day, as Tri-State claims and it was at that time that we advised that we were going to replace 8, not 4, windows. Truth 3) on the salesman’s second visit, which was Sunday, June 28th and which my husband was not able to attend, because of a prior commitment, I was advised that the price, for ALL 8 windows, was going to be increased, by $150 each, for a total increase of $1,200 (8 x $150), allegedly because the old windows were Andersen. I was also pressured, to write a deposit check, at that point, based on the higher amount, being advised that Bill, the salesman, was going out of town, for an extended period and, if I didn’t commit to the job, then and there, it would all be pushed back, until after he returned. Now, let’s deal with the carefully constructed lies of Tri-State: Lie 1) “unwarranted, slanderous attack on our Company’s great reputation.” FACT: There is nothing untruthful or unwarranted, in what we said and proof of that is in the letter, dated Monday, June 29th, from Tri-State (PDF copy attached), which was written and mailed, obviously, before they discovered that we had outed their lies. (We’ve erased our full name and address therefrom, in accordance with your complaint posting procedures.) Lie 2) “the [4] additional windows being replaced are old Andersen.” FACT: Every window in our house is Andersen, which the salesman knew, as explained, above. Tri-State also states, in that same June 29th letter, that the salesman (who, on three separate instances, claimed he was the ultimate window expect) was incorrect and should NOT have tried to charge us the EXTRA TWELVE HUNDRED ($1,200) dollars. Gee, how could the ADDITIONAL charge be TWELVE HUNDRED, if only the four ADDITIONAL windows were Andersen? That would have been only SIX HUNDRED (only 4 x $150), if that was true. Lie 3) “The Sales Manager called the husband and he slammed down the telephone on him. The owner’s son then called the home number and the wife also slammed the phone down.” FACT: First, when my husband phoned Tri-State, on Monday, June 29th, to advise that the order was cancelled, the phone was answered by an answering machine. In his voice message, to Tri-State, my husband advised them, in extremely clear and unmistakable language, that not only was the contract cancelled and that we were placing a stop-payment order on the deposit check but that NO ONE, at Tri-State, should phone us or make ANY additional contact, in ANY form, as we did not wish to have anything more to do with them.