[1990C4S]

Sorry, this is a bit long, but my Pelican legal-aid team needs all the facts....

I was recently shopping for some new windows in my house. I looked at a local manufacturer with a good reputation and had some rough prices quoted. I was satisfied they were a decent supplier, they were near the top of my list.

While I was contemplating what to buy and from who and deciding on how many windows to replace I saw an online coupon from the same manufacturer I was considering: pay $1,000 get a $2,000 credit, or: pay $2,000 get a $4,000 credit.

I bought a $4k coupon (this cost me $2,000).

I get all my sizes sorted and get ready to order, the total is $4,800. I call the sales guy and say 'I bought a $2,000 coupon, put the balance go on my cc'.

He immediately says 'I can't honor that price with a coupon'. I inquire what the 'new' price is. He promises to get back to me.

He emails me back: 'I initially quote a 25% discount, I can't do that along with a coupon'. (Note that there was no discount shown on his quote). He adds $600 to my quote and says this is a 15% discount.

I then tell him that I had two coupons, and he says well then I can only offer a 5% discount, he adds another $600 to my price.

So in the end I have still 'saved' (at best) $700, and I complain saying it's a shell game and a scam.

I point out:

- none of his quotes ever showed a discount, the '25% discount' could be real or bogus, I have no way of knowing

- I did not ask for any discount, I walked in off the street and asked for prices

- the coupon fine print says 'Not valid with other offers' (his position is that a discount from list price is 'the other offer' that I can't combine with

I should have known this was a scam, and in the end I have not lost money, but I also suspect that I haven't saved more than $200. It feels like fraud and misrepresentation to me. I might have used this vendor without he coupon, but I think their prices would have pushed me to shop elsewhere.

I can pay up and move on, I am still doing more windows than I planned and still (slightly) under my budget.

I could also complain to the owner (it is family owned and local), take him to small claims court after we complete the transaction, threaten with a lawyer, etc.

My inclination is to ask for the original price to be honored with my coupon, or offer him the option of throwing in two more windows and I pay the higher price.

I'm open to suggestions on how to proceed.

Note: I have still have not bought anything with my coupon, and it expires in about three weeks. I do not have much of a bargaining position.