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Midtown Home Improvements came to my door asking about different parts of my home that might need improvement. When they mentioned decks, I said that was something I was considering. I was told the visit would be simple, about an hour, and that I would receive a proposal valid for a full year.
When the “building manager” arrived, he said he wasn’t a salesman, but the visit became a nearly three‑hour sales job. He showed document after document and photo after photo explaining why they were the best and why other companies were inferior. He also tried to build a personal connection by talking about my interests, especially cars, and asked to see them before he left. After I had already signed, he told me that if he had seen my cars earlier, I “wouldn’t have gotten the deal” I did. That made it clear the pricing was based on what he thought he could get, not on the work itself.
He also claimed two installation openings had “just opened up,” and that a 3‑month proposal would be cheaper than a 1‑year proposal because they had to “protect themselves from future price increases.” This contradicted the simple one‑hour visit I was promised.
I canceled within the legal 3‑day window. I signed the cancellation form, mailed it by certified mail before the deadline, and notified the lender. After they received it, I was told my cancellation was “not valid” because I used the yellow copy instead of the pink one, and that my wife needed to re‑sign and I needed to mail it again or bring it to their office. None of this is stated anywhere in the contract or cancellation instructions. It felt like an attempt to delay the cancellation past the deadline. When I insisted they accept the valid cancellation I had already mailed, the call ended abruptly.
This review is to warn other homeowners about the sales tactics and the cancellation issues I experienced.
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I wanted to add a follow‑up because reading other complaints here helped me understand that my experience was not an isolated situation. Several other homeowners described the same patterns I encountered, and a former salesperson explained that representatives are instructed to call themselves “project managers,” use long presentations, create urgency, and rely on scripts. Seeing these similarities helped me understand the context of what happened in my case.
For anyone trying to understand how these situations unfold, here is the exact timeline of my experience:
Friday evening:
A three‑hour sales presentation (originally described as one hour) led to signing a contract and writing a 10% down‑payment check. After the representatives left, I reviewed the pricing and became concerned it was significantly higher than comparable projects. I verified this independently and found the contract was overpriced by a large amount.
Saturday morning:
I exercised my right to cancel within the three-business day window. I emailed a photo of the signed cancellation page and mailed the full contract packet with the signed cancellation page by certified mail. I also contacted the lender separately, and the lender confirmed the loan was canceled.
Monday morning:
I received an email from the company requesting a photo of the front of the contract showing the project number and customer information. I sent the requested photo immediately.
Tuesday early afternoon:
I received a call offering to send a manager to my home to “resolve the issue.” When I explained that I had canceled due to pricing and pressure, I was told the cancellation was “not valid” because it was the yellow copy instead of the pink one, even though the forms are identical except for color. I was pressured to redo the cancellation.
Tuesday afternoon:
Since my wife was not available until the evening to sign, I was told it was acceptable to redo the cancellation on Wednesday or bring it to their office. Because Illinois counts Monday through Saturday as business days, Wednesday would have been outside the three‑day cancellation period. I insisted that the cancellation I mailed on Saturday be accepted. The call ended abruptly after that.
Wednesday:
The certified cancellation packet was delivered and signed for at the company’s office.
After delivery:
Despite receiving both the emailed cancellation and the certified letter, the company deposited my down‑payment check. When I saw the pending deposit, I contacted my bank and placed a stop payment.
I am sharing this timeline because other complaints on this site helped me understand the process, and I hope this information helps someone else who may be trying to navigate a similar situation.
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