Complaint Review: System pavers

We gave System Pavers $1000 deposit on October 31, 2017 for a design and 3D rendering of front and back yard landscaping. We were assured we would not be obligated to any of the $180k they quoted us for and would be refunded $1000 if the design was not satisfactory and we would not have to commit to the project. They made us sign a contract for the $1000 under false pretenses and is now demanding 33% which is almost $46,000 - when no actual landscaping work has been done or any materials finalized or ordered, not even a start date set. The design was supposed to take 2 weeks, but they took 4 weeks (end of Nov). Came to our house with a very underwhelming and unimpressive drawing. When he left he promised the next time we see the drawing we will be amazed. The last time we heard anything relating to project was Dec 4 he texts and says they are working with award winning designer st no extra cost to us. January and February pass, almost March now and not single call or text to follow up. We missed HOA deadline which was stated as Jan 1st in their letter with letterhead asking for extension. I call in main office asking for supervisor Randy and they said he was in meeting and would call me back which he never did. So I chalked it up as a $1000 lesson and wrote a negative Yelp review. As soon as they saw that, I got a phone call / voicemail admitting it was their fault due to medical reasons for the delays. I responded saying we no longer wish to work with them because of how delayed everything was and that it we didn’t feel comfortable committing to a company with so many red flags and the project hasn’t even started yet. We finally got a call from Randy last week (end of March) and he asked about our experience and we made it very clear that we were unhappy with how long the design process was taking and that they dropped the ball for their lack of communication and that we obviously do not want to have our landscaping done by their company. At the end of the conversation we asked him if the $1000 deposit was refundable and he said he would look into it. Today - we got a letter stating we owe them 33% of the project amount which is almost $46,000 for canceling and that we had 10 days to pay. $46k for NO work, NO materials, NO final design or 3d rendering, NO start date, NO nothing. What a big scam this is! Rip off if there ever was one.