The most recent issue of the Beacon Bulletin, the Independent Glass Association (IGA) e-mail newsletter, contains a warning to readers of two companies soliciting work or working relationships and claiming to have gotten contact information from the IGA.

According to one of the recipients of the calls, the companies, identified during the phone calls as Superior Auto Glass and Impact on Hold, have both made cold calls to solicit business deals from glass shops and have implied or directly said that they had gotten the glass shop's name from an IGA list.

IGA spokespersons Marc Anderson and Sue Johnson state that the IGA board would have to approve any outside use of the association membership, and it has not done so.

Kevin Tarpley, vice-president of administration and finance of AirTight Sun Auto Glass Inc. in Somerville, Mass., has received calls from both companies.

"Both were cold calls. When my son asked both companies how they got our name, the companies either implied or directly said they'd gotten it from the IGA," Tarpley said in a phone interview from his office today. He further stated that one company, Impact on Hold, used high-pressure tactics and has called his office on a weekly basis for the last two months.

The company identified as Impact on Hold, also soliciting as Impact Communications, sells a service allowing businesses to play a message about the company when a caller is on hold. Tarpley said calls from the company started shortly after the IGA conference in Columbus.

A call to Impact on Hold in Michigan was returned by Ken Ford, who indicated he was unaware of any attempted solicitations to glass shops but has had other calls from people who have done business with a company of a similar name and had unpleasant experiences.

Tarpley said that Superior Auto Glass, based in Texas, said it was calling to get contractors to do the labor work and offering $65.00 per job. No mention was made as to any other profits made on the job. The company's sales pitch was promising three to five cars a day and would be getting glass from Mygrant and Pilkington. According to Tarpley and his family, when asked, the caller from Superior Auto Glass was honest as to his whereabouts, that he was based in Texas and had a number local the Boston area that would redirect calls and faxes to the Texas number.