looks good. I sent the following:

"To answer your question: we do not do design concepts without confirmation of the job being a go-ahead. I can understand the fact that you have been burned by this previous designer, but I assure you, we are a respectable company with trade references on request and we will deliver the design that you require without fail."

What do you think?...

It worked by the way, I got the 40% deposit and I am doing the job.