Chef Darius “Cooks” Williams, Atlanta-based culinary entrepreneur, has been warned by the Better Business Bureau of Metro Atlanta as a result of nearly 100 consumer complaints.
FOX 5 Atlanta reported the BBB issued a warning May 18 regarding Williams and DariusCooks, LLC, his online business of cookbooks, apparel, and accessories.
DariusCooks, LLC, which earned an “F” rating, received the lowest score by the BBB due to recent unanswered complaints. Consumers have reported that they purchased Williams’ products or tickets to his cooking events and received nothing.
“Over 70 consumers reported to BBB that the company failed to deliver
products ordered by their customers, did not provide requested refunds, did not communicate reasons for shipping delays, and provided poor customer service,” according to the bureau’s warning statement.As reported by the BBB, Sherrica B., a Minot, North Dakota woman, said she placed an order with DariusCooks, LLC for two physical cookbooks. On April 6, 2021, she received a notification that a shipping label had been created, but she received no further notifications from the company.
“I emailed the business to ask the whereabouts of my order, and I received no response,” she told BBB. “I called the post office, and they said they hadn’t received the items.”
She added that she attempted multiple times to reach out to Williams after seeing other complaints similar to hers, but was ignored and blocked on social media.
In May of 2021, Sonya T. of Montgomery, Alabama, said she purchased tickets for the “Dining With DariusCooks” event, but it was canceled twice due to COVID-19. Her attempts to get a refund failed.
“I emailed in January and February and got no response,” she said. “Finally, in April, I received an email saying he had
another dining event in 2021 and I would have the first choice, but he needed the order number from the original purchase in October 2019. I no longer had the emails from October 2019 that contained the order number. I was told I couldn’t get a ticket to an upcoming event, nor could I get a refund without the order number.”According to the Georgia Secretary of State, DariusCooks, LLC was administratively dissolved in 2019 for “failing to file annual registration and/or failure to maintain a registered agent or registered office in this state.”
The Chicago native previously told BLACK ENTERPRISE,
“I don’t typically respond to BBB’s only there’s so much more that goes along with it, right.” He added, “If you go on my platform, nobody is complaining that they didn’t get their book. Nobody is complaining that they didn’t get their cake. Nobody is complaining that their credit score didn’t increase.”BLACK ENTERPRISE previously reported that the celebrity online chef has been accused of stealing money and scamming consumers along with a barrage of harassment claims and credit card fraud complaints.
Williams denied all allegations, claiming that they were “untruthful.”