Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I first reached out to this business at the end of December 2021. I advised them of my wedding date 8/5/22. I wanted a custom wedding dress. The business assured me they could make the dress and quoted me a deposit. I made the deposit of $500 on Jan 3. 2022. On January 31, 2022 I made another deposit of $483.48 for my Mothers dress. I checked in March 20 to follow-up on status. I was reminded about the timeframe in their policy. I never received an further information. In May I received an email stating my dresses were almost done and final payment was needed prior to shipping. Over $2000 sent on 5/23. On 6/9 I checked in for an update. No informative response. On 6/27 I checked in again. No informative response. On 7/12 I checked in again to get a definitive answer on the status. On 7/14 I left a message on the "business phone vm" I received no call back and no response. I also followed up with an email. On 7/18 I received a response advising me to read the previous email regarding policy and a tracking number would be provided as soon as available. On 7/26 I reached out again. It was 9 days before my wedding and no dress. The only response I received on 7/28/22 was just a tracking number. No explanation, no reasoning, no compassion. On 7/29 I received 1 pkg. It had 1 dress for my Mother. NO WEDDING DRESS! Her dress was 2 sizes too small. On 7/29 I sent another email stating I received 1 dress and inquiring about my wedding dress. No response from business. On 8/4, the day before my wedding , I reached out again to voice my disappointment and request a full refund no dress and the dress that was finally sent 6 days before my wedding was not what I paid for. On 8/7 I received a response stating I allowed less than 7 mo for a custom dress and the dress that was sent was a standard size I requested. I had to pay for 2 custom items to be made 6 days before my wedding. I found out they do not have a business at the address listed. Phone # is a just a vm. All Fraud!

  

  Business response

  10/27/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/08/29) */ You placed your order (for a custom made order garment) for a one time occasion on December 30 It was our understanding your initial wear date was on August 5. Our timing disclosures are provided to clients on our website at https://www.dariuscordell.com/questions/ prior to them placing an order. The first product was paid for and was therefore shipped within the approximate time frame that was disclosed upfront. You requested our size 12. The measurements of our size 12 were and are on our website. You should be able to check those measurements against the product you received to see those measurements are the exact same. We can not be responsible for when a consumer orders the incorrect size. The second product still had a lingering unpaid balance and therefore it was not shipped. If you need further assistance understanding our policies please refer to the disclosures posted on our website and on the conditions of sale agreement you signed. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/08/31) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This vendor was aware of the wedding date when I first reached out in December. I was quoted $2000 for a wedding dress. The only part of the agreement that solidified the agreement was the deposit. I paid half ,$500, of the deposit before the end of December 2021 to lock it in. I paid another $500 before the end of January 2022. I also pad for my mothers dress. I was quoted $850. I locked that dress in with a deposit of over $400 before the end of January. I agreed to pay and the vendor agreed to deliver before the expected accepting the payments. In the receipts I provided it also will show a fee for rush order for both purchases... even though I placed the order 6 months before my wedding. This fee assured that the purchase will be rushed and finished on time.The email I provided shows that the vendor stated it would take as long as 6 months. In May I was asked to pay a full balance in order for the dresses to be shipped. This amount of $2,073.29 was paid from my partners bank account. The dress for my mother was shipped a few days before my wedding. It was 2 sizes too small. The dress could not be worn. The vendor never sent a wedding dress, which makes them fraudulent because they took my money and did not deliver as agreed. I was told that I was aware of the timeline. Based on the vendors response to BBB I still owed a balance. This is a the 1st time I have heard that. That is a blatant lie and further confirmation of fraudulent business practices. All documentation shows I ordered and paid as agreed. The vendor did not deliver and I have lost money I can not get back through my bank. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/09/11) */ As we have stated previously, the first product was paid for therefore it was shipped. The consumer ordered that product in our size 12. The measurements of our size 12 were disclosed on our chart on our website prior to the consumer placing an order. The consumer should know to check the measurements of the product to the measurements of the chart to see they are the same. The consumer has not provided proof they did not match. It is unfortunate the consumer did not choose the correct size. We can not be responsible for when a consumer chooses the incorrect size. Our pricing disclosures are also located on our website for all to see prior to making an order. As we stated previously the second had a remaining balance and therefore it was not shipped. All consumers have a link to access their invoice to see all cost. If he consumer has any further questions please direct them to the conditions of sale agreement they signed. Thank You. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/09/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I purchased 2 dresses. The only one I received 4 days before my wedding was not the correct size. I never received a wedding dress at all! I have provided supporting documents to show I paid a deposit of $1500 and the balance requested in May over $2000. The second receipt is from my spouses bank account. One Mother of the Bride dress did not cost nearly $3,500. The receipt from the "dress maker" shows the amount of the dress I received is $898.48 There is also a break down of what I paid and what the balance was. This so called "dress maker" is not legitimate and is operating a fraudulent hoax.

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered my wedding dress last July I was told it would be 1500 and it would take 9 months and they contact me in February that my dress was ready to be shipped and I had to make final payment so it ended up being an additional 1600 I paid it because I want my dress So I have been reaching out to the ever since as to when I will receive my dress, I have not gotten an answer at all and have not gotten my dress please help me my wedding is in august and I have no dress all I want is what I paid for in time for my wedding I have emailed them over and over and no response! Bad business I only asked to be updated and nothing. I can't afford to go buy another dress at this time

  

  Business response

  08/18/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/06/28) */ We have never told (and will never tell) any client that their merchandise will be received on or by an exact or specific date. Instead we disclose on our Common Questions page of our website at https://www.dariuscordell.com/faq/ that normal orders can take "approximately" 9 months - not exactly, not up to. Based on the time the consumer submitted their order we are still within that approximate time frame. The consumer did not request a rush order and did not pay an extra fee for a rush order. Also please see on the order form this consumer printed, signed & submitted to us that they wrote down they preferred to receive their merchandise by July 1st. Notice this "complaint" was initiated on June 13th....... This is a clear indication that the consumer prematurely complained basically because they were overly anxious, a bit irrational and very impatient regarding the order they placed. With this reminder of the date they wrote on their order form they should withdraw their hastily made complaint so it can be deleted. More importantly, understand that as of June 1st this consumer still had a balance on their account that they had created. Obviously we will not ship a product until the fees for that merchandise & services are paid in full. Once the invoice is paid we will gladly ship the merchandise to the consumer. In the meantime it is suggested that the consumer go back to our Common Questions page of our website at https://www.dariuscordell.com/faq/ to very carefully review our disclosures regarding Pricing, Timing and Cancelations. Thank You. Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2022/06/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Because it has been nearly a year ago that I ordered the dress and have yet received it also there are saying I have a balance that I created by simply asking on the status of my dress after I already paid my balance in full as of February 2022 also I still went ahead and paid the extra 800.00 they charged me for simply asking them for my dress and I have still not received an email that my dress has been shipped out ! It is my right to complain when they have not healed up there end of the agreement I have done everything ask s of me all I want is what I paid them for and all they have done is caused my headache and stress in this hole experience and I still don't have a dress for my wedding that is next month if the dress is done or has been done why they didn't sent it to me back in April like they said in the email when I paid the full balance they first gave me what was the hold up then, and all because I have asked them where it is they think it is fair to charge me an additional 800.00 they are thief's and people should be warned and not ever go to them they should be shut down! This stress with them has been overwhelming and I don't have more money for another dress and don't need the dress for after my wedding I need it before that is why I ordered it a year ago and again still don't have in my possession. How is this good business. Or excusable. Business Response /* (4000, 21, 2022/07/12) */ As we suggested previously, since the consumer still has a pending balance the product can not be shipped. As soon as they pay their remaining balance we will gladly ship the product to the consumer. In the meantime the consumer can easily find information about Cancelations, Timing, and pricing on our Common Questions page of our website at https://www.dariuscordell.com/faq/ Those disclosures are also located on the order form the consumer printed, filled out and signed. if they need an additional copy of that document just let us know.

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On March 30th I contracted with this company for a wedding dress. I paid half down of $750. I used a debit card because that is the only payment they would accept (or a bank check). This was a rush order for delivery on May 15, 2022. I got married on 5/31/22. During the weeks following my contract I had a few questions. Because Darius Cordell does not answer its phone, I had to ask questions via email. Unknown to me for every email response they charged my card $250. They had tallied up an additional $750 worth of "administrative" fees for responding to my emails. Eventually they just stopped responding. I contacted my bank and told them to NOT allow any more charges against my account by this vendor and in fact I disputed all of the charges. This entire situation left me without a dress, no one to communicate with and charges of $1500. No dress was ever delivered I had to find and have altered a dress two weeks before my wedding day.

  

  Business response

  08/24/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2022/06/28) */ It is commonly known by most that a custom wedding gown can take approximately 6-9 months to create (depending on the design) with just about any company or designer in the bridal industry. With that common knowledge this consumer contacted us on March 19 and later placed their order for a custom wedding dress on March 23 The consumer indicated they wanted to wear the garment on May 28 So this consumer allowed barely 2 months to create & ship a custom made to order wedding gown for their special day. We agreed to make the custom garment on a rush for a fee. However because this was such a quick turnaround we drafted an agreement that said "we do not guarantee" your item will be delivered or shipped on or by a "specific" date. The consumer signed that agreement. With that disclosure in mind the consumer still became extremely anxious & impatient with the late & last minute rush order they decided to place and attempted to dispute the payment they had previously made with their bank. Therefore on the day the custom product was ready to ship the consumer still had a balance that was owed. Since the balance had not been fully paid the product of course could not be shipped. That was very unfortunate but not of our doing. As we have already told the consumer, once their invoice is actually settled we will gladly ship the custom product to the consumer for them to resale or utilize however they like. We do not charge clients for "emails". We advise upfront that the more a client needs from us the more it will cost. And the less a client needs from us the less it will cost. It is a very simple concept that we outline up front. Our Pricing, Timing & Cancelation policies were on our website prior to the consumer placing an order and they remain on our website at ********************************** for all to very carefully review upfront prior to placing an order. It is suggested that the consumer go back and review those very common & logical disclosures very carefully. Meanwhile, if the invoice is not settled properly in a timely manner we will unfortunately have to send their account to collections. Regards Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2022/07/05) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) BELOW ATTACHED: 1. First payment: $720 (& quote on dress) - assumed rush fee. 2. Second (Final) payment (including fees): $1,689.82. 3. Invoice with fraudulent charges (Total paid: $2,409.82, original price before rush fee: $1,440... 1-2 month rush was a couple hundred dollars). EXTRA CHARGE: $969.82 (including minimal rush fee) DRESS NEVER ARRIVED******** FEFUND: 100% payment I am reporting this company as thieves who verbally abuse & financially trick their customers by email. IN A STATE OF DURESS, in knowing they wouldn't send the dress if I didn't oblige to pay false bills on on rush order.. I was backed into a corner with my wedding date approaching so I had to do it. This is a SCAM company who prey on vulnerable brides who are preparing for the most important day of their lives.. who they think they can squeeze money out of. I paid their giant invoice IN FULL, over $700 more than the original expectation based on the additional fees for shipping & rush on their website. My goal: to help other brides avoid this nightmare of a company. The answer Dardius C****** gave has nothing to do with my complaint. They responded here as if I didn't make a payment which is not the case at all as shown by my attachments. I not only paid for the dress IN FULL & on time (see attached) ... I also paid hundreds of dollars above the listed price in charges that are false fees. I happily paid for the rush order-this was expected. What wasn't expected were the charged for emails that included emails asking about normal things one would ask while making a purchase-confirming the timeframe & stuff like that.... questions that were specific to me (that aren't in the commonly asked questions on their website they consistently refer you to & mention on their contract as the main area to find answer questions - obviously commonly asked ones, not specific. However, they "puff up" their contract, so to speak so that they may gauge money out of you. That is my complaint. The dress not coming is just the aftermath. My bank has since reversed my payments since they were fraudulent. I paid for a product that didn't arrive. For this, I sent my PAID IN FULL receipt from Darius along with the superficial/vague contract concerning charging for communication & what that entails. First of all, they answer you indirectly in order to cover their tracks and tack on questions that they then, charge you for when you try to get answers re-wording them. Once you pay your first dress deposit, they have you sign a standard 'seeming' contract where they add in small print that they charge for emails & various other work they may do. Seems innocent enough.. of course time would require payment for an artist but charging for inquiries?... charging for confirmation so that things run smoothly? Or, colors, photos of products that don't show certain pieces of the dress?... that help them later design with you (a fee I'd understand). How do you charge a customer for something like that! It is ludicrous.. My bank (TD BANK) suggested I speak to law enforcement in Texas as they have never seen this type of business charge (a tailor/dress maker) bill the way they do (also asking for bank direct deposits instead of credit cards looked suspicious to them). When I first called them, they even flagged them in order to not allow them to charge me even MORE in case they were hacking my bank accounts to help protect my finances: a huge red flag. If they were to charge for time, it would have to pertain to design related work due to the nature of what this company is registered under. They said the it seems they are embarking in illegal activity or teetering close to the edge of it at the least. As a dress company one would think questions to be charged for would entail questions having to do with design work, the thing you're paying for like designing time they need to spend with you about your dress, right? No! Darius believes that any question you could possibly ask, they have already answered on their commonly asked question section of the website but questions specific to you like -what color is the color shown on dress "A" on the website that I ordered?... more cream or white in person? They don't answer. They charge for the question & refer you back to commonly asked questions. If you ask again or simply say it isn't on the website, they'll respond without answering & then charge for that email as well! It's like you send 1 word, there's a fee. I wanted to know the color shade to choose my shoes but they wouldn't tell me. For instance, I also asked if the bustle was detachable in the dress I ordered & they kept referring me back to the website even though you can't see it in the photos and it doesn't say it anywhere.I had no special requests on my contact form, just ordered the dress on their website so wanted to know about it. They abruptly said they aren't changing anything on my rush order but still refused to just tell me answers. I said, I wanted to know so I could find a tailor to do it if need be & wanted to have someone ready. If it came that way anyway, I wouldn't spend the time finding someone here. They charged me for the explanation email & that interaction without answering the question. However, they answered in the nastiest way anyone I bought anything from ever has, saying that I needed "extra help," as a reason why I deserved to be charged for the unanswered question. This charge is reflected on my invoice attached. At one point, I sent them one question about only one of the 'dozens' of measurements they asked for so I would do it right since it was blurry on their chart. They sent me to their chart again, didn't answer & I was still charged for that email. At least answer the question if you charge for it! They re-direct ANY question to the commonly asked questions section- even when there's a specific question that isn't common enough to have an answer there. I remained calm throughout their condescending demeanor, giving them the benefit of a doubt. I tried to have a phone call so I could put a voice to those nasty replies and show them kindness.. maybe this would help make them kinder to me too & just go over details about the dress/delivery time & we could be sure things were running smoothly. They refused saying they wouldn't have a call even though their answering machine says otherwise. I remained positive and gave them praise for their work because I really loved the dress I saw on their website. They still did became very aggressive towards me when I inquired about the second invoice. I had to ask them to please tone it down & reminding them how excited I was.. but that they didn't know what I was going on in my life or me. They were simply so angry that it made me worried beyond explanation with my wedding date approaching and them not responding to my question about my preferred delivery date: May 15. I wanted to make sure it was arriving around then because I hadn't heard from them. They also charged me for their nasty response that refused to answer, still putting event date as May 28 in the subject line. At least message me if there is a change I should know about. How inconsiderate can you be!? There was literally no care in the world even knowing my event date. They are so incredibly money hungry that the known date didn't matter even after 100% payment/knowing it needed additional tailoring. When I saw multiple charges for the very first time, it was on my final invoice (2nd one) for "Time" with email dates. I inquired about it & the $100s of dollars added. They not only responded "Surely, I don't have to explain the definition of time to you" but they charged me for THAT question too!.. The next day after asking what the"Time" was, they literally added to my bill for even asking!.. AND for the question requesting that they tone it down a fee too. That being said, it was SO close to the wedding, as said, in a state of duress, I just paid the entire bill because I was worried about it not coming at all. They puff up their contract to get more $ & drop charges on you when there's not enough time to resist them as a vulnerable bride. I had to reluctantly get another dress days before my wedding since I still hung onto hope this one was come no matter how they treated me. The photos on their website are great! DON'T BE FOOLED. There are many negative reviews reiterating near exactly what I just wrote if you dig beyond any good ones they quite possibly paid others to leave... although I do not have proof of it. My mother-in-law insisted not to wait on my dress1 week before my wedding since the company seemed so sketchy. She was also turned off by how rude/unaccommodating they were. It seemed like a scam. She was right and I'm embarrassed that I fell for it. I'm lucky the bank was able to reverse the charges which we waited to do until the dress never came. BEWARE!! Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2022/07/16) */ As we stated previously unfortunately the consumer failed to pay the entire balance on the last minute rush order they made so the item could not be shipped in a timely manner for this quick turn around wear date. Because of the document the consumer signed we will unfortunately have to send the balance owed to collections. IN the meantime, Our Pricing, Timing & Cancelation policies are still on our website at ********************************** for careful review.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩