TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Because Florida is under a State of Emergency, it’s illegal for businesses to raise prices and overcharge customers for goods that they need as a direct result of this emergency. But some businesses haven’t gotten the message.
The state law that prohibits price-gouging covers food, water, ice, gas, lumber and even hotel rooms and rental cars.
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Hotline operators took calls Thursday from people across the state, reporting different companies and businesses.
“They are continuing (to come) in as fast as we can answer,” operator Jack Hagadorn said of the calls.
Twenty people struggled to keep up with the call volume.
A gas complaint in Jacksonville, a complaint alleging one business was charging $10 for a 12-pack of water, and another saying gas went up by $1 a gallon — the Attorney General’s Office said every report would be investigated.
“Any business that intentionally inflates the prices because a hurricane is coming, they saw a lot of need,” said Whitney Ray, a spokesman for the Attorney General’s Office. “So, those are the things we’ll be working out right now, and probably in the days and weeks following the storm.”
Investigators will first try to get a merchant to return prices to normal. If that fails, big fines could follow.
“Penalties can be $1,000 per violation — up to $25,000 within a 24-hour period,” Ray said.
The highest number of complaints report price-gouging for items such as gas, water and ice, followed closely by hotel rooms and rental cars.
While those are the hot items now, the law covers anything people need in an emergency, right down to the tarp to cover a hole in your roof.
To file a price-gouging complaint, call 866-9-NoScam. You also can file online.
The Attorney General’s website says the best advice to avoid being overcharged is to stock up well before the storm arrives.