JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – By now, you’ve likely seen things like Lysol wipes or hand sanitizer for sale at well over the suggested retail price during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Florida’s top prosecutor is warning that complaints of price gouging is at an all time high. Attorney General Ashley Moody said her office has received hundreds of complaints.
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One seller advertised a pack of Lysol Wipes for $10,000.
“I hate to say it, but in Florida, we are used to, in times of crisis at least in the Attorney General’s Office fighting everyday against bad actors who want to profit of these terrible situations,” said Moody.
The Attorney General’s rapid response team has contacted 950 businesses after claims of price gouging. They include vendors on Amazon, Facebook Marketplace and eBay.
“It seems like when one website is taken down, another pops up," Moody said. "Many of the online platforms are working with our office hand-in-hand. Not only are they responding when we reach out to complaints that we have, they are trying to be proactive when this is going on.”
Moody says amid the pandemic, the top three items that her office has been receiving price gouging complaints about include cleaning supplies, hand sanitizer and face masks.
To know if an item is being sold for higher than normal, Moody said to check the price of an item 30 days before the governor’s state of emergency was announced. If it’s higher now, it’s likely price gouging.
The majority of reports that Moody’s office has received have been about online sales, but if you see price gouging anywhere, you can either report it on the No Scam App or call 1-866-9NO-SCAM.