As Hurricane Francine moves inland after hitting the Louisiana coast on Wednesday, Attorney General Liz Murrill is warning residents to be on the lookout for price gouging.
Murrill’s office reminds consumers the prices charged for goods or services sold cannot exceed the prices ordinarily charged for comparable goods or services in the same market area at and immediately before the state of emergency. This is referred to as ‘price gouging.’
“While we usually see the best in people during a storm, sometimes we also see the worst in people,” Murrill said in a press release. “Price gouging is not only wrong, it’s also illegal. My office will enforce the law to make sure no one is taken advantage of before, during, and after Francine.”
The AG’s office also reminded consumers there are exceptions to the price gouging rules. Those include:
* Price increases being attributable to verifiable regional or national market trends and fluctuations.
* Price increases being attributable to additional supply costs.
* The law allows companies to charge more for products and services when the difference in price is due to increased costs to the supplier or market trends unrelated to the disaster.
The AG’s office says a price gouging violation occurs when there is a gross disparity between the price of the goods or services and their value measured by the price the goods or services were offered for sale by a merchant immediately prior to the onset of the abnormal disruption of the market, and the amount charged by the merchant was not attributable to additional costs imposed by its suppliers.
A violation also occurs when the amount charged grossly exceeds the price at which the same or similar goods or services were readily obtainable by other consumers in the trade area, and the amount charged by the merchant was not attributable to additional costs imposed by its suppliers.
The price gouging law goes into effect under a declared state of emergency made by the governor or a parish president. It can be renewed with subsequent proclamations renewing the declared state of emergency, which are effective for up to an additional 30 days each.
A district attorney, parish attorney or the attorney general may bring price gouging actions in court. The statute specifically prohibits a private cause of action. Victims may have claims under the unfair trade practice statute.
In certain situations, price gouging is a crime. If so, the chief law enforcement officer of the political subdivision can issue an order prohibiting price gouging.
If someone is a victim of price gouging or wants to report a potential price gouging situation, they are asked to contact local law enforcement. It’s also recommended they file a consumer dispute with the AG’s office online or by calling the office’s consumer hotline.
“We encourage complainants to provide specific evidence supporting the complaint, including advertisements and receipts of the product or service,” the AG’s office says in a press release. “We take complaints of price gouging seriously. We review every complaint. We will bring civil actions against those merchants that violate the law.”