Florida's Price Gouging Hotline Busy Ahead Of Hurricane Dorian
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Reports of price gouging have begun. The Attorney General of Florida says her office received 568 complaints over alleged price gouging as of the opening of business Friday.
About half came through the new app Florida No Scam, the other half from a traditional hot line.
Attorney General Ashley Moody says the majority of complaints are about gas and water. She says some companies have not been as cooperative as they should be when contacted by investigators.
"Gas stations need be aware we are following this closely. We got some reports that some had increased prices overnight. I can tell you that in trying to be proactive about that, some have not been cooperative. In fact insisted in order to do something about that, we may need to send someone with a badge, which I will oblige," explained Moody.
Under Florida law, when there is a state of emergency, which has now been declared in all 67 counties, companies can not raise prices higher than the average price over the last 30 days unless then can prove their costs increased.
If you see what you believe is price gouging the number to call is 866-966-7226 or 866-9-NOSCAM.
Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has also opened her price gouging hotline. The number for Miami-Dade is 305-547-3300.
As of Friday afternoon, the Miami-Dade price gouging hotline has received about 75 calls which are being sent to investigators to review.
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