Florida's Attorney General Ashley Moody has announced her will continue to fight price gouging scams for Floridians and that since she activated the state's "Price Gouging Hotline", the state's Rapid Response Team is actively investigating any suspicions of price gouging and any related COVID-19 scams.
Attorney General Moody said, “Since activating the hotline, our office has secured more than $130,000 in refunds for consumers and issued 59 investigative subpoenas. We will not relent in our efforts to protect Floridians from gouging and scams during this unprecedented time of crisis. You can help by reporting outrageous price increases on essential commodities to my office whenever and wherever you encounter them.”
So far the AG’s office has received the following claims:
- Received approximately 2,000 consumer contacts about the price of essential commodities;
- Made more than 2,700 referrals and contacts to merchants about allegations of price gouging, refunds and scams;
- Secured more than $130,000 in refunds related to travel, leisure and product purchases;
- Issued 59 subpoenas to further price gouging investigations; and
- Worked with online platforms to deactivate more than 130 posts offering items for outrageous prices.
Remember...
Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to civil penalties of $1,000 per violation and up to a total of $25,000 for multiple violations committed in a single 24-hour period.
Click here to report an incident or if you would like more information on price gouging in Florida