Attorney General’s Office is taking action to address allegations of price gouging

State leaders are cracking down on price gouging and Attorney General Ashley Moody says her office has received more than 12-hundred complaints —and is investigating them all.

In an attempt to crack down on the price gouging, the investigation has issued dozens of subpoenas, deactivated more than 100 online posts, and got 79-thousand dollars in refunds for people.

If a business is caught it faces up to $25,000 in fines.

Moody says it’s very important you report any price gouging.

“We are most effective when Floridians help us. So I want to encourage anyone who sees exorbitant price increases on essential commodities to please contact my office immediately so we can address the matter as soon as possible,” said Moody.

Since activating Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline, the Florida Attorney General’s Office has:

• Received approximately 1,210 consumer contacts about the price of essential commodities
• Made more than 1,900 referrals and contacts to merchants about allegations of price gouging, refunds and scams
• Secured more than $79,000 in refunds related to travel, leisure and product purchases
• Issued 56 subpoenas to further price gouging investigations
• Worked with online platforms to deactivate more than 100 posts offering items for outrageous prices.

For more information on price gouging, click here.

For a list of the commodities covered under the state’s price gouging laws during the COVID-19 state of emergency, click here.

Price gouging can be reported by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM, visiting MyFloridaLegal.com or downloading the NO SCAM smartphone app.

For tips on reporting price gouging, click here.

Since the COVID-19 emergency declaration, Attorney General Moody has issued four Consumer Alerts with information about emerging scams and tips to avoid fraud. To view the latest alerts and to stay up-to-date on COVID-19 related scams, visit the Attorney General’s Consumer Alert webpage by clicking here.