GREENSBORO, N.C. — Restaurants, salons, retail shops are all open and serving customers with modifications. But one of the things not changed in the most recent executive order, price gouging.
The Governor extended the price gouging period until June 26.
Sellers can still get in trouble for charging you too much. “The law says you can't charge an unreasonable price,” explains NC Attorney General Josh Stein. “This is not a set price like 10% or 20%. You may not know if it's price gouging, so you need to get in touch with my office so we can do an investigation.”
Here's the thing, toilet paper, masks, sanitizer, unless you make a complaint the Attorney General can't investigate to see if it really is price gouging or not. It’s hard to believe that not every high price is gouging.
For example, let's say the business gets toilet paper for $2 dollars a unit and they normally charge you $4. But now, the business is getting that same toilet paper for $4 and they're charging you $8. You're now paying double than the original cost. But the business had to buy it at a higher price too. That's not gouging if the new inventory is at a higher price and they pass it on.
So how do you report price gouging?
The first thing you'll want to do is collect your evidence.
Take a picture of the price in-store or on your receipt.
You'll need the name and address of the business, and the product they're selling.
Then file a price-gouging complaint, on the NC Department of Justice's website
.