NORTH CAROLINA, USA — Attorney General Josh Stein says around 1,100 people in our state filed price gouging complaints in the two weeks after the Colonial Pipeline went offline. Nearly every complaint was about gas prices.
If you were one of those people who submitted a complaint, you may be wondering - what comes next?
"What we do is investigate each one. We send the complaint to the station, and we ask them is this accurate? What price did you charge? What price had you charged, and if there was a big difference, is there a reason why you raised the price? Did your costs go up," Stein said.
He said if the gas station can't justify the price increase, his office digs deeper. It's a process that can be lengthy.
"We wish we could bring an action immediately every time, but developing the evidence, building the case, it can take some energy and take some time and take some effort," he said, "So it could take weeks, it could take months."
The Attorney General explained, what lot of people might think is price gouging..
turns out not to be, after his team determines the seller had a legitimate reason for upping the cost.
Since 2018, he's brought nine price gouging lawsuits against 25 defendants. He has obtained nine judgements against 18 defendants, winning close to a million dollars in judgements and settlements.
The AG told WFMY News 2 it's too early to say what will happen with the hundreds of recent gas-related complaints, but that your concerns aren't forgotten, and you will hear from his office, whether your complaint makes it to court or not.
"One of the really important things in any emergency is to notify the sellers about North Carolina's price gouging law to deter them from doing anything - from listening to their worst impulses, or greed. That they see an opportunity to make a quick buck. We don't want that."
