This week, Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody showcased her office’s efforts to crackdown on price gouging during the coronavirus pandemic.
After Gov. Ron DeSantis declared an emergency due to the pandemic, Moody activated the Price Gouging and, according to her office, her “Rapid Response Team has been working diligently and getting results for Floridians concerned about price gouging and COVID-19 related scams.”
Moody weighed in on these efforts on Tuesday and pointed to the initial results.
“Members of my Rapid Response Team, Consumer Protection Division and Price Gouging Hotline are working with a sense of urgency to address consumer concerns in real time. 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,” Moody said.
According to the state Attorney General’s office, so far, since setting up Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline, Moody’s team has:
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.
Moody’s office has also worked to target third party sellers on Amazon who are gouging customers during the pandemic.
Reach Kevin Derby at kevin.derby@floridadaily.com.
