Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody activated Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline following a state of emergency declaration for areas of the state that are dealing with torrential downpours and dangerous flooding. According to an official release, from Moody’s office, the order follows Governor Ron DeSantis’s state of emergency declaration covers Broward, Collier, Lee, Miami-Dade and Sarasota counties.
The Price Gouging Hotline is now available to receive reports of extreme price increases on essential commodities. Florida’s price gouging law only applies to items and services essential to getting ready for, or recovering from, a storm within the areas of a declared state of emergency.
During a storm-related declared state of emergency, state law prohibits excessive increases in the price of essential commodities, such as equipment, food, gasoline, hotel rooms, ice, lumber and water needed as a direct result of the event.
Anyone who suspects price gouging can report it to the Florida Attorney General’s Office by visiting MyFloridaLegal.com or calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM. For more information on price gouging, access Attorney General Moody’s Scams at a Glance: Price Gouging resource by clicking here. To download Scams at a Glance: Price Gouging in Spanish, click here.
Recovery can be a grueling process that scammers may attempt to exploit. To avoid falling victim to scams that may occur in the aftermath of a storm, view Attorney General Moody’s Scams at a Glance: After the Storm. To download the resource in English, click here. To download the Spanish version, click here.
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.
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