By Attorney General McDonnell
When a gas station charges $2.80 for gas one day, and $5.99 for the same gas two days later, something is wrong. And that’s when the Office of the Attorney General steps in.
That was the situation a few months back when my office used Virginia’s Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act to protect consumers who were being overcharged in the days following Hurricane Katrina. Gasoline at a Shell station in Centreville cost $5.99 a gallon, and Discount Tire & Gas in Falls Church was charging $4.79. We successfully prosecuted these stations, returned money to the victims, and required them to donate to the Red Cross’s Katrina relief fund.
Today, prices at the pumps are once again spiking due to market dynamics influenced by many factors. Under our state’s laws, a company can be prosecuted for price gouging if it’s charging “unconscionable” prices after the Governor or President declares a state of emergency. The law applied after Hurricane Katrina because a state of emergency was issued by Governor Warner in the aftermath of the devastation in the Gulf Coast.
As painful as our fill-ups are these days, the law prescribes that “states of emergency” can only apply in times of natural disaster, man-made disaster, emergency, or major disaster as declared by the Governor.
However, there are things the Office of the Attorney General can do even though a state of emergency has not been declared. Currently, we are evaluating whether there is any indication of collusion by gas suppliers to inflate prices, which would fall under anti-trust laws. I am working with the U.S. Attorney General and Attorneys General in other states to investigate the rise in gas prices. And if we find any evidence of a violation of the law, our office will act accordingly.
Now that you’re familiar with the specific law, you know when you truly are a victim of price-gouging under the law. In that case, please call our Consumer Hotline at 1-800-451-1525 or complete our contact form. (Our Web site, www.vaag.com, has more on the Post-Disaster Anti-Price Gouging Act, and a complaint form you can fill out.)
Taking advantage of Virginians by unfairly increasing the price of necessary items like fuel in times of emergency is unacceptable. The Office of the Attorney General will do everything it can to prevent and prosecute such actions.