STATEWIDE–If you see price gouging or are a victim of it due to the coronavirus, you are encouraged to report it.
Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill says although specific price-gouging authority in Indiana law refers to fuel prices during a state of emergency, he has the ability to enforce the Deceptive Consumer Sales Act.
That allows the Attorney General’s office to enforce “any unfair, abusive, deceptive, or unconscionable conduct.”
There have been several reports nationwide of price gouging during the pandemic:
- Amazon had to remove a million listings of products suspected of price gouging. A man from Tennessee is being investigated for buying up 18,000 bottles of hand sanitizer and selling it to make a large profit.
- Menards has been accused of price gouging customers on cleaning products and face masks.
- In San Diego, eight people were recently arrested. Police say they were selling health-related products at an inflated cost.
To submit a price-gouging complaint, the Office is encouraging Hoosiers to go to the online consumer complaint form, which can be found at http://www.indianaconsumer.com, click on “File a Complaint”.
If you have questions about the types of complaints handled by the Consumer Protection Division, you may call the Consumer Protection Division at 1-800-382-5516 or 317-232-6330.
