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Northwest Florida Gas Stations Are Warned Against Price Gouging

Posted on: Monday, 11 July 2005, 21:00 CDT

Jul. 9--As area residents lined up Friday to fill their tanks ahead of Hurricane Dennis' landfall, a state agency warned gas stations and other businesses to resist price gouging before the storm's arrival.

Terence McElroy, a spokesman for the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, said his office already had received 105 calls from consumers about price gouging, mainly gasoline-related, and gas shortages by 9:30 a.m. Friday.

The Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services has activated a toll-free hot line at 1-800-HELPFLA for Florida residents to report price gouging.

By Friday afternoon, the number of calls to the hot line had risen to 160. It will be staffed today and Sunday during the day, and citizens will be able to leave voice mail messages in the evening.

McElroy said many of the calls were from Panama City-area residents and consumers in Pensacola.

"If anyone's engaging in price gouging, we will throw the book at them," McElroy said.

Florida law prohibits charging excessive or exorbitant prices for essential items, including gas, food and shelter, once a state of emergency has been declared.

To determine if a business is engaging in price gouging, McElroy said his department looks at its pricing structure for the previous 30 days.

McElroy said a business needs to be able to show it paid more for its most recent delivery of gasoline to justify sudden price increases.

When price gouging can be verified, McElroy said the fines are $1,000 per violation, up to a maximum of $25,000 a day.

According to AAA Auto Club South's Web site, regular unleaded gasoline averaged $2.242 a gallon in Florida on Friday, up from $2.147 a month ago.

Prices around the Panama City area for regular unleaded gasoline ranged from $2.14 to $2.49 a gallon Friday morning.

Residents waited in long lines Friday at most area gas stations. Some stations ran out of regular unleaded and midgrade gasoline, although McElroy said he had been told there should not be a problem with supply this weekend.

The Department of Environmental Protection issued a release Thursday stating that Florida currently had an ample fuel supply.

The release stated that the DEP is coordinating with the petroleum industry and representatives from the Florida Petroleum Council and Florida Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association to ensure a steady supply of fuel.

Florida House Speaker Allan Bense, R-Panama City, said he also has heard complaints from residents about alleged price gouging.

At his downtown office Friday, Bense said he had received at least two dozen calls, including some to his home, from constituents angry over sudden price hikes.

Bense said he filled up his car at 7 a.m. Friday. Bense said a woman next to him said that prices at that particular gas station had gone up 15 cents overnight.

"People are mad," Bense said.

He said he has talked to the Attorney General's office about looking into price gouging by vendors and petroleum companies, and Bense deplored price gougers as being "about as low as you can get" for taking advantage of an emergency situation.

In his quest to find fuel for his portable generator, Lynn Haven resident Steve Matthews said he had to drive across the Hathaway Bridge to a Panama City Beach Amoco station Friday morning.

Matthews said he normally goes to a nearby Citgo station for gasoline.

Acknowledging that he expected gas prices to rise this summer like everyone else, Matthews said he had noticed a sharp rise and disparity in recent days at area stations.

"How do they explain the difference in prices?" Matthews said.

At the Fast Lane Convenience Store on the corner of 11th Street and East Avenue, store manager Trinh Nguyen said he just received a new gasoline shipment Friday morning.

Due to higher prices from his supplier, Nguyen said he raised his price Friday for regular unleaded from $2.20 to $2.30 a gallon.

"I had to boost it up," he said, adding that he needed to sell the gasoline for at least 6 cents per gallon more than what the store paid for it.

Nguyen said prices at Fast Lane had gradually increased since last week, when a gallon of regular unleaded sold for $2.13.

He said he had received one complaint Friday from a customer upset with the abrupt price hike. Nguyen said the store was going to stay open as long as it had power.

Residents looking for other hurricane necessities streamed into hardware and home improvement stores to snatch up batteries, tarps and plywood on Friday.

Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse on 23rd Street was out of generators, but " holding firm" on other supplies, said Operations Manager Todd Draime.

Draime said his store, as of 3 p.m. Friday, still had batteries, flashlights and plywood in stock.

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Copyright (c) 2005, The News Herald, Panama City, Fla.

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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Source: The News Herald

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