ATLANTA --- Complaints of price gouging at gas stations surged Monday as fuel prices rose dramatically, but whether any of them will have merit won't be known until the close of the state's often lengthy investigation process, officials said.
"It's not like a firecracker going off. This takes time," said Bill Cloud, a spokesman for the Governor's Office of Consumer Affairs.
Gas prices rose Monday to the highest of anywhere in the Southeast. The fuel gauge report released by AAA shows the average statewide price for regular unleaded gas is $4.16 a gallon, a 16-cent increase from Sunday. AAA Auto Club South spokesman Gregg Laskoski said he's never seen a 24-hour increase as steep as Georgia's.
As Ike bore down on the Houston area and its refineries and pipelines on Friday night, Gov. Sonny Perdue signed an executive order enacting the state's anti-price gouging law. That means any increases in prices at the pump must directly match increases in what the station is paying for gas on the wholesale market, Mr. Cloud said.
The office's call center received about 100 calls from across the state by 11 a.m. Monday, and many more over the weekend, Mr. Cloud said. No complaints had been substantiated, he added.
First, the department staff must identify which station is being complained about and fax it a copy of the state's anti-gouging law to put them on notice.
Then staff must subpoena sales records and compare the rise in prices to what the station was paying for gas.
Consumers sometimes don't provide a name or address for the station, and the investigation stops because the office cannot locate it, Mr. Cloud said.
Recent budget cuts at the Office of Consumer Affairs have not affected its response to gas gouging complaints, Mr. Cloud said. About 45 members of the office's 50-person staff were fielding and responding to complaints Monday, he said.
Phones at the state Department of Agriculture rang about once a minute with pricing complaints Friday afternoon, spokesman Yao Seidu said.
But all those calls were referred to the Office of Consumer Affairs, since the department is tasked with checking the quality and amount of gas that pumps dispense.
After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the consumer affairs office received about 6,000 complaints, launched 190 investigations and settled in 83 cases -- some of which took 13 months to reach, Mr. Cloud said.
BEEN GOUGED?
IN SOUTH CAROLINA: State Attorney General Henry McMaster's office has launched price-gouging investigations against at least 12 gas suppliers, and Monday signed subpoenas against four in Aiken, Colleton, Florence and Spartanburg counties.
Mr. McMaster said the subpoenas demand all business records related to pricing. The highest reported price was $5.39 in Spartanburg County.
THE SOUTHEAST: Attorneys general in Florida and North Carolina planned to subpoena Pilot Travel Centers LLC and three other companies over complaints about price increases. In North Carolina, state Attorney Roy Cooper said seven retailers were targeted for charging more than $5.49 a gallon last week. Retailers have 10 days to explain their pricing and could be fined $5,000.
-- From wire reports
REPORT GAS PRICE GOUGING
Georgia Department of Consumer Affairs: (800) 869-1123 or consumer.georgia.gov
South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs: (803) 734-4200 or www.scconsumer.gov
U.S. Energy Department: gaswatch.energy.gov
icon.
