Typical government, takes days or weeks to do a one day job. How much do you need to know when you see the price go up that much in less than a day. Give me a break and punish the greedy owners.
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
Comments
Typical government, takes days or weeks to do a one day job. How much do you need to know when you see the price go up that much in less than a day. Give me a break and punish the greedy owners.
Sure consumer behavior ran up the price of gas. YET, everywhere else in Georgia the gas prices "spiked" to $4.16 a galloon at a $.16 increase. But in Augusta and at Gas Plus (CINDI) the gas went to $4.99 with an increase of OVER a dollar per gallon. How is Augusta different - price gouging.
According to SC State Attorney McMasters we are all to dense to understand what price gouging is, it is to complex for us everyday folks to understand.........funny how the prices are starting to drop after complaints have been launched. By the way, Fort Gordon gas stations were just as high as all the rest....
Every stinkin' circle K ought to be investigated. They are the highest I've seen, even with Murphy (Wal Mart) and Kroger gas at $4.19, these scum, Circle K, still at $4.99 this morning for reg. Blast 'em a new b-hole! Every time I pass by they get my "feel good finger!" I won't shop any of them for anything, and haven't for many years.
Augustans bought up almost all of the gas. Had gas stations been allowed to gouge, we might have gas left!
On the news this morning, it was stated that gas was LOWER than 100.00 a barrel so, why are we paying more than ever now if the price has decreased? I really believe that those person's who panicked and filled up everything and whatever that has a need for gas in light of recieveing words from reliable sources to do so before it hit made it harder for companies to retain gas therefore causing the great supply and demand syndrome to go into effect. I think because the storm mainly was bording around the southern and midwest region is why we are suffering. We have not heard of increases any whare else. There is gouging going on, but if those places sold out because of the panic, then some have no choice but to increase prices but not in the extreme amounts they are charging.
Maybe I'm dense but I don't understand how filling your tank up and the stations running out of gas should have made the gas price go up BEFORE the hurricane hit Texas. If the station owners paid X amount of money for the gas that was in their tanks then they should not have raised the price of gas until after they purchased more gas to fill the tanks up at the station. For example, my husband stopped and got gas in his truck before coming home. He paid $3.67 a gallon. Two hours later he goes and picks our son up from a friends house and takes him to get a hamburger. Gas has gone to $4.99 a gallon. Tell me that isn't price gouging!! They are charging higher price for the same gas they have already had in the tanks that two earlier they were charging $1.32 less.
Just keep in mind we the people can serve justice to the gougers by remembering who raised their gas prices to $5.00 or more and quit shpping at their store. We can put them out of business if we work together.
Who wants to bet there will be no prosecutions. They've already made their excuses in the article.
WRONG, They went up to 5.29 gal and stayed there for 3 days.
______Sure consumer behavior ran up the price of gas. YET, everywhere else in Georgia the gas prices "spiked" to $4.16 a galloon at a $.16 increase. But in Augusta and at Gas Plus (CINDI) the gas went to $4.99 with an increase of OVER a dollar per gallon. How is Augusta different - price gouging.
I thought the Governor had to declare an emergency for it to be price gouging?
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