September 1, 2005
AG's office flooded with complaints
By Camille C. Spencer
caspencer@jackson.gannett.com
Whom to call
If you think you're experiencing price gouging, take a photo of a sign with correct prices, keep your receipts and call the state attorney general's office at (601) 359-4230.
Source: The State attorney general's office
Bags of ice sold for $10 each.
Hotel rates jumped an additional $40 per night.
Electric generators with a retail price of $1,100 were purchased from trailers and parking lots for $3,000 a pop.
Price gouging has become common in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and officials from the state attorney general's office are targeting those who have taken advantage of high demand items, such as generators and ice.
About 15 employees from the attorney general's office answered hundreds of consumer calls Wednesday regarding price gouging, said Grant Hedgepeth, director of consumer protection.
Most calls were related to gouging with generators and hotel rates, with some charging twice the retail price for the high-demand items.
"Most are calling from the Jackson area, but we've had some from north Mississippi," Hedgepeth said. "We got a report of somebody in Gulfport selling gas for $20 a gallon. We've had three or four reports of people selling $700 generators for $3,000. So far, the people selling are hitting one parking lot and moving to the next."
If convicted, price gouging carries a penalty of up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine.
Jackson Police Chief Shirlene Anderson said police arrested a man Wednesday after he was caught selling portable generators for $2,000 at Home Depot in Jackson, which is more than twice the retail price.
"We haven't had it widespread," she said. "I told the mayor we need to get it under control before it becomes a problem."
A couple from Shipshewana, Ind., drove to Jackson to set up shop in the parking lot of Lonestar Steakhouse and Saloon, selling overpriced electric generators to desperate folks like Louise Knox and Charles Holifield of Canton. Holifield paid $2,600 for a Honda generator.
"They were here when I got here at 8 o'clock this morning," said Lonestar manager Anthony Dale.
The Indiana couple has a Web site,
http://www.wannaengine.com, and were selling generators from a horse trailer, accepting credit cards, checks and cash.
Hedgepeth said some were desperate to pay any price for generators that would supply energy to sick family members surviving on oxygen machines.
Meanwhile, Hedgepeth is telling hotels to refund money to people who were overcharged. If not, "We're going to go back and shut them down and arrest them," he said. "Somebody price gouging is the same as a looter."
Staff writer Lorinda Bullock contributed to this report.
