Attorney General Josh Stein Provides Update on Price Gouging After Hurricane Helene

For Immediate Release:
Monday, September 30, 2024

Contact:
Nazneen Ahmed (919) 716-0060

(RALEIGH) Attorney General Josh Stein today provided an update on price gouging complaints in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. The Department of Justice has received 64 complaints alleging price gouging in western North Carolina. Most complaints are about hotel rates, grocery prices, and fuel prices and are most frequently about Watauga, McDowell, and Cleveland counties. The Attorney General's Office is investigating these complaints and has already sent three civil investigative demands to learn more about some of these concerns.

Attorney General Stein released the following statement on the ongoing crisis in western North Carolina:

"Thank goodness many businesses out west are generously helping their neighbors in need. North Carolina has an anti-price gouging law to make sure that no bad actors try to take advantage of people's desperation. My team and I aggressively enforce that law and won't let them. We are taking a close look at the complaints we receive. We are already investigating some of the complaints we've received and are sending out three civil investigative demands.

"People in the western part of the state are still struggling to get connected to phones and the internet, and we know it may be hard for them to file complaints with our office right now. The last thing they need is to get scammed while they're trying to recover. Please share the word about our price gouging law with your friends, families, and social networks, and please encourage anyone who has concerns to report them to my office. We can only get through this catastrophe by looking out for each other."

North Carolina's law against price gouging, or charging too much in times of a crisis, goes into effect when the governor or the legislature declares a state of emergency. In some cases, businesses and industries that are heavily impacted by the incident causing the state of emergency have a reasonable need to increase prices in order to resupply, but they should disclose these increases so people can make informed purchasing decisions. Businesses cannot, however, unreasonably raise the price of goods or services to profit from a state of emergency. File price gouging complaints at 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or www.ncdoj.gov/pricegouging.

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