Texas Price Gouging Laws

See Texas attorney general warns of price gouging after Harvey from ABC News.

Even here in San Antonio, we have had to face long lines at the gas stations or no gas at all. The Texas laws prevent the stations from raising the price very much. There have been reports of fights and accidents at stations. Excerpts from the article:

"We've seen water up to $99, for a case of water," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton told ABC News. "We've seen fuel prices up to $20 a gallon. We've seen hotels jack prices up sometimes six, seven times what they should be charging from their normal rate."

The attorney general's office warned consumers to "be on your guard" in a statement on its website.

"Price gouging is illegal, and the Office of the Attorney General has authority to prosecute any business that engages in price gouging after a disaster has been declared by the governor," the statement read. "The attorney general has issued stern warnings about price gouging to businesses in times of disaster, but you should still be on your guard."

In Texas, offenders who engage in price gouging can face fines of up to $20,000 per offense, and up to $250,000 if the victim is 65 or older.

Paxton urged consumers to file a complaint or call the attorney general's hotline if they feel they are victims of price gouging.

"We're looking at prices over the last three months," Paxton told ABC News. "And if you've increased those prices by more than 10 percent, we're going to look at it.""

"On their website, the office of the attorney general describes price gouging as "selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine or another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price" or "demanding an exorbitant or excessive price in connection with the sale or lease of fuel, food, medicine or another necessity.""

Here is a link to the law:

Price Gouging.

See also Here’s Why Bottled Water Is So Expensive on Amazon Right Now: Shoppers in Florida and Texas have lodged price gouging complaints by Spencer Soper of Bloomberg.