Sacramento authorities warn against price gouging during coronavirus emergency
With reports of steep price hikes for toilet paper and other commodities, Sacramento’s district attorney has issued an alert warning that price gouging during the coronavirus crisis is a crime and asking people who have run into the problem to contact her office so it can take action.
Gov. Gavin Newsom as well highlighted the issue this week, citing one instance where masks that had sold for three cents a piece before the crisis were now being advertised for 83 cents.
In Sacramento, a resident told The Sacramento Bee his daughter paid $30 at a grocery store for a 12-pack of toilet paper on Thursday, even as the governor and county officials were calling on a communal, civic-minded approach to the crisis.
The district attorney’s office sent an investigator to a Citrus Heights gas station this week to issue a warning after a consumer reported the station’s market was selling a six-pack of toilet paper for $20.
“We want to get out in front of it,” DA assistant chief deputy Rick Miller said. “The criminal investigator told them to stop and alerted them (to the law). We don’t want to arrest people, but we also are not going to ignore it.”
Similarly, the county health director, Dr. Peter Beilenson, drove to a bar in East Sacramento that had remained open for St. Patrick’s Day, and told them to shut down. The bar complied, Beilenson said.
The state grocery association chief also this week called on consumers to stop what he called over-buying at supermarkets and stores, which has led to some bare shelves.
In a posting on her website, Sacramento District Attorney Anne Marie Schubert pointed out that price-gouging rules for essential consumer goods go into effect when a state of emergency has been declared.
“Whenever federal, state, or local authorities declare a state of emergency, it is unlawful to raise prices for essential consumer goods and services by more than 10 percent of the existing prices immediately prior to the declaration of emergency,” Schubert posted.
A violation of the law, state Penal Code section 396, is punishable by up to one year in jail, a fine of up to $10,000, or a civil penalty of up to $2,500 per violation.
The statute defines essential consumer goods and services generally as including medical supplies, emergency supplies, food, fuel, lodging, transportation, pet food, repair services, construction services, building materials, and housing rental prices.
Schubert also called on residents to “use caution when dealing with resellers on websites like Craigslist and Nextdoor. Amazon and eBay have indicated they have taken steps to prohibit this by blocking new resellers of these types of goods.”
Schubert noted two exceptions to the rule. If an item was on sale when the declaration was issued, the 10% rule applies to the normal price. Also, if there is an increased cost to the seller due to extra labor or supplier costs, the seller or reseller can take those additional costs in account.
The DA’s office asked for gouging complaints to be sent to this email link:
https://www.sacda.org/in-the-courtroom/consumer-environmental-protection/consumer-unit/consumer-fraud-complaint-form/
This story was originally published March 20, 2020 at 11:58 AM with the headline "Sacramento authorities warn against price gouging during coronavirus emergency."