Attorney General Pam Bondi today thanked Home Depot for sending 45 tractor trailers containing disaster-relief supplies to Florida communities impacted by Hurricane Irma and pledging even more supplies before the end of the week. Millions of Floridians are still without power and thousands more have been displaced by flooding or storm damage. Attorney General Bondi continues to work with businesses to help Floridians get much-needed supplies and avoid price gouging.
“We will go after anyone drastically raising prices to take advantage of Floridians during this state of emergency—but another way to guard against price gouging is to increase the supply of disaster-related goods in hard hit areas. That is why I am grateful for our good businesses like Home Depot that are rushing essential supplies to Florida and keeping the price of those items stabilized,” said Attorney General Bondi.
The Home Depot trucks are carrying cases of water, plywood, generators, and electrical cords, among other items. The supplies are headed to South Florida, and will be sold at normal prices. The company is shipping additional supplies in the coming days—with more than a million bottles of water expected before the end of the week. Additionally, Home Depot will sell the water for less than three dollars a case.
Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline remains open during this emergency declaration covering all 67 counties. Citizens can also contact the hotline to report common disaster-related scams, such as: building-repair, tree-removal, water-treatment and charity scams. For more on these types of scams, click here.
Violators of the price gouging statute are subject to civil penalties of $1,000 per violation and up to a total of $25,000 for multiple violations committed in a single 24-hour period, in addition to other civil penalties that may apply. State law also criminalizes the sale of goods and services to the public without possession of an occupational license. Violators of the law can be charged with a second-degree misdemeanor.
To report price gouging or any scam call (866) 9NO-SCAM or file a complaint online at MyFloridaLegal.com. Callers using out-of-state cellphones can dial (850) 414-3990.
