Neronha Sends Cease and Desist Letters to Stop Price Gouging, But Won’t Name Businesses
Monday, March 30, 2020
Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha has issued cease and desist letters to Rhode Island businesses over price gouging during the coronavirus crisis -- but his office will not reveal who the businesses are.
Neronha warned Rhode Islanders of price gouging scams -- and while his office says it has taken action, it refuses to identify which businesses received official letters to stop price gouging.
"Businesses are prohibited from increasing the price of any essential commodity to an 'unconscionably high price' immediately before or during a declared state of emergency. This practice is known as price gouging and it is illegal in Rhode Island," said his office on March 12, urging Rhode Islanders to contact the AG in the event they suspect price gouging.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTLast Monday, the office said that more than 85 complaints had been lodged and cease and desist orders sent.
Multiple follow-ups by GoLocal for which businesses received the orders were refused.
AG's Position on Privacy
"Our office has made a significant effort to notify the public to be on the lookout for suspected price gouging and scams and we encourage Rhode Islanders to report any instances of suspected price gouging or scams to our consumer protection team: (401) 274-4400, email: [email protected], website: riag.ri.gov. We have received over 85 complaints so far and that number continues to rise," said Kristy dosReis, spokesperson for Neronha.
"Our consumer protection team, made up of investigators and attorneys, has followed up and investigated each complaint by conducting site visits, tracking down and contacting the owners of businesses, requesting and reviewing receipts/records and, in some cases, sending cease and desist letters to businesses," she added. "We expect reports to continue to come in as the COVID-19 emergency persists. However, by reaching the public we hope to deter instances of price gouging during this particularly challenging time."
Neronha's office would not release the names of businesses when requested in multiple follow-up emails.
"We follow up on every complaint of price gouging that comes in," said dosReis. "To the extent we think there are bad actors out there that we think public needs to know about or be aware of, we will make that information available."
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