OLYMPIA — On Tuesday, Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson launched an awareness campaign encouraging Washingtonians to report price gouging in three easy steps: “See It, Snap It, Send It.”
Ferguson is encouraging anyone who sees price gouging to snap a photo or take a screenshot, and then include the image with the complaint they file at the Attorney General’s website at https://fortress.wa.gov/atg/formhandler/ago/ComplaintForm.aspx
The Attorney General’s Office (AGO) says that they have received more than 400 complaints related to price gouging since the beginning of March.
“I will use every tool at our disposal to prevent price gouging during this unprecedented pandemic,” Ferguson said. “One of our most valuable tools is the personal experience of Washingtonians. When you see a business charging exorbitant prices on products that are essential to our health and well-being, snap a photo and file a complaint with my office.”
According to the AGO, pictures and screenshots are useful tools for investigators tasked with looking into price-gouging complaints. Any additional information, like the brand and size of the product being sold, and, if it is known, what that store charged for the product before the current pandemic outbreak, is also helpful.
In late March, Ferguson sent out an initial round of five cease-and-desist letters to Washington-based independent online sellers who significantly raised prices on coronavirus-related items. In one case, a seller raised the price on hand sanitizer by more than 600 percent. The letters warn the sellers to cease and desist charging unreasonably excessive prices, or face a lawsuit under the state Consumer Protection Act.
To date, Ferguson has sent a total of six cease-and-desist letters to businesses engaged in price gouging, and expects to send more. Investigators at the Attorney General’s Office have made more than 150 on-site visits to businesses related to price-gouging complaints. Ferguson hopes Washington consumers will help amplify these efforts by sending photographic evidence of price gouging they see.
Washington does not have a specific statute addressing price gouging. However, according to the AGO, price gouging during an emergency violates the Consumer Protection Act’s prohibition on unfair business practices.
Ferguson says that he is committed to proposing legislation specific to price gouging in the next legislative session, and that the Attorney General’s Office will continue to investigate reports of price gouging during the COVID-19 pandemic.
