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Over 200 price gouging complaints in Florida about fuel, water ahead of Hurricane Milton [1]

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Date: 2024-10-08

Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody has received more than 200 complaints about price gouging as many thousands of residents prepared to evacuate from Hurricane Milton.

As of Monday, most of the complaints are about fuel and water, said Kylie Mason, Moody's spokesperson. The top three counties for complaints are Highlands, Hillsborough and Pinellas, she added.

There were also scattered instances involving overnight accommodations, including one Airbnb listing of a "room in Tallahassee" for nearly $6,000 a night.

"Our team already reached out to our (Airbnb) corporate contact and tracked down the owner," Mason said. "We are sharing a copy of the price gouging statute ... and making them aware of their legal responsibility." (An Airbnb spokesperson on Wednesday countered that "the price for that listing has been the same for over two years. It was not changed in response to recent natural disasters.")

Moody extended Florida’s Price Gouging Hotline, which was in effect for Hurricane Helene, for Milton. The storm regained Category 5 strength Tuesday as it barreled across the Gulf of Mexico and toward the Florida peninsula, where millions scrambled to wrap up storm preparations and evacuate vulnerable areas.

The National Hurricane Center said damaging winds, life-threatening storm surge and heavy rainfall will extend well outside the forecast cone. Hurricane warning maps show Florida blanketed in red and orange alerts.

Florida price gouging law covers lodging, equipment, food and more

During a storm-related state of emergency, state law prohibits price gouging for equipment, food, gasoline, hotel rooms, ice, lumber and water needed as a direct result of the event, according to the Attorney General's Office.

Violators 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.

More than 450 complaints of price gouging were received after Helene, which made landfall as a Category 4 on Florida's Nature Coast near Dekle Beach in late September.

Those complaints, however, were mostly about fuel in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, which suffered catastrophic flooding hours before Helene hit the coast.

How to help

To issue a complaint about price gouging, visit MyFloridaLegal.com or call 1-866-9NO-SCAM.

(This story was updated to add new information.)

USA TODAY contributed. Ana Goñi-Lessan, state watchdog reporter for the USA TODAY Network – Florida, can be reached at [email protected].

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[1] Url: https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/hurricane/2024/10/08/over-200-price-gouging-complaints-in-florida-ahead-of-hurricane-milton/75577858007/

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