RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein reported that as of Friday, the state Department of Justice has received 308 complaints alleging Helene-related price gouging. Most complaints are related to groceries, hotel costs and fuel prices.
Stein's office said complaints are related to businesses largely in Buncombe, Henderson, and Cleveland counties. Additionally, he has already sent four civil investigative demands to learn more about price gouging concerns.
“The people in western North Carolina are tough, but we must do all we can to help,” said Stein in a statement Friday. “My office is working hard to protect them from scammers and bad actors who try to make a bad situation even worse.”
North Carolina’s law against price gouging goes into effect when the governor or the legislature declares a state of emergency. In some cases, businesses and industries that are heavily impacted by the incident do have a reasonable need to increase prices in order to resupply, but they should disclose these increases.
Businesses cannot, however, unreasonably raise the price of goods or services to profit from a state of emergency.
Customers can file price gouging complaints online or by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM.
The Attorney General’s Office said it remains vigilant in protecting North Carolinians from scammers and created a resource page for North Carolinians. More information can be found online.