A rumored increase in prices of products in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy is being investigated by New York’s Attorney General after hundreds of complaints were received.
Eric Schneiderman stated that most of the complaints were focused on increased fuel prices. Other emergency supplies are also believed to have been hiked up in cost.
It is now almost a week after the storm hit, and around one million people in New Jersey and New York are still without power. Long queues into petrol stations and supermarkets spread across both of these states over the weekend as people looked to return to some kind of normality.
Schneiderman reported that customers had contacted him to report “possible gouging for emergency supplies like generators, hotels raising rates due to ‘high demand’, as well as increased prices for food and water.” All of these are forbidden under New York law.
His statement also added that retailers were not allowed to charge “unconscionably excessive prices” for products which were needed for personal, family, or household purposes after a disruption in the market.
“We’ll do everything we can to stop unscrupulous individuals from taking advantage of New Yorkers trying to rebuild their lives,” promised Schneiderman.
Downtown New York is currently under a huge strain from the hundreds of thousands of commuters, visitors, and inhabitants of the City looking to travel across Manhattan. More subway lines were opened on Monday, but, with temperatures beginning to fall rapidly, New York officials are now worried that a new storm could approach the east coast and wreak further havoc.
