Hurricane Beryl: Price gouging complaints trickle in
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AUSTIN (KXAN) – Complaints of price gouging at hotels and gas stations in the path of Hurricane Beryl have trickled into the Texas Office of Attorney General since the storm slammed the Texas coast Monday.
A total of 16 complaints have been sent to Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office, as of Thursday. Ten of the complaints relate to gas station prices and six concern lodging prices at hotels or motels, according to records obtained by KXAN through the Texas Public Information Act.
“Price gouging during natural disaster, charging $1,048 after taxes for a nasty room with showers that don’t work properly and 300+% markup,” one person wrote in a complaint about a hotel in Jackson County, just north of Matagorda Bay.
A complaint from Houston reads: “This hotel is selling a room for over $3,000 that is normally in the range of hundreds of dollars. This was in response to hurricane Beryl when many people needed to book a hotel for power and/or air conditioning.”
Another person complained of a Baytown gas station doubling the price to swap a propane tank.
Consumers can file price gouging complaints with the Office of Attorney General here.
There were twelve price gouging complaints in Harris County, followed by one complaint each in Brazos, Harrison, Jackson and Montgomery counties, according to agency data.
More reports could be filed in the coming weeks, but the 16 complaints received so far pales in comparison to volume that trailed other Texas storms. Paxton’s office received more than 2,000 price gouging complaints related to the 2021 winter storm that left millions in the state without power amid frigid temperatures. Texans filed more than 5,000 complaints of illegal price hikes associated with Hurricane Harvey in 2017.
As Beryl neared the Texas coast, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick issued disaster declarations that included more than 120 Texas counties in the path of the storm, or nearby, including several in Central Texas. Patrick was acting governor at the time because Gov. Greg Abbott was travelling on state business.
Paxton’s office has authority to prosecute businesses that illegally raise prices on certain goods and services, after a disaster declaration has been declared. The rules apply to “selling or leasing fuel, food, medicine, lodging, building materials, construction tools, or another necessity at an exorbitant or excessive price,” according to Paxton’s office.
It can take months, or longer, for Paxton’s office to investigate price gouging complaints and take action against possible violators. In some cases, Paxton’s office has filed lawsuits against violators and required them to repay customers.
In 2019, almost two years after Hurricane Harvey, Paxton’s office announced it had reached settlements or “secured assurances of voluntary compliance” with six gas stations that had price gouged. Two of the gas stations had charged up to $9.99 a gallon of gas. Each was ordered to pay $17,500 in civil restitution to customers, according to Paxton’s office.
“These latest settlements make things right for Texans who were charged excessive or exorbitant amounts for fuel during Hurricane Harvey,” Attorney General Paxton said in a May 2019 news release. “The settlements also reinforce the message that my office will not tolerate price gouging of Texans by anyone looking to profit off disasters.”