TRENTON – Merchants who sell baby formula could face hefty fines for price gouging according to Acting Attorney General Platkin.
“The current baby formula shortage may have scammers and unscrupulous vendors coming out of the woodwork to take advantage of parents at a vulnerable time. We are putting merchants on notice that we stand ready to take action and hold accountable those who exploit any crisis for financial gain,” stated Platkin.
Price-gouging violations are penalized $10,000 for the first offense and $20,000 for every offense after that. Violators may also have to pay for consumer restitution, attorney’s fees and investigative fees. Each individual sale of merchandise is a separate offense.
The price gouging law went into effect when Governor Phil Murphy signed an executive order May 17. Excessive price increases are not allowed while the executive order is in effect. An excessive price increase is any price that exceeds 10 percent of the price the product was sold at during the normal course of business.
“As we continue to review reports of alleged price gouging and other questionable tactics, we ask consumers to help us by reporting any excessive prices and scams they observe while shopping for baby formula,” stated Cari Fais, Acting Director of the Division of Consumer Affairs.
Those who believe price gouging is occurring are encouraged to file complaints online, where photos, receipts and other evidence of price gouging can be uploaded.
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