Have you witnessed what you believe is price gouging?

Attorney General Alan Wilson wants to hear from you.

He has assigned potential price gouging cases to local solicitors to review and assign to local law enforcement to investigate and prosecute as need.

“We’ve received more than 650 complaints since the governor declared a state of emergency and we’ve been going through those complaints to find ones that could meet our state law’s definition of price gouging,” he said.

Violating the state price gouging law is a misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to $1,000, 30 days in jail, or both.

During other states of emergency, the Attorney General’s Office has waited until after the emergency is over to have local law enforcement investigate price gouging complaints.

That way, law enforcement is free during the emergency to handle evacuations, traffic control, and other emergency functions.

This emergency differs because it’s been for a prolonged period, and law enforcement is not having to carry out the functions it usually does during hurricanes or floods.

Attorney General Wilson has assigned a Senior Assistant Attorney General to assist solicitors.

South Carolina law (S.C. Code Section 39-5-145(A) (5)(a)) defines price gouging as an “unconscionable price” and defines that as “a gross disparity between the price” being charged and “the average price.”

In other words, normal market fluctuations caused by changes in supply and demand are not price gouging.

Of the more than 650 complaints logged, the most common are: sanitizing wipes, hand gels, and cleaning sprays, toilet paper, face masks, and food, especially meat and eggs.

To report a case, email pricegouging@scag.gov, go to www.scag.gov and click on the “Price Gouging Information” at the top of the page, or call (803)737-3953 and leave a voice message.

Please include:

• The time, place, address, and name of the business

• The price you paid or that’s being charged

• Note any prices nearby and get the same information on those businesses

• Take pictures identifying the business, and the price

• Your name and contact information