Attorney General's News Release

May 14, 2007

Southwest Missouri businesses to pay more than $92,000 in latest round of price-gouging settlements with Nixon

Springfield, Mo. — Attorney General Jay Nixon today announced seven more southwest Missouri businesses will pay a total of $92,754 in settlements with Nixon as part of his ongoing investigation into alleged price gouging after the severe ice storms of Jan. 12-14. Nixon said the businesses - which include hotels, gas stations and hardware stores - are located in Springfield, Ozark, Buffalo and Joplin. Hundreds of consumers who paid too much for hotel rooms, gas cans and portable generators from the businesses will receive restitution as a result of the settlements.

"We continue to ensure that the complaints of those consumers who were victimized twice during the devastating ice storm - once by the storm itself and then by the outrageously high prices charged for necessities - are answered," Nixon said at a news conference in Springfield. "The few businesses in the region that sought to take advantage of desperate citizens in the immediate aftermath of the storm are being held accountable, and our investigation into other potential price-gouging cases continues."

Missouri's price-gouging regulations prohibit charging excessive prices for necessities in disaster areas, and price gouging is an unfair practice under state consumer protection laws. Nixon announced the first round of legal actions in February after looking into more than 400 complaints regarding alleged price gouging. Those actions included five lawsuits and two settlements that recovered $28,000 in restitution, penalties and payments to the state. The office is still actively involved in another 12 investigations of price-gouging complaints.

In this latest round of legal action, the Attorney General reached assurances of voluntary compliance with the following businesses:

• Central Power Systems, located at 3100 E. Kearney in Springfield, will pay $31,796 in consumer restitution, $5,103 to the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund (MPRF) and a civil penalty of $3,100 to settle allegations it overcharged some customers who leased portable generators by several hundreds of dollars.
• Fastenal, located at 2109 E. Division in Springfield, will pay $11,171 in restitution, $2,000 to the MPRF and a civil penalty of $1,828 to settle allegations that the business sold generators at about $100 over the normal price.
• Super 8 Motel, located at 3022 N. Kentwood in Springfield, will pay $8,504 in restitution, $5,000 to the MPRF and a civil penalty of $2,495 to settle allegations the hotel raised its per room rate by as much as $40 a night after the storm.
• The Days Inn located at 900 N. 18th in Ozark will pay $3,324 in restitution and $650 to the MPRF to resolve allegations that it raised the prices of rooms as much as 50 percent after the storm.
• Battlefield Inn, located at 2114 S. Glenstone in Springfield, will pay $1,910 in restitution, $1,000 to the MPRF and a civil penalty of $1,000 to settle allegations that the hotel substantially raised the price of rooms after the storm.
• The Dallas County Farmers Exchange #177, which does business as MFA in Buffalo, will pay a civil penalty of $1,000 to settle allegations that it purchased between 25 and 50 empty gas cans from another business for about $5 each and then immediately re-sold them for $8 apiece.
• The Days Inn on South Rangeline in Joplin will pay $7,373 in restitution, $3,000 to the MPRF and a civil penalty of $2,500 to settle allegations that the hotel substantially raised the price of rooms after the storm.

The five other price-gouging lawsuits filed in February against businesses in Springfield, Monett, Willard and Buffalo are pending.

"We have a proven track record of coming down hard on price gouging," Nixon said. "It's important to send a message to anyone else who would consider trying this that we will always be ready to act on behalf of those consumers who are victimized."

In December 2006, Nixon recovered nearly $38,000 in consumer restitution from a Farmington business over allegations of price gouging in the sale of portable generators in the wake of another winter storm. Previously, Nixon took action against eight gas stations in 2005 after Hurricane Katrina and against 48 stations in 2001 after Sept. 11 over allegations of price gouging. The stations paid almost $69,000 total to the state as a result of Nixon's investigation.

KY3 story and video on the price-gouging

KOLR10 story and video on the price-gouging

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to the Communications Office.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818