Talk about taking advantage of a bad situation. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s office announced Monday that it was looking into price gouging complaints after Superstorm Sandy. It said that the state’s General Business Law “prohibits such increases in costs of essential items like food, water, gas, generators, batteries and flashlights, and services like transportation, during natural disasters or other events that disrupt the market.”
After the storm disrupted supply chains, reports surfaced of consumers complaining about price hikes on a variety of scarce resources, from $10 for a box of matches to $7 for a loaf of bread.
Drivers also turned to social media to find where they could buy gas legitimately. Twitter account @njgas kept its growing band of 6,400 plus followers posted with crowd-supplied updates on gas station openings, wait times, and rationing rules.