Consumers Receive Approximately $14,000 in Refunds
HARRISBURG―Attorney General Josh Shapiro today announced that his office stopped illegal price gouging by an Amazon.com third party seller called Goods And More Incorporated (“Goods And More”), based in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
“We won’t tolerate illegal price gouging during this emergency, and we’re taking action every day to stop it—here in Scranton and across Pennsylvania. Pennsylvanians need security and financial protection right now, especially when so many have lost wages and 30 percent of our residents are out of work.” said Attorney General Shapiro. “You have a right in Pennsylvania to purchase life-saving goods at reasonable prices whether in store or online. If you see suspicious price increases on products like groceries and medicine, I encourage you to email pricegouging@attorneygeneral.gov and fill out a complaint form so we can put a stop to price gouging.”
The Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General entered into an Assurance of Voluntary Compliance (AVC) with Goods And More after the Office received tips alleging that the online seller was selling hand sanitizer for unlawful prices through Amazon.com. The Office learned that Goods And More sold 24-packs of 2-ounce bottles of Assured hand sanitizer for as much as $109.99 per package. Goods And More also sold single 12 ounce bottles of Purell hand sanitizer for as much as $39.00 each.
Under the Price Gouging Act, a price increase of more than 20 percent during a declared state of emergency is considered price gouging. The AVC requires Goods And More to pay $1,900 in civil penalties and $192.50 in court costs, in addition to restitution of $13,901.48 for consumers who purchased the hand sanitizers. Goods And More also agreed to fully comply with all provisions of the Pennsylvania Price Gouging Act moving forward.
Consumers who purchased certain types of hand sanitizer from Goods And More will automatically receive refunds to the original form of payment they used on Amazon. Consumers do not need to take any action to receive the refunds.
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