AUGUSTA, Ga. (WJBF) – Georgia’s Attorney General Chris Carr announced Friday it has reached a settlement with an Augusta convenience store over allegations it engaged in price gouging during the declared state of emergency for Hurricane Helene.
According to a press release on Sept. 19, Smile Grocery on 830 Stevens Creek Road made a payment to the state in the amount of $10,000 after the Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division, “received numerous complaints from consumers that the Smile Grocery gas station was overcharging for gas.”
An investigation was launched in response to the complaints, and Attorney General Carr alleged that the business violated the Fair Business Practices Act.
As part of the settlement, Smile Grocery had to agree, “not to advertise, offer to sell, and/or sell any good or service identified by the Governor in a declaration of a state of emergency at a price higher than the price at which such goods or services were sold or offered for sale immediately prior to the declaration of the state of emergency unless such increase accurately reflects an increase in cost of the goods or services to the businesses or an increase in the cost of transporting the goods or services into the area.”
“Following the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, we promised Georgians that we would take action to address any allegations of price gouging or fraud, and that’s exactly what we have done,” said Carr. “When you’re impacted by a major storm, you shouldn’t have to worry about being scammed by businesses that are trying to exploit the crisis. We’ll make sure the law is enforced, consumers are protected, and any business that seeks to take advantage of hardworking Georgians is held accountable.”
