Haslam Truck Stops Settle With AG Over Price Gouging
Posted on April 16, 2009 at 10:35 amPilot Oil and Pilot Travel Centers are among many gas retailers settling with the state this morning over alleged price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Customers from four Haslam-family owned stores will be eligible for refund:
Attorney General Bob Cooper filed settlements today with 16 companies and individuals who own 27 gas stations in Middle and East Tennessee over allegations of price gouging in the wake of Hurricane Ike. Once signed by a judge, the settlements will result in $73,447 in potential restitution for consumers. Collectively, the settlements amount to the largest enforcement sweep under the State’s price gouging statutes in the State’s history. The Attorney General also filed suit against Knoxville-area retailer, Weigel Stores, Inc., for alleged unlawful price increases under the Tennessee Price Gouging Act of 2002 and the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act at seven gas stations.
“In these trying economic times, consumers need their hard-earned dollars to stretch as far as possible. I want to make sure that consumers are treated fairly – especially at the pump,” said Bob Cooper. “Tennessee laws make a distinction between profits and profiteering. Under the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, it is unlawful to unreasonably raise the price of an essential consumer good in response to a natural disaster, crime, or act of terrorism regardless of whether those events occurred in Tennessee or somewhere else.”
See the full release here.
UPDATE: Haslam responds:
“I’m proud to be a part of a Tennessee family business that employs almost 14,000 Americans in 40 states - over 1,800 of them in Tennessee.
“When you have that many employees, there are bound to be occasional issues. The company’s commitment always has been to deal with those issues quickly and in the best interests of its customers.
“I’m sure that’s what is happening this time.”
SEE ALSO: The company fighting the AG sends notice.
Comments
4 Responses to “Haslam Truck Stops Settle With AG Over Price Gouging”
Mayor Bill has jumped at taking credit for all those jobs that Pilot as created, wonder if he’ll take the blame for screwing Tennesseans out of their hard earned money????
[...] Haslam Truck Stops Settle With AG Over Price Gouging [...]
This is unfortunate. Let us remember some basic economics. Gas stations in Nashville (remember that hilarious video from the Scene) ran out of gas for the love of Pete. Why did they run out of gas? Because they didn’t charge enough per gallon. Why not? Because they were afraid of getting hammered by the AG’s office. The run on gas ocurred because consumers changed their behavior. Demand spiked BEFORE the hurricane hit, before any damage was done. Suppliers RESPONDED to the depletion of their inventory by jacking up prices. Then they stopped… at about $4 per gallon and ran out. Then a tanker would come by, fill their tanks, and cars would line up to fill their tanks at $4 per gallon… until the station sold out. Why didn’t the stations charge more? The market fundamentals suggested that they should. They feared harassment from government for “gouging.”
Hammering a company for charging high prices might win votes but it certainly doesn’t shed much light on how a market system works.
If ANYBODY out there can tell me what ANY group of 14,000 people in 40 states are doing at ANY given time…you must be omnipresent! Get real! Anyone who knows ANYTHING about the Truck Stop, Market, and Gasoline business knows that every single location nationwide must operate in an independent way when pricing oil products. This is why you can get a better price on gas in one part of Nashville than another…at any given time. This AG lawsuit was settled with in total, 16 different companies….who were all caught up in the same fuel shortage frenzy. The anti-gouging law is open to interpretation by the AG and they will be the first to admit that $4.00 a gallon may be OK today and gouging tomorrow. Anyone who would think Bill Haslam personally had anything to do with this situation or created it…must be either an opposition political hack or a nitwit. Get real…This man has created 14,000 jobs for Americans… Can you say that about almost most any other politician? I think Bill Haslam will make a great Governor….create many more jobs…and solve many of our most difficult problems… with integrity.