North Carolina’s Price Gouging Law is in Effect

RALEIGH, NC (September 28, 2022) — Attorney General Josh Stein today announced that the price gouging law is in effect after Gov. Roy Cooper declared a statewide state of emergency in anticipation of Hurricane Ian reaching North Carolina.

“We don’t yet know what kind of damage Hurricane Ian will bring to North Carolina, but we do know that it will bring out scammers,” said Attorney General Josh Stein. “Please report concerns about price gougers to my office so we can hold them accountable for exploiting people’s desperation.”

North Carolina’s law against price gouging, or charging too much in times of a crisis, goes into effect when the governor or the legislature declares a state of emergency. In some cases, businesses and industries that are heavily impacted by the incident causing the state of emergency have a reasonable need to increase prices in order to resupply, but they should disclose these increases so people can make informed purchasing decisions. Businesses cannot, however, unreasonably raise the price of goods or services to profit from a state of emergency.

Please report potential price gouging by calling 1-877-5-NO-SCAM or by filing a complaint at https://ncdoj.gov/pricegouging. Our office reviews price gouging complaints closely and Attorney General Stein is prepared to take action against any person or business engaging in price gouging.

Since 2018, Attorney General Stein has brought 11 lawsuits against 27 defendants under North Carolina’s price gouging statute. He has obtained 14 judgments or settlements totaling $1,080,000 against 25 defendants, including a $274,000 settlement that was the largest price gouging settlement in the department’s history.

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