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Attorney General TJ Donovan is warning Vermonters to be vigilant and report price gouging as they make preparations and brace for more cases of the COVID-19 virus in the state.
Many items, such as toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and bleach, have been flying off store shelves as people take steps to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus and are gathering provisions in case they need to be quarantined in their homes for two weeks.
Donovan and leaders of business associations across the state cautioned against hoarding supplies, and asked for assistance in spotting consumer protection issues related to the virus outbreak at a press conference Thursday.
The Attorney General’s Office has not yet received any complaints of price gouging by businesses in Vermont, Donovan said.
“We also stand ready to defend and protect Vermonters during this time,” Donovan said. “We understand people are nervous. We understand people are anxious, and we will stand ready to do our job.”
Donovan said anyone who wants to contact his office with a consumer protection complaint can call 800-649-2424.
[View a video of the press conference here.]
The briefing comes a day after Vermont health officials announced the state’s second case of person testing positive for the virus – a Chittenden County man in his 70s hospitalized at the University of Vermont Medical Center in Burlington. Also on Wednesday, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a global pandemic.
In Vermont, many colleges have either canceled classes or moved them online, and scores of events around the state have been called off.
Erin Sigrist, president of the Vermont Retailers and Grocers Association, said Thursday she understands that consumers need to take steps to prepare themselves when it comes to purchasing items at stores.
“We are asking that you do so responsibly though, plan for two or three weeks at most instead of two to three months,” she said. “We’re seeing a lot of stockpiling of the necessities and that just eliminates some of the access to other consumers.”
Sigrist did say that some Vermont stores have put limits on certain items one purchaser can buy at a time.
Asked about empty shelves in stores for items such as toilet paper, Sigrist said, “There is certainly access to the products, it may take a little bit longer for retailers to restock some of those products.”
She added, “It may just take an extra day or two to get back onto the shelf.”
Matt Cota, executive director at the Vermont Fuel Dealers Association, said he has seen Vermonters exhibiting both fear and caution.
“I think an abundance of caution is appropriate, but when it comes to heating fuels for your home, when it comes to motor fuels, there is plenty of supply,” he said at the press conference.
Christopher Curtis, chief of the attorney general’s public protection division, issued a call for calm among Vermonters.
“Exercise some common sense and restraint in your purchasing habits,” he said. “But don’t take advantage. If you’re stockpiling a year’s worth of items, it’s just not appropriate to the size and scale of the crisis before us, which we’re calling for two or three weeks of planning ahead.”
He also addressed the business community.
“We’re asking for a little restraint in making sure that prices aren’t driven up so high without any nexus or connection to actual cost that could constitute a price gouging claim or concern,” Curtis said.
“We have not received price gouging complaints about Vermont businesses to date, but we are watching this space,” Curtis added. “We’re very aware there have been national reports about price gouging during times of crisis and this office will not stand for it.”
The Attorney General’s Office has received about a handful of complaints in the past two days of alleged price gouging online, Curtis noted. “These would be from third-party vendors through a platform, we’ll follow up with that,” he said. “We’re in contact with the platform.”
According to the Attorney General’s Office, those complaints involved “third-party” sellers of medical face masks and hand sanitizers on Amazon.
“Those are not Vermont businesses to my knowledge,” Curtis said.
Tom Torti, president of the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, told Vermonters to not be afraid to call in sick to work.
“If you’re sick, if your family member is sick, if you have to quarantine in place, you’re not going to lose your job,” he said.
Asked what job protections there are for people who do not have paid sick time, Donovan said, “I am reluctant to give bright light legal rules because every case is different based on the facts, based on people’s status.”
He said Vermonters with specific employment questions should call his office at 802-828-3171.
Kelly Stoddard Poor of AARP Vermont warned that scammers are already trying to take advantage of the situation over the phone, internet, email, or postal mail.
“The Federal Trade Commission and the Food and Drug Administration have already sent warnings to seven companies for selling products that would allegedly cure or prevent the coronavirus,” she said. “There are currently no vaccines or drugs to prevent or treat the virus.”
She told Vermonters to use caution when receiving unsolicited contacts seeking personal information or making demands. “Ignore phone calls or emails from strangers urging you to invest in the latest hot coronavirus stock,” she added.
