MORGANTOWN — Attorney General Patrick Morrisey briefed the press Monday on what his office is doing during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“This is a time to prepare, to remain calm and to help one another as needed,” he said.
His office has kept in touch with major retailers, he said, and he’s been assured that the supply chain for food and other basic supplies is intact.
He addressed the obvious lack of toilet paper, hand sanitizer, cleaning supplies and sometimes bottled water in just about every story. “Realize this is a temporary situation,” he said. Stores will be restocking, but residents may need to make extra trips to get what they need.
Hand in hand with hoarding comes price gouging. “Most people across West Virginia are trying to do the right thing,” he said, but there are some bad apples. His office has received 12 complaints so far, and the issues range from ignorance of the law to deliberate taking advantage.
The price-gouging law has been in effect, he said, since the governor declared a state of preparedness. No one may raise the price of essential consumer items and emergency supplies more than 10% of price of the item 10 days before the declaration. That applies to online sales, too.
People who suspect price gouging should call his consumer hotline at 800-368-8808, he said.
His office is also looking to ensure consumers who’ve made travel-related purchases that are or will be affected by the situation that they will be able to secure refunds or returns. That will be case by case, he said.
He also urged residents to be aware of scammers during this time. As always, he said, don’t give out your personal identification information, be wary of coronavirus antidotes (which don’t exist) and other too-good-to-be-true offerings, and be careful clicking on suspicious website links.
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