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Staff Report From Georgia CEO

Wednesday, March 25th, 2020

Attorney General Chris Carr is stepping up the fight to rid the marketplace of price gougers and scammers by partnering with members of the Georgia and national business communities. This list of partners includes Amazon, eBay, Walmart, Facebook, Chevron, Publix, the Georgia Association of Convenience Stores, the Georgia Retailers, the Georgia Food Industry Association and the Better Business Bureau, and it continues to grow.

“By establishing lines of communication with the business community specific to this crisis, our Consumer Protection Division is able to more effectively identify and combat price gouging and scams,” said Attorney General Chris Carr. “These businesses and organizations are doing their part to stop Coronavirus scams, and I commend them for stepping up and joining us in this fight to protect Georgians.”

The companies named above as well as others continue to provide information to our office about their efforts to combat scams and price gouging. Additionally, all have put in place procedures for remediating complaints. If we receive a complaint concerning activity on one of our partner-organization’s platforms or at one of their establishments, we immediately let them know and begin a dialogue about how best to address the complaint. We encourage more businesses to contact our office if they would like to get involved in the fight against price gougers and scammers.

Currently, our Consumer Protection Division (CPD) is reviewing 194 complaints. We have received the most complaints for the following commodities:

Food

Toilet Paper

Water

Hand Sanitizer/Disinfectants

CPD has received complaints concerning online sales and sales in brick-and-mortar stores. To file a complaint with our office:

CALL: 404-651-8600 inside the metro Atlanta area

CALL: 1-800-869-1123 toll-free outside of the metro Atlanta calling area

VISIT: consumer.ga.gov

CPD also works with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) to protect consumers from frauds and scams:

For BBB’s information on the corona virus, click here.

For small businesses needing assistance, click here.

For more information on how to access BBB’s help, click here.