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HOUSTON – Forty-eight Texas gasoline stations charged with tapping will pay $ 166,592 to reimburse Texans who were charged exorbitant or excessive prices for gas during Hurricane Harvey, according to the authorities.
See a list of regulations (PDF)
Access a claim form here
The Texas Attorney General's Office, Ken Paxton, said in a statement that all 48 gas stations were paying $ 3.99 or more for a gallon of gasoline or diesel, and some stations would have charged $ 8.99 for the gas at the time of the declared disaster.
The stations are located primarily in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
As part of the regulations, each service station has agreed to no longer charge rates in the future and to pay restitution to consumers.
Prior to Harvey, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott declared the state of disaster, activating a provision of the Texas Unfair Business Practices Act that makes the price scam illegal.
The Paxton office said that since the storm, it has received thousands of complaints about inflated prices at gas pumps. Many Texans emailed photos and receipts as proof.
Last September, Attorney General Paxton sued for abuse of power against three companies and then forwarded notices of violation to 127 companies before filing further lawsuits in November.
Paxton's office stated that investigations were ongoing.
With this in mind, Texans who believe they are victims of abusive prices at the hands of petrol stations that install with the state must complete and submit a claim form. Claim forms will be accepted until September 10th. The amount that a consumer will receive under this settlement will vary depending on the gallons purchased, the price paid for the gasoline and the amount available in the refund fund.
The Paxton office said in a statement that each station owner agreed not to increase prices by more than 25% during a disaster unless it was in response to real increases in fuel costs.
Texans who believe they have been cheated or scammed by any company should call the Attorney General's consumer protection service toll free at 800-621-0508, email [email protected], or file a complaint online here.
Copyright 2018 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
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