The L.A. County Department of Consumer and Business Affairs says it's now investigating five formal complaints of price gouging related to the Porter Ranch gas leak.
Reports of price gouging began surfacing earlier this month, as Porter Ranch residents looked for temporary housing in neighboring cities to get away from the leak. Some said they were being quoted rents as high as $6,000 per month. At that point, the Department of Consumer and Business Affairs — or DCBA — said it hadn't received any formal complaints.
The DCBA launched an outreach campaign to let consumers know they shouldn't be overcharged for anything during an emergency. It distributed information cards in English and Spanish for consumers and businesses and tweeted regularly on the topic:
Now the DCBA says five formal complaints were filed in the last 10 days, and they all relate to rental prices quoted to Porter Ranch residents seeking to relocate. The department would not comment on the status of the investigations.
Earlier this month, Gov. Jerry Brown and the L.A. County Board of Supervisors declared a state of emergency in Porter Ranch. That declaration triggers rules about price-gouging that the DCBA spells out on its web site:
The penalty for price gouging is a fine of up to $10,000, one year in jail, or both. The DCBA urges business to keep detailed records of their prices. And it urges consumers who believe a business is breaking the law to save their receipts and call the office at 1-800-593-8222.