Amazon was accused of online price gouging of customers trying to order cases of water to be delivered to Florida ahead of Hurricane Irma, NBC News reported.
The e-commerce giant became the latest company to be charged with price gouging on social media with one posted screenshot showing a 24-pack of Ice Mountain bottled water going for $99.99.
An Amazon rep told NBC the company doesn’t price gouge or fluctuate prices by region or delivery location.
"We are actively monitoring our website and removing offers on bottled water that substantially exceed the recent average sales price," the rep told NBC News. "Prices have not widely fluctuated in the last month. Lower priced offers are quickly selling out, leaving higher priced offers from third party sellers."
According to Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi's website, during a state of emergency it is "unlawful to sell, lease, offer to sell, or offer for lease essential commodities, dwelling units, or self-storage facilities for an amount that grossly exceeds the average price for that commodity during the 30 days before the declaration of the state of emergency, unless the seller can justify the price by showing increases in its prices or market trends."
Last week, electronics giant Best Buy was forced to apologize after a photo appeared online showing one of its suburban Houston stores selling a 24-pack of water for nearly $43 in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, sparking outrage on social media, USA Today reported.
Social media has been an outlet for angry customers who believe they have been price gouged during Hurricanes Harvey and Irma.
JetBlue Airways, American Airlines, and Delta Air Lines placed caps on Florida flights in week in the middle of online fare gouging complaints, USA Today said.
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