Friday 27 May 2022 10:37 PM Letitia James issues a warning to retailers to end price gouging baby formula ... trends now
Attorney General Letitia James has promised to crack down on any New York retailers taking advantage of the baby formula shortage by increasing the price of the sold out supplement after reports of price hikes as high as 50 percent.
On Friday James announced that her office sent cease-and-desist letters to more than 30 unidentified online retailers and stores in New York state accused of price gouging.
James ordered that the businesses immediately stop overcharging for baby formula.
The cease-and-deist letters come weeks after James issued a consumer alert encouraging customers to notify her office if they believe a retailer is hiking up formula prices.
The Attorney General said since then her office has received several complaints- including a report that a retailer in Erie County was selling a 19.8 ounce can of Enfamil Nutramigen formula, which usually retails for $44.99, for $59.99- a whopping 33 percent price hike.
Attorney General Letitia James announced that her office sent cease-and-desist letters to more than 30 online retailers and stores in New York state accused of price gouging
James ordered that the businesses immediately stop overcharging for baby formula
Due to the national shortage James' office has recommended that parents only buy as much formula as they actually need and not stock up which only leads to the shortage worsening
James said her office also got reports of a Bronx retailer selling a 32-ounce ready-to-feed bottle of Enfamil NeuroPro for $17.99 when it typically sells for $11.99- a 50 percent price increase.
'It's unconscionable that some retailers are taking advantage of the national baby formula shortage while parents are struggling to find food for their children,' James said in a statement.
'Amid this crisis, families already have enough to worry about and should not have to worry about being price gouged. We are warning all retailers that New York will not tolerate price gouging of baby formula, and I encourage anyone who sees this to continue reporting it to my office,' the AG added.
Due to the national shortage James' office has recommended that parents only buy as much formula as they actually need and not stock up which only leads to the shortage worsening and more price gouging.
Last week roughly 45 percent of formula products nationwide were out of stock, with the worst shortages in Nashville, Tennessee, and Richmond, Virginia, where shortage rates hit more than 57 percent, Bloomberg reported.
In Virginia the statewide out-of-stock rate hit 58 percent for the week ending on May 14, leading Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney to call on Governor Glenn Youngkin to declare a state of emergency that will trigger anti-price gouging statutes, which
