Four dozen gas stations throughout Texas have now been ordered to refund customers $166,592, “who were charged exorbitant or excessive prices for gasoline” during 2017’s Hurricane Harvey disaster and aftermath. According to a statement from the office of Attorney General Ken Paxton, many of those stations are situated in North Texas. Accused of price gouging during this time, the stations are alleged to have sold gas or diesel at $3.99 per gallon or higher, following the declaration of a state of disaster by the governor. In such instances, it activates “a provision of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act that makes price gouging illegal.”
The stations identified include 13 in Dallas and 12 in Fort Worth, followed by four in Garland, two more in Richardson, and two in Haltom City. After that, stations in North Richland Hills, Lancaster, Addison, Denton, Irving, and Grand Prairie were identified. Ordered to pay the most, the Old Towne General Store off West Avenue D in Garland is required to refund $14,870, while Bob’s Exxon station in Dallas’ 2100 block of West Northwest Highway is the second highest refund amount at $12,000. In some instances, the investigation identified that stations were charging upwards of $8.99 for a gallon of gas.
