By Melissa Dunson
mdunson@joplinglobe.com
The Days Inn in Joplin will pay $7,373 in restitution to more than 330 customers who were overcharged for hotel rooms during the January 12-14 ice storm that hit Southwest Missouri.
Missouri Attorney General Jay Nixon announced Monday that the Joplin Days Inn is one of seven Southwest Missouri businesses, including four hotels, that will pay a total of $92,754 in the latest restitution for price gouging during the winter storm.
The attorney general’s office found that the Days Inn in Joplin was charging $35.99 for a room before the storm and $92.99 during the storm. The Days Inn also will pay $3,000 to the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund and a civil penalty of $2,500, with the understanding that if the Joplin Days Inn is ever found to engage in price gouging in the future, it will pay an additional $7,500 civil penalty.
Attempts by the Globe to reach Joplin Days Inn officials Monday were not successful.
Missouri price-gouging law prohibits charging excessive prices for necessities in the wake of a natural disaster.
“This sends a clear signal that when retailers take advantage of a situation like this, it is appropriate for the attorney general to get involved,” Nixon said. “Hotel rooms became a necessity when the power went out. It wasn’t an option to sit out in the cold. It’s an unfair trade practice.”
The other Southwest Missouri businesses that Nixon said would have to pay restitution for price gouging are:
n Central Power Systems at 3100 E. Kearney in Springfield, which will pay $31,796 in consumer restitution, $5,103 to the Merchandising Practices Revolving Fund and a civil penalty of $3,100 for allegedly overcharging customers leasing portable generators by several hundred dollars.
n Fastenal at 2109 E. Division in Springfield, which will pay $11,171 in consumer restitution, $2,000 to the MPRF and $1,828 in civil penalties for allegedly selling generators for $100 more than the normal price.
n The Super 8 Motel at 3022 N. Kentwood in Springfield, which will pay $8,504 in restitution, $5,000 to the MPRF and $2,495 in civil penalties for allegedly raising room prices by as much as $40 a night after the storm hit.
n The Days Inn at 900 N. 18th St. in Ozark, which will pay $3,324 in restitution and $650 to the MPRF for allegedly raising room prices by as much as 50 percent after the storm.
n The Battlefield Inn at 2114 S. Glenstone in Springfield, which will pay $1,910 in restitution, $1,000 to the MPRF and $1,000 in civil penalties for allegedly raising room prices significantly after the storm.
n Dallas County Farmers Exchange No. 177, doing business as MFA in Buffalo, which will pay $1,000 in civil penalties for allegedly buying 25 to 50 empty gas cans from another business for $5 apiece and reselling them to consumers for $8 apiece.
Monday’s announcement was the latest action in the Southwest Missouri price-gouging investigation spurred by more than 400 complaint phone calls after the ice storm. In February, Nixon filed lawsuits seeking records from the Joplin Days Inn, a Monett hardware store, a Buffalo gas station and a Willard hardware store. At that same time, the attorney general’s office got $28,000 in restitution, penalties and payments to the state from a Lebanon gas station and the Days Inn in St. Robert related to price gouging after the ice storm.
Melissa Dunson is the business writer for The Joplin Globe.
More investigations
John Fougere, spokesman for the attorney general’s office, said the investigation is not over. He said the office has 12 to 14 active investigations into Southwest Missouri price gouging after the January ice storm.
