LOWES VICTIMIZING HURRICANE VICTIMS! ripoff Cape Coral Florida

Jim,

Just to set the record straight. Never did I say that Lowes was price gouging, nor did I say that Jeanne indicated as such. She even went on in one of her updates to say that Lowes WAS NOT price gouging.

I know how it is in Florida during hurricane season, especially when a particularly bad storm is bearing down on the state. I only recently moved from there 2 1/2 years ago after having lived there my entire life.

My sister lives only 40 miles south of where Charlie made landfall in Punta Gorda. The eye of Charlie passed directly over my mother's house in Orlando. Ivan took out most of the trees on my uncle's hunting property north of Panama City.

I know those times are also especially hard for the employees of the hardware stores. Not only are they crazy busy, but they are also thinking of themselves, their families, and their homes too.

If Lowes went to bat for Florida after the storms, then great. However, it seems Jeanne has a legitimate complaint regarding how they were handling sales of incoming generators. Why did they need to collect money up front, if not all who paid were going to get a generator? It should have either been first paid, first served, or a lottery where when your number was called, you had a choice of either buying one, or forfeiting your place. I'm sure the need was there to where they would have sold out regardless.

And let's all pray that this year is nowhere near as bad as last year was.

Jim,

Just to set the record straight. Never did I say that Lowes was price gouging, nor did I say that Jeanne indicated as such. She even went on in one of her updates to say that Lowes WAS NOT price gouging.

I know how it is in Florida during hurricane season, especially when a particularly bad storm is bearing down on the state. I only recently moved from there 2 1/2 years ago after having lived there my entire life.

My sister lives only 40 miles south of where Charlie made landfall in Punta Gorda. The eye of Charlie passed directly over my mother's house in Orlando. Ivan took out most of the trees on my uncle's hunting property north of Panama City.

I know those times are also especially hard for the employees of the hardware stores. Not only are they crazy busy, but they are also thinking of themselves, their families, and their homes too.

If Lowes went to bat for Florida after the storms, then great. However, it seems Jeanne has a legitimate complaint regarding how they were handling sales of incoming generators. Why did they need to collect money up front, if not all who paid were going to get a generator? It should have either been first paid, first served, or a lottery where when your number was called, you had a choice of either buying one, or forfeiting your place. I'm sure the need was there to where they would have sold out regardless.

And let's all pray that this year is nowhere near as bad as last year was.

August 2004 had a lot of people thing hurricane preparedness even after the fact. Charley was initially to track similar to hurricane Bob, up the East Coast to Massachusetts and Cape Cod.
August 8th was the initial track and "no tax day" in Mass. I was poking around Wally and came upon a nice Coleman Powermate generator, $347.00/ no tax, fine.

Day after Christmas we had quite a blizzard, some 39" of wet snow fell, power went out for a day. We wound up the little Coleman (1850 watts) in order to run the fridge, TV, and a table lamp.

We have a wood stove, so heat was no problem.

In any extreme, a generator, water, flshlights, candles, and gasoline should be on hand. Oh yes, with an elctric stive gas for the gas grill!

A) Lowe's doesn't engage in price gouging. Like the previous individual explained, prices are frozen during situations involving natural disasters (That's our company policy.) It ensures that we as a company are not taking advantage of the communities that shop at our stores. As for the individual who is sooooo interested in explaining price gouging to the rest of us, Jeanne from Cape Coral didn't say that Lowe's was gouging, so give it a rest.

B)Hindsight is always 20/20. Jeanne wasn't the only one unprepared for THREE hurricanes. It really sucks that so many individuals were left running around trying to find supplies, like generators, after the first storm, but that's life. It's gonna happen every year. So what can we do? This is what Lowe's did (and I'm sure HD did too, but for all intensive purposes we'll say they didn't.)

I am a manager at one of our stores in SE Texas. After the first hurricane hit, all inventory of generators, gas cans, and tarps were diverted to the areas in and around the areas that were hit.

In conjunction with the flow of inventory from our distribution centers to Florida, all stores began to gather the bulk of their inventory at a hub store in their district, to be sent to the areas hit by the hurricanes. This left our stores with little to no inventory on products like generators.

After the hurricanes, we were told it would take 2-3 months before PRODUCTION on generators would resume, because a lot of the internal engine components are imported, and other small complications. So when we got some bad storms in our area, our customers that were without power, and no generator, were screwed.

Stores all over the south also sent employees to the Florida area to help out in the stores that were in the middle of the hardest hit areas. Don't forget that Lowe's employess in Florida were effected also.

As for the way people were made to wait in line for generators and pre-pay or what ever happened, I'm sorry. Maybe those stores should have lined the generators up and down the middle of the main aisles and let customers "trample" each other to get to the d**n things like Wal-Mart's BLITZ sales. Sorry T in Jacksonville, but Lowe's doesn't have to utilize the power of the dark side in their corporate "solution"s like the evil Wal-Mart does. Maybe 99$ generators on Super Friday, huh? Hope no on get's hurt.

Maybe someone should file a Rip-off-report on Hurricanes.

Anytime there is an emergency situation like a hurricane, fire, etc., Lowe's freezes all price increases for 30 days for stores in the immediate area. There are typically 200-250 price changes daily, both up and down. Since Lowe's guarantees the lowest prices, they have full time employees that shop the competition on the most popular items and make sure Lowe's is priced lower. When the competition raises their price, Lowe's will raise theirs but still keep their price lower and the same goes when prices go down.

Lowe's also has a liberal return policy that is regularly abused by customers. They will purchase expensive items like a generator or tile saw, use it for a project, then return it saying they didn't like the way it performed. Lowe's will return it within 90 days with no questions asked. They then have to send out the item to a repair service to make sure it's safe for resale, then discount the item to the point where they lose money on it. It's can be tough to establish a point where you provide the best customer service possible and protect yourself from those who are trying to rip you off.

I did not say that LOWES was price gouging. I mentioned that another store was charging $1500. I do not have that kind of money to lay out. For the record, the store that was charging $1500 was not price goging (that I know of). I checked their website and it was the same price on their site as it was in thre store.

LOWES was asking for money for an item they did not even have and could not be sure they could supply.

As far as price gouging, The $799.99 they were asking ended up being for a generator that they normally sold for $659.00 (according to their website). The price difference is not that large and you could attribute it to the extra shipping and fuel prices.

My complaint had to do with them making people pay for something they did not know if they could provide after hurricane Charley and then refusing to sell an item they did have before Hurricane Frances.

Here we go with storm #3 approaching Florida. We are all weary and tired and emotionally drained.
I may not have found a generator but I have all my other supplies (I hope) even though they are becoming hard to come by.

For those who wish to "bash us" for not being 100% prepared, all I can say it must be nice to be so perfect, I'm happy for you. I am only an imperfect human as many of us are. For those who feel for our situation, Thank You. It is greatly appreciated.

It is not always a matter of "choice" where we live if you are family oriented. If I moved away, I woud be leaving many close family members behind as well as ripping my children from their grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. I do not want to do that.

We stick it out and start all over again or we leave. I'm not ready to give up yet. Generator or not, price gouging or not, we are real people, working class and scared of what will come our way next.

Here is a press release from the Florida Dept of Agriculture and Consumer Services date 9/1/04:

"Under state law, it is illegal to charge exorbitant or excessive prices for essential items, including shelter, gasoline, food, water, ice, generators or lumber, following the declaration of an emergency, unless the increases in the amount charged are attributable to additional costs incurred by retailers."


Quote by Charles H. Bronson, Florida Agricuture and Consumer Services Commissioner on 8/19/04:

In these circumstances, there is nothing more despicable than people who would prey on our vulnerable citizens who've already been dealt a major blow, Bronson said.


And finally, this is from the Florida Attorney General FAQ page regarding price gouging:

"1. What is Price Gouging?
Florida Statute 501.160 states - It is unlawful during a state of emergency to sell, lease, offer to sell, or offer for lease commodities, dwelling units, or self-storage facilities for an amount that grossly exceed the average price for the commodity the thirty days before the declaration of the state of emergency or the seller price for the commodity the thirty days before the declaration of the state of emergency unless the seller can show increases in its prices or market trends justifying the price. Examples of necessary commodities are food, ice, gas, oil and lumber. This is a civil crime enforced by the Attorney General, the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and State Attorney.

2. How do I know if I'm being price gouged?
The law compares the price of the commodity or service to the average price charged over the 30 day period prior to the declared state of emergency. If there is a "gross disparity" between the prior price and the current charge then it is price gouging.

3. What kinds of things are covered under the Price Gouging statute?
The Price Gouging statute covers only essential commodities. A "commodity" means any good, service, material, merchandise, supplies, equipment, resources, or other article of commerce, and includes, without limitation, food, water, ice, chemicals, petroleum products, and lumber necessary for consumption or use as a direct result of the emergency. Examples of non-essential items luxury items are alcoholic beverages and cigarettes."

So if you run a hotel, and charge double the normal rates to people fleeing a storm, you would be price gouging.

I guess the only question would be, what is considered a "gross disparity"? A quick check of the Lowes and Home Depot websites shows Lowes has generators ranging from $348 to $1,099. Home Depot only shows two portables for $399 each. If Lowes were trying to sell their $500 generaotrs for $800, then that would be considered price gouging. There were not enough details given in the original post to make a determination if gouging was taking place.

His actual explanation of what constitutes "gouging" is as follows: "Florida Statute 501.160 states-It is unlawful during a state of emergency to sell, lease, offer to sell, or offer to lease commodities, dwelling units, or self storage facilities for an amount that grossly exceed the average price for the commodity the 30 days before the declaration of the state of emergency or the seller price for the commodity the 30 days before the declaration of the state of emergency unless the seller can show increases in it's prices or market trends justifying the price." That is where simple logic comes in to play. After the hurricane last weekend, gasoline shipments to Florida were stopped. The price of gasoline went up at any station who still had some. That is because it became a limited supply with great demand. "Market trends" is a fancy way of saying SUPPLY AND DEMAND. I own a chainsaw. Normally I would not bother cutting up trees for anyone. Now if someone wants me to cut up their trees scattered all over the lawn, I'll charge for the service. Using your theory of I can't charge anyone anymore(10% is mentioned nowhere in the AG website on "gouging")than I would have before the hurricanes, I would be forced to do it for free or not at all. Fat chance of that happening. My price just went from free or a beer, to how much do you really want these off your car? The laws of S&D apply in all cases in a free market society. If a hotel has the good sense to have generators installed and survives a storm while evry other dwelling is flattened, that hotel has every right to charge whatever the market will bear. The owner of that hotel spent his $$ being prepared for an emergency. He should be able to reap the rewards for his forsight and ability to provide his customers what no one else could. If that means doubling the rates, great. His costs wnet up as soon as he had to turn on the generators. I doubt too many people would whine about it while they were clean, safe, and dry while eating in his restaraunt, which by all rights, should also see increases in pricing. I keep inventory in stock so I can provide the products and services to my customers. If they want, they can go elsewhere. They use me because I provide what they want, when they want it. They know I am not the cheapest guy in town for repair work. They use me because I am the best...and I get paid very well for it.

According to Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist, price gouging is "an increase in price of more than 10% than the average of the previous 3 weeks". This only applies directly after the occurance of a "major event" (hurricane, terrorist attack, etc.).

If 7/11 normally sells a bag of ice for $1.69, and then after a hurricane when ice is in great demand, they charge $4.99 (I heard of this happpening), then that is price gouging. The law of supply and demand should not apply in this situation.

I praise Charlie Crist for being strict on this policy (I have lots of family in Florida who have been directly affected by Bonnie, Charley and Frances).

If any Floridians observe an example of price gouging, they are urged to report it to the Attorney General.

Went to look at generators last weekend here in S.A. at Home Depot and Lowe's. They were out or low because they had sent them to Florida. Now, when the generators arrive in S.A. that is figured into the across the country price. If the 2 stores sent their's to FL that means the cost was higher then the original paid price. I suspect the prepay idea was a type of lottery system to attemp to make the purchase of a generator "fair", that way nobody could scream foul you wouldn't have riots, there wouldn't be poeple waiting all night long and there wouldn't be price gouging. Now I wonder how many people will also buy them then attempt to return them. 4th of July 2002 we had 35 inches of rain in 1 week. I had 13 extra people at the house. The sheriff comes to the house at 10:30 at night and suggests that we evacuate to the local high school. I tell him the high school is at 900 ft ASL and I'm at 1500 ft and if the water gets to 900 ft he'd better start building an ark. I have enough food and water to feed 15 people for 2 weeks, I ain't goin noplace. I gave up on the generator idea along time ago, attracts too much attention. C-Rats, MRE's, canned goods, and dried foods all work better. Good luck.

It is known as supply and demand. That is how economies work in successful countries. The free market if you will. I own 2 generators, as I have gone through many hurricanes since having this house built in 1986. If he wants to buy or rent one from me, fine. Depending on how I feel at that exact point in time, I will decide what the price will be. If it's too high for him, he will not rent or purchase a generator from me. If he deems it to be worth the cost for the generator, he will hand me the $$ and a deal is struck. Both the buyer and the seller are satisfied and nobody has been hurt. Just because I bought them for alot less than I would sell them for is not gouging him or anyone else. If you own the only ice machine that works, you will be doing the same thing. If you are stuck in the desert without water, guess what just became more valuable to you than gold. For the record, I am the only person in my entire neighborhood who had a functioning brain at the time I had my house built.

Nobody else has gas heat or anything else. When the power goes out, I am the only one around with hot water for bathing, and a stove you can cook on. I can do laundry too since I have good generators. The power went out in the winter one time and the invitation was open to all my neighbors who were freezing. My house also has a fireplace. It's called "being prepared". Try it.

Understand, North Florida, power finally restored.

I believe Lowe's had the wrong corporate 'solution' to their stocking problem.

I am a former employee of Wal Mart and this reminds me of the 'BLITZ' sales they would have (where people would trample over each other for inane things like Furbee's and Tickle Me Elmos).

I was in the dark (save for a couple of power inverters and a running truck powering my TV or drop light). We prepared to leave, then ended up staying (and praying) because Francis moved and the hotels were full.

We had a generator (was stolen last year), we didn't buy another. My husband reminded me of the fiasco of people buying out the Home Depot for generators and selling them for 3x the price in Miami during Andrew, they now limit their sales to one per person.

Knowing the majority of comsumers in this area, they will stock up before, and when they don't need anymore, they will return to the store what they bought. You may have a lucky time in acquiring one extremely cheap from Lowe's or Home Depot, or from said consumer who doesn't feel the need for a generator due to "no iminent threat".

In retrospect, a generator would have been convenient, but if there's no gasoline to run it, it is a very large anchor. Here, we were scrounging for a gas station that either had electricity to provide gas, had gas to provide, or gas that wasn't water-logged. My company had us going to Orlando to provide supplies to the area stores there, and there were lines around the block, like 1978, to the gas pumps!

Good luck to you and yours, and may God spare us Floridians from the rest of the hurricane season.

Let the Amazon jungle have Ivan!!!

Jeanne,

I would highly suggest that you lodge a complaint with our Attorney General's office they want to hear from people who have proof of price gouging. Here is how you prove it, find the generator that they had for 1500.00 see what it costs now in the same store or elsewhere if it is less by quite a bit say difference between 1500.00 and 500.00 for the exact same generator you have a price gouging issue and they will be fined by the state. In florida price gouging is ILLEGAL period.

Hi Mike,

I don't think LOWES was price gouging as the price was about right, IF they had the generators in stock. I guess it could be price gouging if you paid for nothing though, huh?

As for the food, we have a huge freezer that I would use when there were sales and it took a while to fill it. Since Hurricane Charley, it is now just filled with bags of ice and I will not place food in it again until after hurricane season is over for sure!

We are still being pounded by Francis and are watching hurricane Ivan as it progresses. I don't think I'll have to worry about generators if Ivan hits, this poor little house won't take much more of a beating, probably will lose the roof next time as it is so battered by both of these storms.
y'all take care

The core of Jeanne's complaint alleges that Lowe's and other stores wanted to charge much more than the normal price for a generator because of the storm. This is a recurring theme on national news after every storm. I thought they said Florida has a law specifically to prohibit this. Of course Florida regulators tend to be quite lenient toward scamming businesses.

Of course one shouldn't expect to be able to go out and buy a generator right after a hurricane, but if there is one offered for sale it must be sold for a resonable price. The best plan is not to keep so much food in the refrigerator that you can't afford to lose it. In case of a disaster, even if you're well-prepared, anything can happen. Living in a hurricane-prone area does incur a higher cost of living due storm losses.

Hi John,

We did and do have canned goods. I always stock up on those as well as bread, peanut butter and dried fruits for the kids.

As for a motor home, I would love to be able to afford one of those John, but we are a working family with no extra $$ for a luxury such as that.

What little bit of savings we did have bought extra hurricane supplies and paid for doctors visits and medications while we wait for our car insurance to reimburse us (for the car accident we had). I am not the kind to sue the person who hit us so we wont be expecting any extra money in the future either. We just want to heal and get back to work.

There is just enough $$ in savings left to cover our home insurance deductible as our roof, ceiling and carpet will need to be replaced due to hurricane damage. I would have used that money to pay for the generator if they could have promised us one instead of telling us we would be playing a lottery as we are on a wait list of over 6000 to get our repair estimates.

After the storm I had no way to get online to order one. I called a family member in Nortern Florida that was not effected by the storm to look for one but when he called around, he found that they were all being shipped to other places that needed them.

I have been looking online for a new generator instead if getting this one fixed as it is so old I would be afraid we would run into the same problem next time. We just were spared the wrath of Frances, we have wnd and rain now but so far we still have power, even though others in our county do not but our next storm (Ivan) may be here by next week. This is the probably the most active hurricane season I have seen since we moved here as far as this part of Florida is concerned.

everyone thinks of Florida as this "High Risk Area" but I have lived here since my parents moved us back in 1971 and over the years I have seen more hurricanes batter the Carolinas or our panhandle and Texas.

I did not think about purchasing a generator online before the storm because we did not realize that ours would not work anymore. (Note to everyone, remember to check the darn thing at the beginning of each storm season). People even like to make comments about why do I live here? My family is here, that is why. (parents, siblings, cousins, grandparents, cousins and so on)

Thanks for your comments

Since you seem to get irked so easily you should take a few things to mind.

#1) I will take responsibility for not CHECKING my generator... with all the other preperations, it was not the first thing on my mind. SW Florida has not had a major hurricane since the 60's and we only lost power during Andrew but for a few hourds so the generator has not been used in a VERY LONG time

#2) you can think of me what you will for "whining" but you know NOTHING of my own situation. My husband and I were rear ended not very long ago by a garbage truck, we are dealing with injuries, doctors appointments and hurricane prep all at the same time. We had a hurricane kit but had to replenish a lot as we have not had to use it for a very long time.

#3) Besides losing $500 worth of food (and only 60% of our normal income coming in due to the accident injuries to buy supplies with) we also dealt with searing heat and no running water and NO Red Cross help since the cameras were not in our neighborhood.When Red Cross did set up here it was still 45 minutes from us and officials were telling us to stay home & off the roads!
It took a few days to even get ice because they were too busy handing it out North of us where they were telling us to stay away from because of the damage.

Your state probably deals with more hurricanes than ours does. We don't use generators on a regular yearly basis. My complaint has to do with a company charging for generators they did not even have yet and pre-paying did not promise you one, it only promised you a CHANCE at one. I would have waited in that line with NO problem if they said "pay the $$$ and you WILL get one.

Your rebuttal sounds like you want to blame anyone who did not already have a generator. We prepared by re-stocking batteries, canned goods, drinking water as well as medical supplies and fueling up our car and gas cans and making our evac plans in case we needed to leave.

If you want to blame me for not thinking of checking the generator, fine, I will take responsibility for that... so I forgot one thing. It still is no reason for a major chain to charge for something that they do not even know if they can provide.

Jeanne, Sorry to here about your dilemma but duh you live in a high risk area why did you not purchase a generator else where? Even online or better yet canned food during the hurricane season even a motor home so if you have to evacuate you will even have a place to stay while the storm passes, most have generators. Before you get mad yes I have been through many hurricanes and typhoons, in Japan, Guam, Hawaii, windy aren't they.

When I posted that was just what I expected to hear. No, I know I'm not perfect. Did volunteer work for the Red Cross at the storms shelters a few times, over a 4 year period, which is more than most people can say. I did get the s****y job of cleaning the bathrooms every 2 hours.

Some of the folks were very nice and thankful, some weren't worth a d**n. It takes all kinds. Didn't expect any thanks, was more than glad to help out. It's just when people whine, cry, and moan about those big old bad companies and fail to accept any responsibility for their actions that I get irked.

You post I am the one who is judging, you are doing a fair job of judging; Lowe's and me yourself.

Ya know what Cory, people like you are miserable shits who just think they are just so perfect. I guess you have never been in need of anything because you are prepared for any disaster that might befall you.

We did look for generators before the storm after we checked ours out and found that it would not work anymore! We were able to buy everything before the storm EXCEPT ice and generators.

It is so easy to judge isn't it? I hope you don't have to deal with all we are dealing with and have people ridicule you for not having something you needed!

You should have bought the generator BEFORE any of the storms hit. It IRKS me that people aren't prepared for such events and cry about it after the fact. Since you lost $500 worth of food, the $800 generator would have really cost you $300. We get hit by bad storms, lose power and are prepare for such events. A guy from NY told me about the power outage a few years, where people didn't have a gallon of water in their houses and and a gallon of water was being sold in NY for $5. We as a nation had better wake up to the facts of life. In times of crisis our government can only do so much and it's time we start looking out for ourselves because they sure can't and aren't going to do it.