Government urged to bring in laws preventing firms bumping up prices of items like hand sanitiser and face masks during coronavirus pandemic
The competition watchdog has urged the Government to bring in emergency laws preventing firms bumping up the prices of items like hand sanitiser and face masks during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has told the Government it should introduce temporary laws to prevent so-called ‘price gouging’, where companies ramp up prices of certain items.
The CMA had already set up a task force to crack down on pandemic profiteers in March, and warned retailers against inflating prices.
Touching a nerve: The Competition and Markets Authority was inundated with 21,000 complaints between March 10 and April 19 related to Covid-19
But it has found itself unable to take any meaningful action, as current rules do not cover price gouging.
The CMA was inundated with 21,000 complaints between March 10 and April 19 related to Covid-19, the Financial Times reported.
A CMA spokesman said: ‘The vast majority of businesses are doing the right thing, but where there is evidence that firms may have broken the law, we’ll be using our existing powers to the maximum possible extent. We’ve already written to hundreds of businesses asking them to explain their inflated prices.
‘Along with our existing powers, we have also advised the Government on options for emergency time-limited legislation that could give a better chance of dealing with this type of problem.’