Butler station slapped for $5 gallon charge ,reimbursement ordered

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Butler station slapped for $5 gallon charge Red Cross donation, reimbursement ordered By Mary Lolli Cox News Service OXFORD | A gas station that raised prices to $5 a gallon the day of terrorists attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., has been ordered to reimburse customers and make a $1,000 donation to the American Red Cross.The 73 Super Stop station, 1459 Oxford-Trenton Road, in Milford Twp. in Butler County, is one of nine gas stations Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery accused in lawsuits of gouging customers in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks. None of the others is in the Miami Valley.In an order filed with the Butler County Clerk of Courts and signed by Common Pleas Judge Patricia Oney, Montgomery noted that while the owner of the station denies that violations of the Consumer Sales Practices Act occurred, the owner "consents to" the finding of facts in the lawsuit.Montgomery said consumers panicked after the terrorist attacks and caused long lines for gasoline purchases. The 73 Super Stop increased its prices to $5 a gallon even though the attacks did not cause an immediate shortage of gasoline supplies in the United States, Montgomery said.Several telephone calls to the station were not answered Tuesday and the owner was not identified in the court records except for his signature, which was unreadable.Montgomery argued that a gasoline supplier's practice of "knowingly and unjustifiably" raising prices during a national emergency violated the Consumer Sales Practices Act.Beougher said customers who have receipts proving they purchased gasoline at the Oxford station are entitled to a refund equal to the difference between the $5 a gallon they paid that day and the cost per gallon at the start of that business day. That lower price has not been determined, so the the station owner was also ordered to forward all businesses records from Sept. 10, 11 and 12 relating to gasoline sales and pricing to Montgomery's office.The gas station owner also must provide proof of refunds to consumers to state officials http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/1024overcharge.html