Says the guy with a picture of a grown man as his avatar.
Without doing any research at all, I don't think thats illegal at all. It's just businesses way of passing along the higher cost of using credit cards. I'd imagine it's against the rules of the credit card companies, but not the law. Sort of like Visa, AMEX etc all have rules saying you aren't allowed to have a minimum purchase amount for credit cards, but you still see some places, mainly mom and pop having a minimum of $5 or $10. Now the credit card companies can close those merchant accounts but it's probably not worth it to them so they are lightly enforced.
Decided not to be lazy and did a google search.
During Hurricane Dorian, all 46 counties in South Carolina and 12 counties close to the coast in Georgia are currently under a state of emergency.During a declared state of emergency, the law prohibits businesses from taking advantage of the situation to engage in price gouging.
These can include food, lodging, gasoline, propane gas, lumber, and other supplies. Businesses may not sell any of the specified goods or services at prices higher than the prices at which those same goods or services were offered before the declaration of a state of emergency.
Nor may a business raise the price of supplies or services for the purpose of salvaging, repairing or rebuilding structures damaged as the result of a natural disaster.
These laws are in place to prevent gas stations from charging $20/gallon or stores from charging $15 for a gallon of milk during emergencies. No matter how great the demand.
