LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan Attorney General Jennifer M. Granholm said last week she has notified 33 additional Michigan gasoline retailers of violations of the Michigan Consumer protection Act in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C. The stations notified brings the total number of stations accused of price gouging to 46.

Each station will receive a letter from the Attorney General’s office demanding that the stations reimburse all customers for the excessive prices charged from September 11 to September 13. Consumers are entitled to the difference between the prices actually paid and the state average on an equivalent grade of gasoline. Stations unable to provide refunds for all customers will be required to pay a civil penalty equal to three times the amount of money that the station did not reimburse to consumers. Attorney General Granholm will ask the Michigan Legislature to designate any funds generated through these civil penalties be directed to the relief efforts in New York and Washington, D.C.

Granholm stressed that while the number of stations accused of gas gouging now stands at nearly 50, this still represents a small minority of stations overall.

“In the face of what was an extremely uncertain situation for every resident and every business in this country, the vast majority of Michigan’s gas stations did the right thing and held the line on gasoline prices,” Granholm said. “Those few stations that responded to the crisis by cranking up their prices made a poor--and illegal--decision. Consumers shouldn’t be the only ones made to foot the bill for those choices.”

The Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division received at least two verifiable consumer complaints regarding each of the stations notified today. These stations are accused of charging between $2.50 and $3.50 per gallon of gas on September 11 and/or 12. Stations accused of gouging in earlier legal actions this month were allegedly charging as much as $5 per gallon. AAA Michigan estimates that the average price of gas across the state on both days was $1.86 per gallon; $2.50 represents a 50 percent increase over that average.

“It’s one thing for a gas station dealer to increase prices a few cents to reflect real fluctuations in the market, but to summarily increase prices 50 percent or 100 percent or, in some cases, 200 percent is ‘topping off’ at the expense of consumers.,” Granholm added.

Each station will be required to sign an affidavit certifying that they have instituted a comprehensive reimbursement program or paid the civil fine if a full reimbursement program proved impossible to develop. Stations who ignore the demand letter or who do not submit a signed affidavit face a lawsuit filed under the Michigan Consumer Protection Act.