Prosecutor tells woman law requires her to raise prices at her station

Associated Press ^ | July 31, 2004 | Associated Press Staff

[MeekOneGOP]

Prosecutor tells woman law requires her to raise prices at her station

08:50 PM CDT on Saturday, July 31, 2004

Associated Press

MUSKOGEE, Okla. – Maria Diep's new convenience store wasn't getting much business when she charged $1.70 a gallon for gasoline.

But lowering it to $1.65 per gallon got the attention of customers, and her competitors.

A Muskogee County prosecutor told Ms. Diep on Wednesday that she had to raise the retail price of gas at her 7 Express 2 store to comply with a 1949 state law.

The Unfair Sales Act, a rarely used law, requires retailers to sell their products for at least 6 percent more than they paid for them.

"I didn't mean to break the law," said Ms. Diep, who added that she knew the law existed. "I was just doing it for the business."

Ms. Diep suspects someone called prosecutors about her prices.

Ms. Diep said she bought the unbranded gasoline when prices were down and paid $1.63 a gallon. She bumped the price to $1.70 after the telephone call from prosecutors.

Assistant District Attorney James Walters said "multiple calls" were received. "Local business people were complaining about what they felt like were unfairly low gas prices."

Mr. Walters said Ms. Diep's store and a Kum & Go store were informed "there was a statute that regulated gas prices and that they needed to make sure they were in compliance.

"When most area stores were at $1.79, one was at $1.65, and one was at $1.69."

The intent of the law was to help smaller, independent operations, said Gary Sturm, a district attorney's office investigator. Otherwise, large chains could afford to sell at a below-profit rate and wait for less well-financed stores to crumble.

"They could drive everybody else out of business," he said.

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Online at: http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/080104dntexokprice.537e8.html

[MeekOneGOP]

bump!

[Tax-chick]

It's George Bush's fault! Women and minorities hardest hit!

[MeekOneGOP]

LOL!

[Tax-chick]

Just expressing my sympathies for the poor Vietnamese lady owner (Maria Diep - I bet I know where she goes to church, too) not to mention the poor, female, minority drivers of Muskogee ...

[LadyPilgrim]

We used to call that a gas war.
It kept the prices low. Or loooooower.

[Iam1ru1-2]

Now we must find that ever elusive law that requires all merchants who sell petro to NOT OVERCHARGE CUSTOMERS BY EXCEEDING, BY MORE THAT 5%, THE AVERAGE GASOLINE PRICE IN THAT PARTICULAR AREA.

Of course, it will never be found.

R A T S !

[Oatka]

A Muskogee County prosecutor told Ms. Diep on Wednesday that she had to raise the retail price of gas at her 7 Express 2 store to comply with a 1949 state law.

A good reason why we should sunset all laws at 10 years, starting today and staggering a percentage of them every year. Most of laws like this outlive their usefulness in that time anyway. Worse case is that they are renewed for another 10 years. Then maybe, just maybe, a lot of these dated laws which are now used only to harrass people will die of their own weight.

It would also keep the pols busy reviewing old ones and keep the flood of new laws down.

[JLS]

$1.63*(1.06) = $1.73 so she and anyone pricing that low are still in violation???? Pretty stupid depression era law.

[Texas Eagle]

Government stupidity in a nutshell.

President Reagan said it best: "The scariest sentence in the English language is, 'I'm from the government and I'm here to help you.'"

[MeekOneGOP]

Yep. bump !

[null and void]

Amen!

[whereasandsoforth]

She should challenge the law. I don't remember the constitution granting government the right to impose on the price an individual sets for their goods.

If I were she, I'd price it by the comsumer's ethnic sense...you know, Blacks pay $1.69, Whites pay $1.64, Mexicans pay $1.66, Arabs pay $2.02, the Amish get to water their horse for free....The business belongs to her and IT AIN'T THE GOVERNMENTS BUSINESS!

[TexasTransplant]

And along with the sunset provision, before any new law is passed legislators should identify 5 laws to get rid of prior to enacting the new law. In 10 or 20 years we could really start making some progress.

[MeekOneGOP]

Thanks, bump !

[taxesareforever]

Check out Wisconsin's law. They require 9.18% higher than the wholesale price at the nearest terminal. Who is getting the shaft with this law? I thought we lived in a capitalist nation? My mistake.

[Bob]

Assistant District Attorney James Walters said "multiple calls" were received. "Local business people Her competitors were complaining about what they felt like were unfairly low gas prices."

There, that's better.

[MeekOneGOP]

hehe! That sounds like the Microsoft case. As a consumer, I never felt slighted by MS .....

[SC Swamp Fox]

$1.63*(1.06) = $1.73

I caught that as well. I think it's hilarious that the journalism school graduate that wrote this didn't.

I wonder if the local prosecutor has figured it out yet, after all, the stoopid law is on the books, he needs to enforce it.

[S.O.S121.500]

What you said sorta' bump.