A Charlotte gas station that went viral for charging $9.99 per gallon now faces lawsuit
A Charlotte gas station seen in a viral TikTok for overcharging on fuel is being sued by the state of North Carolina for price gouging after the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack and shutdown in May.
Mansa Travel Center Charlotte LLC increased its prices for mid-grade and premium gas to $9.99 per gallon — a 278% increase — on or before May 13, according to the lawsuit filed in Wake County on Thursday.
The company, which operates the Queens Market Exxon Mobil at 1339 W. Sugar Creek Road, sold gasoline at “unreasonably excessive prices” despite no material increase in fuel cost, the lawsuit says.
North Carolina law prohibits businesses from excessively raising prices during a crisis and goes into effect when the governor declares a state of emergency, which Gov. Roy Cooper did on May 10.
Charlotte truck driver Clarissa Rankin is named in the lawsuit because of a TikTok video she shared with her 1.1 million followers. Her video shows a receipt reflecting the $9.99 per gallon she paid for premium gas on May 12.
“I’m proud for my name to be located on there,” Rankin told the Observer on Thursday. “This lawsuit is really sending a message to not just one gas station, but to other business owners also. You cannot do wrong by people in such a time of crisis.”
Gas station owner Rey Shah, in an interview at the time with Observer news partner WBTV, denied any intention of price gouging and said the high prices were meant to deter people from draining the pumps.
“I promise you there’s no price gouging. We’re not in this to make a quick buck,” Shah told WBTV.
The average daily price per gallon at Queen’s Market on May 9 was $3.59 for mid-grade and $3.89 premium. By May 12, the average for mid-grade had increased to $6.14, while the average for premium reached $7.57 on May 13, the lawsuit says.
Mansa acknowledged that it posted and sold gas at the inflated prices, the lawsuit says.
The company claimed it didn’t have records of daily price changes, nor the number of gallons it sold at its specific daily prices. However, after being issued a warrant to appear in court, the company produced business records showing its average daily prices for all three grades of gasoline from May 9 to May 14, the lawsuit says.
The company’s daily gross profit margins on sales of gas increased from $0.69 for mid-grade and $0.27 for premium on May 9, to $2.87 for mid-grade and $4.39 for premium on May 13, the lawsuit says.
State Attorney General Josh Stein is seeking restitution for station customers who overpaid, in addition to $5,000 in civil penalties for each violation and reimbursement to the state for attorneys fees and court costs.
This is Stein’s second price gouging lawsuit after the Colonial Pipeline shutdown, according to the N.C. Department of Justice.
That lawsuit, filed on Aug. 6, accused Jack’s In & Out Food Mart in Durham of increasing the price of premium fuel from $3.29 per gallon on May 9, to $5.49 on May 11.
Since 2018, Stein has brought 10 price-gouging lawsuits against 26 defendants.
This story was originally published August 26, 2021 at 1:18 PM with the headline "A Charlotte gas station that went viral for charging $9.99 per gallon now faces lawsuit."
