Updated June 18, 2025
By Bill Conley
I am sick and tired of gas
stations in and around Jacksonville jacking up their prices nearly 18%
overnight like it’s nothing. Yesterday, gas was $2.79. Today,
it’s $3.19—a full 50-cent increase in a single night. This is not
economics. This is not inflation. This is outright gouging, plain and
simple.
And let’s be clear—this isn’t an
isolated incident. It happens again and again, every time gas prices drop
to around $2.80. Like clockwork, every station across the city spikes the price
by 40 to 60 cents or more. What kind of business model allows you to raise
prices 18% overnight without consequence? What other industry could get
away with this?
I am mad as heck—and I know
I’m not the only one. This is a coordinated squeeze on every working family,
every retiree, every delivery driver, and every commuter just trying to make
ends meet.
What
Is Price Gouging?
Price gouging happens when companies
exploit consumers by raising prices excessively during times of need,
stress, or opportunity. Florida law prohibits gouging during declared states
of emergency, but let’s not kid ourselves—this pattern of predatory
pricing should be illegal, emergency or not.
Think about the psychology of it:
one night it’s $2.79, you sleep, and by morning it’s $3.19. No storm. No refinery
fire. No supply crisis. Just pure corporate greed. Then, they have the
audacity to lower prices slowly, by pennies a week, dragging it out
until they can spike it all over again.
This is not supply and demand. This
is manipulation. And we need to call it out for what it is.
Gas
Stations, Consider This Your Final Warning
To every gas station operator and
every corporate chain fueling this game—we’re on to you. We see the
patterns. We see the price fixing. And we’re done playing dumb.
You may think you can quietly
squeeze every dollar out of our wallets while we stay silent—but not anymore.
Jacksonville residents are fed up, and we are ready to fight back with
every legal means available.
What
Can You Do?
We’re not powerless. Florida law
gives us a way to respond, and it’s time we start using it—loudly and
relentlessly.
1.
File a Complaint Online
Go to the Florida Attorney General’s
official website and report what you see.
👉 File a Complaint
2.
Call the Price Gouging Hotline
📞 1-866-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226)
Operators are available to take your report. Call them out.
3.
Document Everything
Take photos of price signs, keep
receipts, and write down the exact date and time you saw the increase.
If enough of us report this, the Attorney General’s office will have to
investigate.
Why
It Matters
This is not just about a few dollars
at the pump. This is about justice. About fairness. About not
being treated like suckers while corporate gas chains pad their profits and
smile at our frustration.
When we report price gouging, we
trigger investigations. If businesses are found guilty, they can be fined and
publicly exposed. But even more than that, we send a message: you do not
get to rob us and walk away clean.
Time
to Join Forces
If every frustrated resident in
Jacksonville took 10 minutes to report these predatory price hikes, the impact
would shake the system. If we start organizing, speaking out, and demanding
accountability, this stops being a minor annoyance and starts becoming a
statewide movement.
So let’s get loud. Let’s get
organized. Let’s make gas stations think twice before hiking prices in the dark
of night.
We
Will Not Be Ignored
To every gas station price
manipulator in Jacksonville and beyond—your days of silent gouging are
numbered. We’re watching. We’re reporting. We’re spreading the word. You’ve
been put on notice.
If you’re reading this and feel just
as enraged, don’t shrug your shoulders—take action. Report it. Share
this post. Talk to your neighbors. Send the link to your city council. Pressure
works.
We’ve been gouged long enough. It’s
time to push back.
The gas gouging stops here.
—
Bill Conley
Jacksonville, FL Resident & Consumer Advocate
Governor Ron DeSantis
The Capitol
400 S. Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001
Date:
June 18, 2025
Dear Governor
DeSantis,
As a resident of
Jacksonville, I am writing to you out of deep frustration and growing concern
regarding the consistent and unjustified overnight gas price hikes in our city.
On June 17, 2025, gas was $2.79 per gallon. On June 18, it was $3.19—a 50-cent
spike representing nearly an 18% increase in just 24 hours.
This is not the
first time this has happened. Every time gas prices approach the $2.80 range,
stations across Jacksonville simultaneously increase prices by 40 to 60 cents
overnight, only to allow them to slowly drop over the following weeks. This
coordinated price jump is not only unethical—it borders on what consumers view
as collusion and price gouging.
Floridians are
not blind to these patterns. We see what’s happening and are demanding action.
I respectfully request that you direct the appropriate regulatory agencies to
investigate these manipulative pricing strategies and enforce accountability
where needed.
I expect a
phone call in response to this letter. I want to know what you, as the Governor of
Florida, are doing to protect everyday citizens from corporate abuse at the
pump.
Sincerely,
Bill Conley
13783 Deer Chase Place
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: (904) 526-9025
Email: billhytek@hotmail.com
Blog: bcunleashed.blogspot.com
CC:
·
Mayor Donna
Deegan, City of Jacksonville
·
Attorney General
James Uthmeier, State of Florida
·
Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services
Mayor Donna Deegan
City of Jacksonville
117 W. Duval Street, Suite 400
Jacksonville, FL 32202
Date:
June 18, 2025
Dear Mayor
Deegan,
I am writing to
bring urgent attention to the consistent and coordinated gas price hikes
occurring across Jacksonville. Yesterday, gas was $2.79 per gallon. Today, it
jumped to $3.19. That is a 50-cent increase in a single night—nearly 18%.
This pattern
repeats every time prices near $2.80. Multiple stations raise prices
simultaneously by large margins overnight, which strongly suggests coordinated
manipulation rather than market fluctuation. It takes weeks for prices to come
back down, while residents are left to bear the cost.
As Mayor of
Jacksonville, I urge you to investigate these pricing practices and partner
with state authorities to determine whether price gouging or collusion is
occurring. I ask that you speak publicly on this issue and join your
constituents in demanding transparency and fairness from these fuel providers.
I expect to
hear from your office by phone. The citizens of Jacksonville deserve answers and action, not silence.
Sincerely,
Bill Conley
13783 Deer Chase Place
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: (904) 526-9025
Email: billhytek@hotmail.com
Blog: bcunleashed.blogspot.com
CC:
·
Governor Ron
DeSantis, State of Florida
·
Attorney General
James Uthmeier, State of Florida
·
Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services
Attorney General James Uthmeier
Office of the Attorney General
The Capitol, PL-01
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1050
Date:
June 18, 2025
Dear Attorney
General Uthmeier,
This letter
serves as a formal demand for an investigation into the widespread and sudden gas
price hikes in Jacksonville, Florida. On June 17, 2025, the average price of
gas was $2.79. By the morning of June 18, it had increased to $3.19—an
overnight jump of 50 cents, or nearly 18%.
This is not an
isolated occurrence. It happens regularly and follows a predictable pattern.
When prices get close to $2.80, they spike across the city, at virtually every
gas station. The identical timing and pricing raise concerns of price gouging
or illegal coordination.
I urge your
office to immediately open a price gouging inquiry into the conduct of gasoline
retailers in Jacksonville and the surrounding areas. If state law does not
currently apply because there is no declared emergency, then I encourage you to
publicly advocate for updated legislation that prohibits such coordinated
consumer abuse year-round.
Please contact
me directly by phone to confirm that your office is taking this complaint
seriously.
Sincerely,
Bill Conley
13783 Deer Chase Place
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: (904) 526-9025
Email: billhytek@hotmail.com
Blog: bcunleashed.blogspot.com
CC:
·
Governor Ron
DeSantis, State of Florida
·
Mayor Donna
Deegan, City of Jacksonville
·
Florida
Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Consumer Services
Florida Department of Agriculture and
Consumer Services
Division of Consumer Services
2005 Apalachee Parkway
Tallahassee, FL 32399-6500
Date:
June 18, 2025
To Whom It May
Concern,
I am filing a
formal consumer complaint regarding what I believe to be coordinated and
unethical gas price hikes across Jacksonville. On June 17, 2025, gas prices
were $2.79 per gallon. By June 18, they had jumped to $3.19—a 50-cent, 18%
increase overnight.
This suspicious
pattern repeats itself constantly: as prices begin to drop toward $2.80,
stations raise prices dramatically and simultaneously, without any market or
emergency justification. This behavior is predatory and appears to violate the
spirit, if not the letter, of Florida’s consumer protection laws.
I demand that
the Division of Consumer Services immediately open an investigation into this
matter, publicly report findings, and enforce penalties on any gas providers
found to be engaging in manipulation, collusion, or consumer abuse.
Please contact
me directly by phone to confirm receipt of this complaint and inform me of the
actions your office will take.
Sincerely,
Bill Conley
13783 Deer Chase Place
Jacksonville, FL 32224
Phone: (904) 526-9025
Email: billhytek@hotmail.com
Blog: bcunleashed.blogspot.com
CC:
·
Governor Ron
DeSantis, State of Florida
·
Mayor Donna
Deegan, City of Jacksonville
·
Attorney General
James Uthmeier, State of Florida
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