Gas Price Gouging in Jacksonville: Enough Is Enough!

Gas Price Gouging in Jacksonville: Enough Is Enough!

By Bill Conley
May 14, 2025

As a Jacksonville resident, I’ve had it with the blatant, overnight gas price hikes that seem to defy logic and fairness. One day, gas prices are steady, and the next, they’re up 20, 30, or even 40 cents per gallon. Today, it was even worse.

At a Gate station on San Pablo, the price of a gallon of gas jumped from $2.73 to $3.17 overnight—a 44-cent increase, or a staggering 16.11% spike in just one day.

What other industry allows this kind of blatant, unexplained fluctuation in price? This isn’t a rare anomaly—it's a regular occurrence. The price of gas slowly drops over time, lulling consumers into complacency, only to shoot up suddenly without warning or reason. This manipulative cycle has got to stop.

What Is Price Gouging?

Price gouging occurs when businesses exploit consumers by raising prices excessively during times of high demand or uncertainty. While Florida law explicitly prohibits price gouging during declared states of emergency, the frequent, unjustified price hikes at gas stations feel eerily similar.

How is it that all stations—whether Gate, Shell, or RaceTrac—raise prices in near lockstep? It's not competition. It's collusion, or at best, opportunistic manipulation. What’s worse is the tactic: jack up the price all at once, then slowly bleed it down over weeks or even months, maximizing profits at consumers’ expense.

Gas Stations, Consider This Your Notice

To the gas stations and their corporate owners: Jacksonville is watching. We are tired of being exploited. These practices are unethical, and we refuse to accept them as the norm. If you believe you can continue raising prices without scrutiny, think again. We’re aware, we’re organized, and we’re taking action.

Consumers: Take Action Today

You don’t have to sit idly by while gas stations squeeze every penny from your wallet. Florida gives us tools to fight back—and now is the time to use them:

1.     File a Complaint Online
Visit the Florida Attorney General’s website: MyFloridaLegal.com
Follow the links to “File a Complaint” about suspected price gouging.

2.     Call the Price Gouging Hotline
Dial 1-866-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226). Operators are standing by to help you take action.

3.     Document the Evidence
Snap photos of gas prices, save your receipts, and note the date and time. If the prices changed dramatically within 24 hours, report it. The more detailed your report, the stronger the case.

Why Reporting Matters

Your complaint is more than a formality. It becomes a part of a larger investigation that can result in fines, penalties, and even criminal charges against offending businesses. When enough of us speak up, we can stop these companies from taking advantage of us.

We Must Act Together

If every frustrated Jacksonville resident took two minutes to make a report, imagine the pressure it would put on these companies. We can’t rely on them to self-regulate—they’ve proven they won’t. It’s up to us, the consumers, to hold them accountable.

Let’s Make It Stop

Today’s 44-cent jump isn’t just an inconvenience—it’s an insult. It's a slap in the face to hardworking Floridians who are just trying to get to work, pick up their kids, or live their lives without being gouged at every turn. Enough is enough.

If you’re tired of this abuse, don’t let it slide. Report price gouging today. Share this message with your neighbors, friends, and coworkers. Talk about it at work, at church, at your HOA meetings. Let’s create a grassroots consumer movement that says no more.

Together, let’s put the brakes on this gas-gouging madness. The time to act is now.