PRINCESS ANNE, Md. - Lamont Potter Sr. says it only takes around $50 to fill up the tank of his van. On Tuesday, Potter paid $100 for 20 gallons of gas.
In social media posts, Potter shows the King's Creek Sunoco station in Princess Anne was charging $4.99 per gallon at one point, Tuesday.
Potter says when he pulled up to the station after driving from Virginia for work, "the gas was $2.89. I had to wait like 10 minutes. I pulled up to the pump still thinking it was $2.89. Put my card in there and pumped the gas. Then it stopped and I looked. 20 gallons for $100. He robbed me with no gun!"
Potter says his card automatically stopped at $100, though he is unsure as to why. His tank, however, was not full. "The $100 was barely half a tank. 20 gallons," Potter recalls.
On Thursday, WBOC attempted to speak with the owner of the gas station about the price hike. We were told by an employee the owner would not be back until the evening.
Potter says on Wednesday, he attempted to receive a refund from the gas station. "I feel they owe me $57," Potter says.
The Maryland Attorney General's Office, which handles price gouging complaints, says over the past 48 hours, they have received more than 20 complaints about significant price increases at the pump. Last year, the Maryland General Assembly fast-tracked emergency legislation fining retailers up to $10,000 if they are found to have unjustly inflated the price of a good.
That legislation, however, expired in April of this year.
34% of Maryland gas stations are struggling with some type of fuel shortage, according to Gas Buddy, a website which tracks gas prices. This comes after the Colonial Pipeline was hacked. The pipeline is back up and running. It supplies the East Coast with about 45% of its entire fuel.