Aug. 30, 2005 - AUSTIN - Hotels and motels that artificially jack up their prices to take advantage of people fleeing Hurricane Katrina will be pursued "aggressively" under the state's Deceptive Trade Practices Act, state authorities said Monday.

"Desperate people have come into Texas in droves, leaving their homes to escape the devastation of Hurricane Katrina," Attorney General Greg Abbott said in a written statement. "We will bring legal action against any business that takes advantage of these citizens and their dire circumstances."

Abbott said he would work with local prosecutors to "aggressively pursue anyone who violates the law by exploiting in the wake of this massive storm."

Officials have received complaints about inflated rates at hotels in Houston, Marshall, Nacogdoches and other Texas cities. Mandatory evacuations in Louisiana and Mississippi prompted by the massive hurricane have sent residents looking for shelter, and many have landed in Texas.

"We've heard some horror stories already, such as waking up families at 3 o'clock in the morning saying, 'You need to pay more or get out now,'" said Tom Kelley, a spokesman for Abbott. He said he could not give details of specific cases.

A Red Cross official in Marshall said some evacuees have complained about price gouging.

"A lot of folks took their last dimes to get into a hotel," said Brenda Campbell, disaster-services chairwoman for the Red Cross. "We're getting some food out to them, even though they're not here in the shelter. We told them to expect a brown-bag lunch."

Pat Miller of the Texas Hotel and Lodging Association in Austin said he has heard some of the gouging reports because his organization works to mediate such complaints. He said most proprietors run ethical businesses but "there's a bad apple in every bunch."

"Sometimes they get a little carried away," he said. "But any price gouging can be dealt with."

When that happens, Miller said, guilty proprietors typically agree to post the refund to a guest's credit card. He urged people with complaints to call his office at (512) 474-2996.

Officials say there are no plans for a disaster declaration in Texas, which would give authorities heightened power to crack down on price gouging. But Kelley said existing law allows the attorney general to pursue cases of "unconscionable pricing" and false advertising.

For example, a hotel that promises one rate on the telephone but tries to double the rate once the would-be guest shows up could be in violation of the law, which also applies to businesses that sell goods such as gasoline or groceries.

"Lodging is the big one," Kelley said. "That's the one we're getting complaints about."

TEXAS OFFERS HELP: Gov. Rick Perry has dispatched Texas Task Force One, an elite 90-member search-and-rescue team, to Louisiana to help with recovery efforts. It's part of a national group of such teams under the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Perry also called up 200 members of the Texas State Guard and ordered the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Department of Transportation to remain on standby in case more help is needed in Louisiana.

Staff Writer Bill Miller contributed to this report

-----

To see more of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.dfw.com.

Copyright (c) 2005, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Texas

Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. For information on republishing this content, contact us at (800) 661-2511 (U.S.), (213) 237-4914 (worldwide), fax (213) 237-6515, or e-mail [email protected].