KELLY FARRELL / Staff

Bill Schaffner of Fort Myers fills up at the Chevron on the corner of Elkcam Circle and North Collier Boulevard Monday. Schaffner said gas is about $.05 more at the Island Chevron than it is in Fort Myers, but he prefers the quality. While Chevron is being investigated for reports of price gouging on Sept. 13, Schaffner said he finds their price changes less drastic than price changes in Fort Myers.

KELLY FARRELL / Staff

Walfre Recinos, 29, checks out the final price of gasoline as Walfre Jr., 8, twists on the car's gas cap at the Chevron station on the corner of West Elkcam Circle and North Collier Boulevard. Chevron had one of the lowest prices on island Monday at $3.69 per gallon of regular gasoline. During Hurricane Ike gas prices jumped from $3.69 per gallon on Sept. 12 to $3.95 on Sept. 13 leading to an investigation of possible price gouging by Chevron or its suppliers.

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MARCO ISLAND — Complaints of gasoline price gouging from around the state, including Marco Island, continue to flow in to the state attorney general’s office in Tallahassee.

The attorney general’s office has referred more than 3,000 complaints about gasoline price gouging this month to the Economic Crimes Division for review, and complaints continued to pour in Monday morning, according to press secretary Sandi Copes.

Complaints were filed against three gas stations on Marco Island and an investigation of one of those stations, the Chevron on North Collier Boulevard and Elkcam Circle West, remains under investigation, said Shannon Anderson of the Attorney General’s Office.

“No, no, no, no. It’s wrong; 100 percent, absolutely wrong. I’m selling more gas than anyone because I work on a commission. I’m happy with the cheapest gas. I do better by selling more gas,” said Jehan Khan, manager of the Chevron station.

While the reason for a one-day price hike remains under investigation at Chevron, the attorney general’s office “found no evidence to support the other complaints of gas gouging at this time,” Anderson said of two other on-island reports.

Richard Kaelin of Marco Island reported an overnight price spike of $3.699 on Sept. 12 to $3.959 on Sept. 13 for a gallon of regular unleaded at the Marco Beach Chevron.

According to the AAA Web site, the average price of gasoline in the state of Florida at the time was $3.859 per gallon of regular.

Suspecting the $.25 increase and $.10 above average price was illegal, Kaelin sent letters of complaint to David O’Reilly, Chairman & CEO of Chevron and Attorney General Bill McCollum for price gouging during an emergency.

Gov. Charlie Crist declared the state of emergency Sept. 5.

Price gouging laws prohibit the sale of gasoline and other items at “unconscionable prices during and as a result of the declared state of emergency,” said Matthew D. Curran, chief of the bureau of petroleum inspection with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

During this state of emergency, any business that has increased their prices “without having incurred an associated increase in cost may be in violation of Florida’s price gouging laws and subject to penalty,” Curran added.

The “gross disparity” in price is based on the average price of gasoline for the 30 days prior to the declared emergency. A state of emergency is in effect for 60 days.

Price gouging can result in civil penalties of $1,000 per incident, up to $25,000 per day, Anderson said.

The Chevron is currently being subpoenaed by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, who is the lead investigating agency, she added.

Customers are urged to obtain as much information as possible such as estimates, invoices, receipts and bills if gouging is suspected. A lack of evidence has caused several cases to be dropped so far.

Nearly 30 price-gouging complaints were filed against gas stations in Collier and Lee counties regarding price hikes in the days following Hurricane Ike, according to the state attorney general’s office.

Businesses are allowed to pass along cost increases to customers as long as their profit margins do not increase significantly during the state of emergency.

According to gas station managers, storm-related transportation cost increases caused some gas stations to raise prices following Hurricane Ike’s landfall in the country’s oil refining region, possibly leading the attorney’s office to find many gouging complaints to be unfounded.

Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles Bronson delivered subpoenas to about 20 Florida storage terminals that supply local operators looking for evidence of illegal price increases, he told the Naples Daily News earlier this month.

“A number of gas stations are claiming that they are only passing on increases that they have had to pay, so it is vital to examine where these price increases originated,” he added.

Such is the case with Chevron, according to Mike Aldred of J.H. Williams Oil Co. Inc.

While the prices increased, the profit margin stayed the same or decreased, at times allowing no profit on gasoline sales, said Aldred, the sales representative for the Chevron station.

“Marco Chevron averaged 4.4 cents per gallon profit during this time period (Sept. 12 through Sept. 29.) In today’s market, a location such as Marco Chevron needs to average 12 cents per gallon to pay the dealer a commission, make necessary repairs, pay credit card fees and other normal operating expenses.

As you can see it has not been a real good month,” Aldred said.

Prices at the Marco Chevron on Tuesday were among the lowest on island at $3.699 per gallon for regular and $.10 cheaper than the price for regular gasoline at the Chevron in Naples on U.S. 41 East of Airport Pulling Road. Naples regular gasoline averaged about $3.599 per gallon Tuesday.

“The good news is, as supply catches up to demand we should see falling prices in the next few weeks. That is if there are no more hurricanes or any other natural disasters or political unrest,” Aldred said.

Khan, Chevron’s station manager, said he makes about $.03 commission on each gallon of gas he sells and he is constantly urging Aldred for lower prices.

Bill Schaffner of Fort Myers filled up his gas tank at the Chevron Monday. He works for the Marco Island Post Office commuting about 80 miles to and from his Lee County home.

“I pay about a nickel more here (per gallon than in Fort Myers) but I don’t mind because I get better mileage. I noticed the price increase here (on Sept. 13) but it was not drastic. There were places in Fort Myers that went over $4 per gallon at the time,” Schaffner said as he pumped his gas at the Chevron.

While Schaffner said he remains loyal to the station, other customers say they go where the price is best.

“I didn’t see the price. I prepaid $25 (on Sept. 13) and as I was pumping, saw I wasn’t getting much for it. Then I saw it was $3.95,” said Walfre Recinos, 29 of Rose Court Marco Island.

Recinos said he is paying attention to the prices now and fuels his car at the lowest priced stations. He sometimes works in Naples and when he does, he finds fuel for an average of about $.10 cents less per gallon, helpful he says on weeks where his commuting price nearly quadruples compared to his on-island work.

While investigation continues, it is unknown at this time whether Chevron or possibly a refinery in Mississippi may be found guilty of price gouging for the Sept. 13 hike.

Any suspected violations of gas price gouging may be reported to the state attorney’s office at 1-800-HELP-FLA (1-800-435-7352). Violations may also be reported online at http://myfloridalegal.com.