Beware Price Gouging, Baby Formula Scams: NH Attorney General

CONCORD, NH — The scarcity of baby formula products has led to a number of scams and price gouging — but state officials want parents to know they can report deceptive practices to investigators.

The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office has consumer protective communication tools for people to report issues like scams, deceptive practices, or price gouging.

“No New Hampshire family trying to provide critical nutrition to their children should be price gouged or scammed,” said John Formella, the state’s attorney general. “Anyone seeking to take advantage of this crisis in a manner that violates the law will be held accountable. If Granite State consumers notice any exorbitant spikes in baby formula prices, I encourage them to report them to my office immediately.”

Formella said the department of justice was committed to protecting the health and wellbeing of families in the state by ensuring businesses do not employ unfair or deceptive tactics when selling infant formula.

Phone: 1-888-468-4454

Email: DOJ-CPB@doj.nh.gov

Website: doj.nh.gov/consumer/complaints/

While New Hampshire does not, however, have specific anti-price gouging statutes, attempts to exploit parents by selling baby formula at exorbitant prices may be considered unfair and deceptive acts or practices in violation of state law.

New Hampshire vigorously enforces its consumer protection laws and will closely scrutinize any complaints of businesses seeking to use the shortage to exploit Granite State families, he said.

Formella said investigators were closely monitoring the impact of the shortage. He also said families could visit the Healthy Children website to find baby formula. Families having difficulties finding formula should speak with their family physician before attempting to water down formula or create their own.

“If you have any concerns about your baby’s nutrition, please talk to your pediatrician,” Formella said. “If families have excess, unopened, unexpired formula, please consider donating it to your local food pantry to help families in need. We would advise consumers to only buy as much formula as they need, as unnecessarily stocking up may intensify the shortage.”

What To Look Out For

• An unknown seller who posts an ad or social media comment claiming to have available baby formula, then responds to interested consumers with a message showing photos of formula, but never ends up sending formula after a payment is made.
• An online seller with no sign of a brick-and-mortar business address or who posts an address that appears on online maps as a parking lot, residence, or unrelated business.
• Misspellings, grammatical errors, or other descriptive language inconsistent with the product in their messaging.

Other Tips

• Visit the Better Business Bureau website for information.
• Conduct an online search with the company name and the word “scam.”
• Take a screenshot of the website/phone number information when an order is placed, as well as of the item ordered, in case the website or number disappears.
• Credit cards can often provide more protection against fraud than other payment methods.

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