Wisconsin DATCP Helps Consumers With Pricing Protection Amid Pandemic
In partnership with: Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.
As the COVID-19 virus began to pose a serious threat in early 2020, the health and safety of Wisconsinites were top of mind. But as the pandemic continued to linger, other consequences beyond health and wellness came to light.
“The pandemic obviously caused a lot of strain on the economy, and it created vulnerability,” says Lara Sutherlin, administrator for the Division of Trade and Consumer Protection at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP). “That’s significant for us at DATCP because when people are in economic strains, they’re looking for resources and information. Suddenly, you start seeing a lot of misinformation – scammers prey on fear and lack of information.”
As the primary consumer protection agency in the state, it’s DATCP’s responsibility to ensure a fair marketplace for both consumers and businesses. When the pandemic prompted government programming (like stimulus checks), surveys and phone call scams became extremely prevalent. Sutherlin says her department immediately ramped up education efforts.
“We did as much education as we could, talking with consumers about what was legitimate and what wasn’t,” she says. “We did a lot of news interviews, press releases and social media posts to get the right information out.”
Complaints around not receiving refunds for cancelled events were also prominent.
“We investigated all of those complaints,” Sutherlin says. “Some resulted in enforcement actions so that we could get money returned to Wisconsin consumers.”
Another consequence: many consumers saw prices rise in grocery stores, but didn’t always understand why.
“We received several hundred consumer complaints about price gouging. We looked at every one of those cases and talked to people within the industry to make sure it was fair and that it complied with Wisconsin law,” Sutherlin said. “We found that in most cases, prices went up due to supply chain strain rather than actual price gouging.”
Brandon Schulz, president and CEO of the Wisconsin Growers Association, adds that simple economics a major factor in pricing during the pandemic.
See more: DATCP Efforts Protect Wisconsin Consumers and Small Businesses
“Demand was high and the supply was low, so the prices went up,” he says. “Both customers and grocers were trying to figure it out at the same time.”
Sutherlin says that the pandemic has reinforced the importance of building stakeholder relationships so the state can quickly and effectively respond to disruptions in the market.
“Protecting consumers is one of our core values, but it’s also important to work with Wisconsin businesses and help them through these kinds of severe shocks in the economy,” she says. “We learned to double-down on open lines of communication with stakeholders and regulators, so businesses know how to comply and get in front of problems rather than reacting to them.”