"Selfish scumbag" attacked online for massive toilet roll price gouging
NSW police will begin patrolling toilet paper aisles in supermarkets in a big to stop panic buying of essential groceries.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that law enforcement will be visible to all shoppers after a meeting with supermarket bosses.
NSW Police Deputy Commissioner Jeff Loy told the public they should be able to go about their daily business and bad behaviour was not acceptable.
It comes while Australians have unleashed on “selfish” hoarders caught trying to sell essential products like toilet rolls, nappies and hand sanitiser for inflated prices online.
The coronavirus pandemic has created an unprecedented fear among shoppers all across the country as they race to supermarkets in a panic buying frenzy.
A man caused chaos on Facebook when he announced he was selling individual toilet rolls for $5 each – and packs of 24 rolls for a surprising $100.
“Inbox me for toilet paper, Hand sanitiser, nappies, baby formula and antiseptic wipes. Lots of stock. Happy to express post, no pickups,” the post reads.
Unsurprisingly, the offer caused a flurry of backlash, with many Facebook users branding the man “selfish” and a “scumbag”.
“Should be ashamed of yourself. Clearly you're not. Hopefully you'll realise that what you're doing is a disgrace...” one outraged Facebook user wrote.
Another labelled the man a “piece of garbage”.
The man’s offer comes just hours before Woolworths announced a major change to its buying restrictions list, by introducing a blanket two limit rule on everything in-store unless stated otherwise.
Coles has also capped the sale of chilled milk at two units per shopper.
So far, Australia has 560 confirmed cases of coronavirus across every state and territory.
Six people have died so far.
An ACCC spokesperson told news.com.au they are unable to “prevent or take action to stop excessive pricing, as it has no role in setting prices”.
However, the spokesperson said in some “limited circumstances” excessive pricing can be deemed “unconscionable”.
“If a business makes misleading claims about the reason for price increases, it will be breaching the Australian Consumer Law,” the spokesperson said.