notes: Consumer protections: Price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal. This means that businesses cannot increase the price of food, repairs, construction, housing, emergency and medical supplies, or gasoline more than 10% for 30 days after the emergency declaration issued on January 7. This also includes rent increases, as well as hikes in hotel and motel prices for evacuees who are seeking emergency housing. To learn more, visit dcba.lacounty.gov/pricegouging/. If you believe you have been improperly overcharged for goods, services, or housing, keep your records and receipts. Here’s how to file a price gouging complaint: Online: Online Complaint Reporting Tool Phone: 800-593-8222 Email: complaints@dcba.lacounty.gov Residents impacted by wildfires served by investor-owned utilities regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission have certain consumer protections in place: Electric and Natural Gas Utility Bills: Disconnections: Wildfire-impacted customers cannot be disconnected for nonpayment and associated fees. Discontinue Billing: Utilities must discontinue billing customers whose homes are not capable of receiving utility services, and utilities cannot assess a disconnection charge. SoCalGas states on their website that customers who have had their natural gas service temporarily turned off for safety reasons will not be billed for service during this temporary outage. Please visit the SoCalGas Emergency Disaster Relief webpage to learn more. https://www.socalgas.com/billing-payment/assistance-programs/emergency-disaster-relief To learn more, please visit Southern California Edison’s Disaster Support or call 1-800-250-7339. https://www.sce.com/safety/disaster-support Waive Deposits: Utilities must waive deposit requirements for affected residents seeking to re-establish service for one year and must expedite move-in and move-out service requests. Estimated Billing: Utilities must stop energy usage estimates for billing for the time the home/unit was unoccupied as a result of the wildfires. Payment Plans: Affected customers who have prior arrearages and have lost their homes or have been displaced and are seeking to establish service in a new residence must be offered a payment plan with an initial payment of no greater than 20% of the amount due, and with equal installments for the remainder of not less than 12 billing cycles. Minimum Bills: Utilities must prorate any monthly access charge or minimum charges for affected customers typically assessed so that no customer will bear any of these costs for the time period after the customer’s home was rendered unserviceable by a fire. Water and Sewer Utility Bills: Unpaid Bills: Water companies must work cooperatively with affected customers to resolve unpaid bills and minimize disconnections for nonpayment. Waive Reconnection and Facilities Fees: Water companies must waive reconnection or facilities fees for affected customers and suspend deposits for affected customers who must reconnect to the system. Payment Plans: Water companies must provide reasonable payment options to affected customers. Bill Waiver: Water companies must waive bills for victims who lost their homes. Landline Telephone Bills: AT&T California, Frontier Communications, Consolidated and other carriers of last resort are required to provide refunds for failure to provide service. Landline providers are required to: Waive the one-time activation fee for establishing remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding features and messaging services. Waive the monthly rate for one month for remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding, call forwarding features, and messaging services. Waive the service charge for installation of service at the temporary or new permanent home of the customer and again when the customer moves back to the premises. Waive the fee for one jack and associated wiring at the temporary location regardless of whether the customer has an Inside Wire Plan. Waive the fee for up to five free jacks and associated wiring for Inside Wiring Plan customer upon their return to their permanent home. Waive the fee for one jack and associated wiring for non-Plan customers upon their return to their permanent home. -> Consumer protections: Price gouging during a state of emergency is illegal. This means that businesses cannot increase the price of food, repairs, construction, housing, emergency and medical supplies, or gasoline more than 10% for 30 days after the emergency declaration issued on January 7. This also includes rent increases, as well as hikes in hotel and motel prices for evacuees who are seeking emergency housing. To learn more, visit dcba.lacounty.gov/pricegouging/. If you believe you have been improperly overcharged for goods, services, or housing, keep your records and receipts. Here’s how to file a price gouging complaint: Online: Online Complaint Reporting Tool Phone: 800-593-8222 Email: complaints@dcba.lacounty.gov Residents impacted by wildfires served by investor-owned utilities regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission have certain consumer protections in place: Electric and Natural Gas Utility Bills: Disconnections: Wildfire-impacted customers cannot be disconnected for nonpayment and associated fees. Discontinue Billing: Utilities must discontinue billing customers whose homes are not capable of receiving utility services, and utilities cannot assess a disconnection charge. SoCalGas states on their website that customers who have had their natural gas service temporarily turned off for safety reasons will not be billed for service during this temporary outage. Please visit the SoCalGas Emergency Disaster Relief webpage to learn more. https://www.socalgas.com/billing-payment/assistance-programs/emergency-disaster-relief To learn more, please visit Southern California Edison’s Disaster Support or call 1-800-250-7339. https://www.sce.com/safety/disaster-support Waive Deposits: Utilities must waive deposit requirements for affected residents seeking to re-establish service for one year and must expedite move-in and move-out service requests. Estimated Billing: Utilities must stop energy usage estimates for billing for the time the home/unit was unoccupied as a result of the wildfires. Payment Plans: Affected customers who have prior arrearages and have lost their homes or have been displaced and are seeking to establish service in a new residence must be offered a payment plan with an initial payment of no greater than 20% of the amount due, and with equal installments for the remainder of not less than 12 billing cycles. Minimum Bills: Utilities must prorate any monthly access charge or minimum charges for affected customers typically assessed so that no customer will bear any of these costs for the time period after the customer’s home was rendered unserviceable by a fire. Water and Sewer Utility Bills: Unpaid Bills: Water companies must work cooperatively with affected customers to resolve unpaid bills and minimize disconnections for nonpayment. Waive Reconnection and Facilities Fees: Water companies must waive reconnection or facilities fees for affected customers and suspend deposits for affected customers who must reconnect to the system. Payment Plans: Water companies must provide reasonable payment options to affected customers. Bill Waiver: Water companies must waive bills for victims who lost their homes. Landline Telephone Bills: AT&T California, Frontier Communications, Consolidated and other carriers of last resort are required to provide refunds for failure to provide service. Landline providers are required to: Waive the one-time activation fee for establishing remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding features and messaging services. Waive the monthly rate for one month for remote call forwarding, remote access to call forwarding, call forwarding, call forwarding features, and messaging services. Waive the service charge for installation of service at the temporary or new permanent home of the customer and again when the customer moves back to the premises. Waive the fee for one jack and associated wiring at the temporary location regardless of whether the customer has an Inside Wire Plan. Waive the fee for up to five free jacks and associated wiring for Inside Wiring Plan customer upon their return to their permanent home. Waive the fee for one jack and associated wiring for non-Plan customers upon their return to their permanent home.