A Nottingham shop manager said charging £8 for hand sanitiser and £1 each for toilet roll during the coronavirus pandemic was “just a joke”.
CBD Gift Shop in Carlton Road, St Ann’s, has since said it would take the signs advertising the stock down from its window after Nottinghamshire Live contacted its manager.
Panic buying across the city and county has seen shelves stripped of stock , particularly toilet roll, hand wash, soap and tinned and dry food goods such as baked beans and pasta.
Prime minister Boris Johnson has urged people to avoid pubs, clubs, restaurants and theatres as part of unprecedented peacetime measures to combat the spread of Covid-19.
Swathes of people are now working from home and avoiding public places in a bid to slow the virus’ transmission.
The manager of CBD Gift Shop told Nottinghamshire Live: “We are part of the community here. Having been told that it is offensive I will take them (the signs and stock) down straight away.
“We have no intention of offending anyone. It was just done as a joke. I had no idea how bad things with coronavirus would get in this country.”
It comes as a Sneinton supermarket manager also stressed to Nottinghamshire Live that charging nearly £20 for disinfectant was a “mistake”.
Usually charged at £2.49, the cost of a Dettol disinfectant bottle at Murat Food Centre in Gedling Street had been hiked up to £14.99 and £19.99.
When contacted about the expensive price, a manager who just wanted to give his name as Ali, said the pricing was “a one in 10,000 mistake” and that it had since been reduced.
“It has been changed to £2.49 from Monday (March 18), I apologise,” he added.
“It was a mistake, a one in 10,000 mistake, that’s how many items we sell here.
“Customers pointed it out to us and we got it changed. We are not selling it at that price now.”
Price hikes have been reported at various stores across Nottingham leaving many on social media furious.
Asghar Hussain Sarwar contacted Nottinghamshire Live to speak of his anger at price hikes he is seeing on the shelves as the virus continues to spread.
The 47-year-old dad of Hyson Green has a spinal condition and his son has Down’s Syndrome and is currently off school as he is “vulnerable”.
He said: “It’s a disgrace that places are getting away with this.
“It’s outrageous what is happening. There are a lot of vulnerable people out there.
“People are panicking and for prices to be like that on the shelves is not fair. It’s exploitation.
“These places need to be named and shamed.”
The dad added that other businesses “were doing the right thing” and delivering goods to elderly people unable to leave the house.
Trading Standards confirmed they have no power over price setting within stores.
