As the piles of snow got higher from Friday night into Saturday, the cost of having your driveway plowed may have been going up as well.
In New Haven, there was at least one private snowplower who was charging $200 per hour to clear snow away from residences, according to a story in the New Haven Independent.
Connecticut has laws in place that prohibit so-called price gouging in the wake of natural disasters, a law that was enacted in 2012. Under this law, "the Department of Consumer Protection can level an unfair trade practices charge against any business charging an "unconscionably excessive price" for vital goods or services during a weather emergency as declared by the governor," the Connecticut Mirror reported last year.
There have been many stories since Friday of Good Samaritans and good neighbors helping out where needed.
How much did you pay to get the snow cleared? Tell us in the comments.
This should have been handled with a survey or a poll - without the sensational headline.
Basically, if you don't want to pay for snow removal, beg for favors or buy a shovel. Arguing that these guys are profiteering because it follows a storm is ridiculous, when else would they be plowing?
A few years ago, the transmission went on my 2006 Ford F350 that I previously owned for plowing snow, and it cost $3,600 to rebuild it. Eventually, the truck became too worn out from plowing and towing, and I had to replace it, which also is expensive. And I try to be gentle with the trucks, but you really can't when you have to push 5 foot high wet snowbanks to enter a driveway or parking lot. That's why we have to charge the amount that we do so that we can afford to keep our trucks and businesses going so that it can be easy for us to keep our customers happy. And we can be happy with staying in business, too!
With the day off from work Saturday, I contacted a man in my neighborhood who I not only delivered papers until I was 16, but mowed his lawn and cleared his driveway of snow from age 11 until I went to college. He said he'd have no one around to clear his driveway until tomorrow. And being in his 70s, he was in no condition to clear it himself, so I took care of it for him. As I left I did see a couple kids walking around the neighborhood hoping to make some cash, but plenty of houses were going to be snowed in well into Sunday without anyone offering to shovel for some side cash. Now, this storm was historic, many families with kids had them worn ragged taking care of their own driveway, and I would never want someone that young to risk their health or safety. But while some communities banded together to help dig out neighbors, other communities became barren tundra until the big guys came in to charge big prices. Me personally, the job I took I originally planned to do for free, but he insisted on giving me $50 with no time limit. In the end, it was about 2 hours of non-stop work, so $25 bucks an hour.