A DUNFERMLINE business owner has hit out at a town centre shop he says charged his elderly father £27 for hand sanitiser.

David Goodchild claims that M and H Home not only charged extortionate prices but "frightened" his father into purchasing the two bottles of hand gel (500ml and 100ml).

However, the shop on the High Street refutes the claims and maintains that the large hand sanitiser was sold at £15 – 50p less than the cost of what it is to buy from the wholesaler currently.

The price of hand sanitiser has soared in recent weeks.

A Facebook post by David highlighting the issue went viral and attracted 13,000 shares.

"That shop ripped my dad off," he told the Press.

"The sales pitch was incredibly disturbing.

"He was told if he did not get it there, he would not get it anywhere else and he was going to need the stuff.

"And if he'd seen the news that it was people his age that the virus was going to kill."

David said his father, 77-year-old Anthony, was incredibly embarrassed that he'd spent £27 on the hand sanitiser – the price of his weekly shop.

"How can they charge people that much?" David asked.

"It's cost them more than £27 in the long run.

"This should be a time where people are pulling together and looking out for each other.

"On the same day, my wife saw got some sanitiser for £1.20.

"They obviously saw a niche in the market but they're alarming elderly customers at the same time.

"My dad doesn't keep in the best of health so he wanted to warn others.

"It's just so wrong in the current climate, especially when it is to the detriment of vulnerable people."

At first, a shop in Edinburgh was wrongly caught up in the row over the hand gel and received racist abuse but David clarified what shop was involved in the incident.

M and H Home shop manager, Naseem Tahir, maintains that they have not made a profit from the sale of hand gel and have also been offering face masks for free to elderly customers.

A cash and carry in Glasgow is selling 500ml of hand gel for £15.54.

Mr Tahir said that they had tried to get in touch with the customer but he had not responded.

They also say that they would "never force anyone" to buy anything and prices are clearly stated on products.

Fife Trading Standards urged people that they don't have to buy products at inflated prices.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) have stated it will consider any evidence that companies may have broken competition or consumer protection law, for example by charging excessive prices for goods such as hand sanitiser or making misleading claims about the efficacy of protective equipment. It will take direct enforcement action in appropriate cases.