Announced Actions for September 24, 2002

Petition for approval of proposed agreement:

The Commission has received a petition for approval of a proposed agreement from ConocoPhillips concerning the recent merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company. Under the terms of the consent order conditionally approving this transaction, ConocoPhillips is required to divest certain assets and enter into certain agreements. Through this application, it has petitioned the Commission to approve the proposed "Wichita Refined Products Throughput Agreement" (as that term is defined in the order) between Phillips Pipe Line Company and Williams Pipe Line Company, LLC. The FTC is accepting public comments on the petition until October 24, 2002. Comments should be sent to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20580. (FTC File No. 021-0040, Docket No. C-4058; staff contact is Mark Menna, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2722; see press releases dated August 30 and September 20, 2002.)

Amended complaint:

The Commission has authorized the staff to file an amended complaint in the pending court matter regarding 1st Beneficial Credit Services, et al. The Commission brought this complaint as part of "Operation No-Credit." The complaint concerns the alleged telemarketing of nonexistent credit cards and the debiting of consumers' checking accounts. Through this action, the FTC has added American Capitol Benefits, LLC, a Nevada corporation, and Armand Petrov, individually, as defendants in this matter. The Commission vote authorizing the staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. (File No. X020097, Civ. No. 1:02CV1591; staff contact is Michael Milgrom, FTC East Central Region, 216-263-3419; see press release dated September 5, 2002.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC's Web site at http://www.ftc.gov and also from the FTC's Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.