[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 53 (Monday, March 21, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13502-13503]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-5514]


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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

[File No. 022 3278]


Priti Sharma and Rajeev Sharma, Individually and as Officers of 
Q.P.S., Inc.; Analysis To Aid Public Comment

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Proposed consent agreement.

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SUMMARY: The consent agreement in this matter settles alleged 
violations of federal law prohibiting unfair or deceptive acts or 
practices or unfair methods of competition. The attached Analysis to 
Aid Public Comment describes both the allegations in the draft 
complaint that accompanies the consent agreement and the terms of the 
consent order--embodied in the consent agreement--that would settle 
these allegations.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 11, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to ``Priti Sharma and Rajeev Sharma, 
Individually and as Officers of Q.P.S., Inc., File No. 022 3278,'' to 
facilitate the organization of comments. A comment filed in paper form 
should include this reference both in the text and on the envelope, and 
should be mailed or delivered to the following address: Federal Trade 
Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159, 600 Pennsylvania 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. Comments containing confidential 
material must be filed in paper form, as explained in the Supplementary 
Information section. The FTC is requesting that any comment filed in 
paper form be sent by courier or overnight service, if possible, 
because U.S. postal mail in the Washington area and at the Commission 
is subject to delay due to heightened security precautions. Comments 
filed in electronic form (except comments containing any confidential 
material) should be sent to the following e-mail box: 
[email protected].

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kerry O'Brien, Linda Badger, or 
Matthew Gold, FTC Western Regional Office, 901 Market St., Suite 570, 
San Francisco, CA. 94103. (415) 848-5189.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Pursuant to Section 6(f) of the Federal 
Trade Commission Act, 38 Stat. 721, 15 U.S.C. 46(f), and Sec.  2.34 of 
the Commission's Rules of Practice, 16 CFR 2.34, notice is

[[Page 13503]]

hereby given that the above-captioned consent agreement containing a 
consent order to cease and desist, having been filed with and accepted, 
subject to final approval, by the Commission, has been placed on the 
public record for a period of thirty (30) days. The following Analysis 
to Aid Public Comment describes the terms of the consent agreement, and 
the allegations in the complaint. An electronic copy of the full text 
of the consent agreement package can be obtained from the FTC Home Page 
(for March 11, 2005), on the World Wide Web, at http://www.ftc.gov/os/2005/03/index.htm. A paper copy can be obtained from the FTC Public 
Reference Room, Room 130-H, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, 
DC 20580, either in person or by calling (202) 326-2222.
    Public comments are invited, and may be filed with the Commission 
in either paper or electronic form. Written comments must be submitted 
on or before April 11, 2005. Comments should refer to ``Priti Sharma 
and Rajeev Sharma, Individually and as Officers of Q.P.S., Inc., File 
No. 022 3278,'' to facilitate the organization of comments. A comment 
filed in paper form should include this reference both in the text and 
on the envelope, and should be mailed or delivered to the following 
address: Federal Trade Commission/Office of the Secretary, Room H-159, 
600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20580. If the comment 
contains any material for which confidential treatment is requested, it 
must be filed in paper (rather than electronic) form, and the first 
page of the document must be clearly labeled ``Confidential.'' \1\ The 
FTC is requesting that any comment filed in paper form be sent by 
courier or overnight service, if possible, because U.S. postal mail in 
the Washington area and at the Commission is subject to delay due to 
heightened security precautions. Comments filed in electronic form 
should be sent to the following e-mail box: [email protected].
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    \1\ Commission Rule 4.2(d), 16 CFR 4.2(d). The comment must be 
accompanied by an explicit request for confidential treatment, 
including the factual and legal basis for the request, and must 
identify the specific portions of the comment to be withheld from 
the public record. The request will be granted or denied by the 
Commission's General Counsel, consistent with applicable law and the 
public interest. See Commission Rule 4.9(c), 16 CFR 4.9(c).
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    The FTC Act and other laws the Commission administers permit the 
collection of public comments to consider and use in this proceeding as 
appropriate. All timely and responsive public comments, whether filed 
in paper or electronic form, will be considered by the Commission, and 
will be available to the public on the FTC Web site, to the extent 
practicable, at http://www.ftc.gov. As a matter of discretion, the FTC 
makes every effort to remove home contact information for individuals 
from the public comments it receives before placing those comments on 
the FTC Web site. More information, including routine uses permitted by 
the Privacy Act, may be found in the FTC's privacy policy, at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/privacy.htm.

Analysis of Proposed Consent Order To Aid Public Comment

    The Federal Trade Commission has accepted an agreement to a 
proposed consent order with Priti Sharma and Rajeev Sharma (``proposed 
respondents''). Proposed respondents were officers of Q.P.S., Inc. 
(``QPS''), a company that marketed computer peripheral products to the 
public, including CD-R, CD-RW, and DVD storage products, under the 
brand name Que! In 2002, QPS filed for bankruptcy.
    The proposed consent order has been placed on the public record for 
thirty (30) days for reception of comments by interested persons. 
Comments received during this period will become part of the public 
record. After thirty (30) days, the Commission will again review the 
agreement and the comments received and will decide whether it should 
withdraw from the agreement or make final the agreement's proposed 
order.
    The complaint alleges that proposed respondents engaged in 
deceptive and unfair practices relating to mail-in rebate offers that 
QPS advertised to consumers. Proposed respondents are named 
individually in this complaint because they formulated, directed, or 
controlled the policies, acts, or practices of QPS, including the acts 
or practices alleged in the complaint. Specifically, the complaint 
alleges that proposed respondents falsely represented that QPS-funded 
rebate checks would be mailed to purchasers of advertised QPS products 
within six to eight weeks, or within a reasonable period of time. From 
September 2001 until December 2001, many consumers experienced delays 
ranging from one to six months in receiving their promised rebates, 
which ranged from $15 to $100 in value. From January 2002 through July 
2002, many consumers experienced similar delays, and thousands of 
consumers never received their promised rebates from QPS. Despite these 
significant problems, proposed respondents continually advertised these 
QPS rebates until shortly before QPS filed for bankruptcy in August 
2002.
    Finally, the complaint alleges that, in the advertising and sale of 
computer peripheral products, proposed respondents offered to deliver 
rebates within six to eight weeks if they purchased the advertised 
computer peripheral products and submitted valid rebate requests for 
proposed respondents-funded rebate offers. After receiving rebate 
requests in conformance with these offers, proposed respondents 
unilaterally extended the time period in which it would deliver the 
rebates to consumers without consumers agreeing to this extension of 
time. According to the complaint, this constituted an unfair business 
practice.
    The proposed order contains provisions designed to prevent proposed 
respondents from engaging in similar acts and practices in the future. 
Specifically, Part I.A. prohibits the proposed respondents from 
representing the time in which they will mail any rebate, unless they 
possess competent and reliable evidence substantiating the claim. Part 
I.B. prohibits proposed respondents from failing to provide any rebate 
within the time specified, or if no time is specified, within thirty 
days. Part I.C. requires that proposed respondents not ``misrepresent, 
in any manner, expressly or by implication, any material terms of any 
rebate program, including the status of or reasons for any delay in 
providing any rebate.''
    Parts II through V of the proposed order are reporting and 
compliance provisions. Part VI is a provision ``sunsetting'' the order 
after twenty years, with certain exceptions.
    The purpose of this analysis is to facilitate public comment on the 
proposed order, and it is not intended to constitute an official 
interpretation of the agreement and proposed order or to modify in any 
way their terms.

    By direction of the Commission.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 05-5514 Filed 3-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P