Announced Action for October 12, 2001

The Commission has approved the filing of an amended complaint regarding the following: Travel Express International, Inc. (TEI). The FTC filed its original complaint against TEI on April 9, 2001, alleging that the defendants failed to disclose to consumers that they were required to attend a timeshare presentation during the Orlando, Florida portion of the vacation they booked through TEI, and that the company also failed to disclose the full terms and conditions of its refund policy. This amended complaint, filed against TEI, and its officers Robert E. Lewis II and Allen D. Humphries, adds four new counts concerning the defendants' alleged deceptive marketing of vacation packages. Each new count is described in the amended complaint currently posted on the Commission's Web site as a link to this press release.

The Commission vote authorizing staff to file the amended complaint was 5-0. (FTC File No. X010040; staff contact is Harold Kirtz, FTC Southeast Region, 404-656-1357; see press release dated April 10, 2001.)

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. The FTC works for the consumer to prevent fraudulent, deceptive and unfair business practices in the marketplace and to provide information to help consumers spot, stop and avoid them. To file a complaint, or to get free information on any of 150 consumer topics, call toll-free, 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or use the complaint form at www.ftc.gov. The FTC enters Internet, telemarketing, identity theft and other fraud-related complaints into Consumer Sentinel, a secure, online database available to hundreds of civil and criminal law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and abroad.