Amerigas Blue Rhino

Our team combines top-notch technical and legal knowledge with strategy, creativity, experience, and passion to help you with your business disputes of $1 million and up. Meth labs are using propane tanks and if you get one that was used in that scenario, watch out. “The agreement between Blue Rhino and AmeriGas to maintain a united front against Walmart had the effect of raising the price per pound of propane sold to Walmart, and likely to the ultimate consumers,” the FTC said in a statement.

The second, contained in Paragraph II.B., prevents Respondents from sharing competitively sensitive non-public information with competitors except in identified circumstances. Respondents may exchange limited information needed to negotiate and fulfill the terms of refilling agreements. The proposed orders allow this information sharing because transporting exchange tanks is a significant expense and co-packing agreements may lower the cost of serving customers located farther away from filling facilities. As described in the complaint, Respondents have entered into a number of “co-packing” agreements, pursuant to which one of the Respondents processes and refills propane exchange tanks for the other Respondent at certain of their processing plants.

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Enforcement actions to prevent anticompetitive conduct with no plausible efficiency are a wise use of agency resources and should be a focus of the Commission’s competition mission because they bring immediate benefits for consumers with little risk of chilling procompetitive conduct. The Commission’s Complaint does not allege that the Respondents’ initial decisions to reduce fill levels to 15 pounds were the result of an agreement. However, the Complaint alleges that thereafter, in light of Walmart’s continued resistance to the reduction, and the risk that other customers would also demand to return to 17-pound tanks, AmeriGas and Blue Rhino agreed that neither would accede to pressure from Walmart. Faced with this united front, Walmart capitulated to the sellers’ demand.

You can save up to $1.75 per gallon by refilling over the cost of an exchange at third-party retailers. So i wouldnt use them…also i don’t use propane for grilling thats just wrong. You can get up to $2.50 per tank without uploading proof (claim up to to 50 for $125 total). No proof of purchase is necessary to obtain settlement benefits, do not fill it out if you never purchased these products to qualify. It is against the law to submit the form if you do not qualify.

Walmart rejected proposals from both AmeriGas and Blue Rhino to reduce the propane fill levels; Walmart’s buyer viewed each proposal as a price increase to which Walmart was not willing to agree. Although Blue Rhino’s largest customer, Lowe’s, accepted the fill reduction, it did so on the express condition that all of Blue Rhino’s customers also accept the fill reduction promptly. Blue Rhino and AmeriGas understood that they could not sustain the fill reduction across the industry unless it was accepted by Walmart. When faced with resistance from Walmart, and their combined efforts to push Walmart to promptly accept the fill reduction had the effect of raising the price per pound of propane to Walmart and likely to the ultimate consumers.

Is privileged or confidential,” as discussed in Section 6 of the FTC Act, 15 U.S.C. 46, and FTC Rule 4.10, 16 CFR 4.10. In particular, do not include competitively sensitive information such as costs, sales statistics, inventories, formulas, patterns, devices, manufacturing processes, or customer names. The documents posted on this site are XML renditions of published Federal Register documents. Each document posted on the site includes a link to the corresponding official PDF file on govinfo.gov. This prototype edition of the daily Federal Register on FederalRegister.gov will remain an unofficial informational resource until the Administrative Committee of the Federal Register issues a regulation granting it official legal status.

Memo from Chair Lina M. Khan to commission staff and commissioners regarding the vision and priorities for the FTC. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Analysis of Agreement Containing Consent Orders To Aid Public Comment

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• Spokespersons for both companies admitted the 15-pound amount is a cost-saving measure.
• What you save in price by refilling, however, comes with a cost –the biggest being convenience.
• When one tank runs out, don’t swap it out at a gas station or whatever.
• The Consent Agreements have been placed on the public record for 30 days for receipt of comments from interested members of the public.

Let https://coinbreakingnews.info/ monitor tank usage and schedule refills with our most convenient delivery option. Our IP team combines top-notch technical and legal knowledge. Paynter Law has experience fighting insurance companies, having successfully litigated against them not only in individual suits, but in nationwide class-action litigation. Check the Blue Rhino sign again……they only put 17 pounds of propane in your 20 pound tank….they underfill it, too.

The Commission’s Privacy Act Regulations

In short, there was very weak evidence supporting what I saw as, at best, a novel Section 1 case. I therefore did not have reason to believe that the parties had committed a Section 1 violation. Nor did I think that it was in the public interest to pursue this enforcement action. For these reasons, I cannot vote for a consent agreement grounded on the same theory and evidence that was presented to me when the complaint originally issued.

To offset these rising costs, AmeriGas and Blue Rhino each decided to reduce the fill level in their propane exchange tanks from 17 to 15 pounds—without a corresponding price decrease. This effectively increased the per unit price of the propane by 13 percent. Propane exchange tanks are a staple in the backyards of American consumers. The collusive agreement, as alleged, was facially anticompetitive and had the effect of raising the price per pound of propane exchange tanks to Walmart and likely ultimate consumers in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45. Our action today thus provides important relief to American consumers and sends a clear signal to the marketplace that anticompetitive collusion will not be tolerated. Blue Rhino and AmeriGas control approximately 80 percent of the market for propane exchange tanks.

For complete information about, and access to, our official publications and services, go to About the Federal Register on NARA’s archives.gov. You’ll only pay for the propane you use if you own your own propane tank. Any propane left in your tank isn’t lost as it is during an exchange –and even if it’s a small amount, it’ll return home with you. If you plan to reuse your tank for an extended period of time, you’ll want to find the tank’s expiration date, generally stamped on the top handle area.

When faced with resistance from Wal-Mart, the two companies secretly agreed to coordinate their negotiations, pressuring the retailer to accept the reduced fill level. Every tank is cleaned, leak-tested, inspected, and delivered to tens of thousands of convenient stores nationwide. No wonder Blue Rhino is America’s #1 propane exchange brand. You can get a fresh, ready-to-grill Blue Rhino tank with or without exchanging an empty propane tank. From grilling and tailgating to generators and patio heating, we’re wherever you need us! With over 54,000 locations nationwide, find AmeriGas propane at your favorite hardware or home improvement store, convenience store, gas station, and more.

I had a best vpns to stop your isp from tracking internet activity & history tank that was faulty, destroyed the grill, and nearly burned my house down. They denied all responsibility of course even though they agreed the tank was faulty. Lowes at least gave me a new grill for free to replace the destroyed one (that’s where I got the tank exchanged). AmeriGas is the largest propane supplier in the nation, and we partner with top retailers in your neighborhood to make getting propane easy.

The Commission commenced administrative litigation in this matter on March 27, 2014; AmeriGas and Blue Rhino have now agreed to settle the case. The proposed Orders will prevent the parties from engaging in collusive conduct with rivals in the future. Each respondent is prohibited from agreeing with any competitor in the propane tank exchange business to modify fill levels or otherwise to fix the price of exchange tanks, or to exchange competitively sensitive information. In addition, each respondent is required to maintain an antitrust compliance program.

B. Challenged Conduct

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