Consumer protection refers to the laws designed to aid retail consumers of goods and services that have been improperly manufactured, delivered, performed, handled, or described. Such laws provide the retail consumer with additional protections and remedies not generally provided to merchants and others who engage in business transactions, on the premise that the consumers do not enjoy a sufficient bargaining position with respect to the businessmen with whom they deal and therefore should not be strictly limited by the legal rules that govern recovery for damages among businessmen. The overarching goal is to protect individuals and the interest of the public in general from unfair and misleading activity in business and commerce (such as false advertising and deceptive trade practices) and scams perpetrated by criminals (such as identity theft and pyramid schemes) that harm a substantial number of consumers.
Alpine is an unincorporated community in Apache County, Arizona, United States, in the east central part of the state. Alpine was settled in 1876. It was originally known as Bush Valley. Located at an elevation of 8,050 ft (2450m) in the eastern end of the White Mountains and surrounded by the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, Alpine is a popular destination for hunting, fishing, and camping. Alpine is near the headwaters of the San Francisco River, and 6 miles from the New Mexico border. The Alpine post office has the ZIP code of 85920; the ZCTA for ZIP Code 85920 had a population of 256 at the 2000 census.