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.
Bentonville is a city in Benton County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 19,730 at the 2000 census. The 2007 US Census estimates that the population of the city was 33,744, ranking it as the state's 11th largest city, behind Hot Springs. . It is part of the Fayetteville–Springdale–Rogers, AR-MO Metropolitan Statistical Area. Bentonville is the county seat of Benton County. The headquarters of Wal-Mart Stores, the largest retailer in the world, as well as that of The Whistler Group, a major US manufacturer of radar detectors, are located in Bentonville.