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.
Banning is a city in Riverside County, California, United States. The population was 23,562 at the 2000 census. It is situated in the San Gorgonio Pass, also known as Banning Pass. It is named for Phineas Banning, stagecoach line owner and the "Father of the Port of Los Angeles. " Banning has a western neighbor, the city of Beaumont, which shares geographic and regional features. Beaumont has been rapidly growing in size and population since the 1980s. Both cities are about 100 miles east of downtown Los Angeles and 25 miles west of Palm Springs, each connected by freeway and railroad. City-owned Banning Municipal Airport,, has a 5,200-foot (1,600 m) runway. San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital is a General Acute Care Hospital in Banning with Basic Emergency Services as of 2005.