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.
Bodega Bay is a town and census-designated place (CDP) in Sonoma County, California, United States. The population was 1,423 at the 2000 census. The town is on the eastern side of Bodega Harbor, an inlet of Bodega Bay on the Pacific coast. Bodega Bay is the site of the first Russian structures built in California. These were built in 1809 by Commerce Counseller Ivan Alexandrovich Kuskov, of the Russian-American Company in the lead up to the establishment of Fort Ross. For the Russians, the settlement in Bodega Bay was called Port Rumyantsev, named after the Russian Foreign Minister Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev, and it served as a port to support Fort Ross and the larger Russian community known as Colony Ross. The Alfred Hitchcock-directed film, The Birds, was filmed in Bodega Bay. The town markets itself with the film in many ways, including its Birds-themed Visitors' Center. The location was also featured in the cult horror movie Puppet Master. Bodega Bay is located at 38°19′28″N 123°02′19″W / 38.324356°N 123.038591°W / 38.324356; -123.038591.