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.
Hat Creek is an unincorporated town of 400 people in eastern Shasta County, California, 26 miles north of Lassen Park, 13 miles southeast of Burney (9 miles south of the junction of hwy 89 and 299), and 15 miles south of Burney Falls. Its zip code is 96040. Wired telephone numbers are from the Burney central office and follow the pattern 530-335-xxxx. Hat Creek is home to the Hat Creek Radio Observatory, run by UC Berkeley. The town's main economies are tourism, fishing, camping, and lodging. It's still a travel hot spot in Shasta County, although it's about 70 miles east of Redding, CA and about the same to Susanville, CA.