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.
Pinole (formerly also spelled Penole) is a city in Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 19,039 at the 2000 census. It is one of many small “bedroom communities” along the I-80 corridor in Western Contra Costa County. It is located about 20 miles (30 km) northeast of San Francisco, and approximately a half-hour drive (without traffic) from San Francisco. Neighboring towns are Richmond and San Pablo to the southwest, and Hercules to the northeast. The unincorporated area of El Sobrante lies to the south.