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.
Thermal is a small unincorporated community located approximately 25 miles southeast of Palm Springs and about 9.5 miles north of the Salton Sea. Although one can find sunny skies most days, residents occasionally endure strong winds and sizzling summer temperatures well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The community's elevation is about one hundred twenty feet below mean sea level. It is inside area code 760 and is in ZIP Code 92274. It lies along the Yuma Subdivision of the Union Pacific Railroad. Area crops include citrus orchards, winter vegetables and date palms.