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.
Winton (formerly, Merced Colony No. 1, Merced Colony No. 2, and Windfield) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Merced County, California, United States. Winton is located 2.5 miles (4 km) north of Atwater, at an elevation of 177 feet (54 m). The population was 8,832 at the 2000 census. Winton was established along the original Santa Fe Rail Road and has grown only a very small amount since it was established. At one time, passenger trains would stop at this location. Winton was mentioned by Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in the early 1970s while reading information from a magazine. It was noted that, at the time, Winton had the highest crime rate for a city its size in the nation. Another note to some fame was the old Wagon Wheel Bar, which for years was a Hell's Angels bar.