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.
Westminster is a Home Rule Municipality in Adams and Jefferson counties in the U.S. state of Colorado. Westminster is a northwest suburb of Denver. The Westminster Municipal Center is located 9 miles (14 km) north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 107,056 on July 1, 2008. Westminster is the eighth most populous city in the State of Colorado and the 237th most populous city in the United States. Westminster is a part of the Denver-Aurora-Broomfield, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Denver-Aurora-Boulder Combined Statistical Area. In July, 2006, it was ranked as the 24th best place to live in the USA by Money magazine.