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.
Highland City is a census-designated place (CDP) in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,051 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lakeland–Winter Haven Metropolitan Statistical Area. While Highland City's street addresses put them on the Lakeland street grid- most street names have "SE" in their name indicating that they are southeast of Lakeland's "point zero" intersection of Florida Avenue and Main Street, Highland City is often considered to be culturally closer to Bartow than Lakeland. The only school in Highland City, Highland City Elementary, primarily feeds into Bartow Middle schools and Bartow High School. Unlike its nearest neighbor, Lakeland Highlands which is somewhat affluent, Highland City is a working class area with many mobile homes.