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.
Americus is a city in Sumter County, Georgia, United States. The population was 17,013 at the 2000 census. Americus is the home of Habitat for Humanity International's international headquarters, the famous Windsor Hotel (from 1892), Fuller Center for Housing international headquarters, The Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregiving, Glover Foods and many more well-known organizations. The city is the county seat of Sumter County. Americus is the principal city of the Americus Micropolitan Statistical Area, a micropolitan area that covers Schley and Sumter counties and had a combined population of 36,966 at the 2000 census.