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.
Barrington is a United States village in Cook County, Illinois and Lake County, Illinois. The population was 10,168 at the 2000 census. Barrington is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. The village's motto is "a great place to live, work and play. " Located approximately 32 miles (51 km) northwest of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks and horse trails in a country-suburban setting. The Barrington area ZIP code, 60010, is the seventh wealthiest ZIP code in the country among areas with a population of 20,000 or more. The area includes the villages or towns of Barrington, Barrington Hills, Lake Barrington, North Barrington, South Barrington, and Tower Lakes, as well as small portions of Carpentersville, Deer Park, Hoffman Estates, and Inverness.