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.
Millstadt is a suburb of St. Louis and a village in St. Clair County, Illinois, at the crossing of Illinois Route 163 (locally, "Jefferson Avenue") and Illinois Route 158 (locally, "Washington Avenue"). The village is known for its German heritage, with more than half its people of German descent. The population was 2,794 at the 2000 census, but a more recent study in July 2006 estimated the number at 3,247.