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.
Plainville is a village in Adams County, Illinois, United States. The population was 248 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Quincy, IL–MO Micropolitan Statistical Area. In the 1860 Presidential election campaign, Plainville was the site of a political rally involving around 7,000 people. This resulted in the "Stone's Prairie Riot" on August 25, 1860, at which the Republican Party para-military organization, the "Wide Awakes", confronted armed supporters of the Democratic Party.