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.
Hartford City is a city in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Blackford County. The city's population was 6,928 at the 2000 census. Located in the northeast central portion of the state, the small farming community experienced a 15-year “boom” beginning in the late 1880s. The Indiana Gas Boom was caused by the discovery of natural gas in the area, and it caused the community to transition from an agricultural economy to one that also included manufacturing. After the boom, the town lost some of its manufacturers and workforce. However, some manufacturers remained in the city, and some of the local workers began commuting to nearby cities to work in the new automobile industry. From the 1920s to the 1980s, Hartford City was able to attract some new manufacturing companies because of its workforce and railroad facilities. During the 1980s, the economic decline of the “Rust Belt” region of the United States coincided with the decline in Hartford City’s population. The recent economic difficulties for the automobile industry have also been unfortunate for the economy of Hartford City, but the town continues to work to attract new businesses. The town’s population was 6,928 at the 2000 United States Census. The city is the county seat of Blackford County, and is located within Licking Township in the southwest portion of the county.