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.
Reading is a city in Lyon County, Kansas, United States. The population was 247 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Emporia Micropolitan Statistical Area. Jim Barnett, the unsuccessful 2006 Republican candidate for governor of Kansas grew up on a farm near Reading and graduated from Reading High School. Reading was also the birthplace of former U.S. Representative Robert D. "Bob" Price (1927-2004) a Texas Republican who served from 1967 to 1975.