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.
Holden is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is bounded on the west by Rutland; on the northwest by Princeton; on the east by Sterling and West Boylston; on the southeast by Worcester; and on the southwest by Paxton. The town was founded in 1741 and the Town Square (center) was donated by John Hancock, former Governor of Massachusetts. The population was 15,621 at the 2000 census.