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.
North Amherst is a census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Amherst in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 6,019 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. There are several large apartment complexes in North Amherst, housing mostly students of the University of Massachusetts, Amherst along with low-income families (Graduate Students). Apart from these housing developments, North Amherst also sports many beautiful old houses, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. The Village is said to be an excellently-preserved example of a 19th-century farm community. North Amherst is also home to a large majority of Amherst middle income families as the main street (East Pleasant Street) has many housing developments built off of it. This includes "Grantwood" which is the largest neighborhood/development in Amherst. Cushman Village also resides in North Amherst. This small section of the area is unique as the roads turn back into each other unlike the square roads off East Pleasant Street. Cushman Village has many historical homes and is also located near the Cushman Common and the Cushman Store.