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.
Southampton is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It was established first as a district of Northampton in 1753. It was incorporated in 1753. The name Southampton was given to it during its first town meeting in 1773. Its ZIP code is 01073. Southampton is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Southampton was rated having the best tasting tap water in the country in 2008 by the National Rural Water Association.