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.
Alba is an unincorporated community located in Antrim County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on U.S. Highway 131 just north of Mancelona. Half of the community is in Star Township and half is in Chestonia Township. In the 1900's, it was the site of the Detroit and Charlevoix and Grand Rapids and Indiana railroad junction.