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.
Chatham is a village in Rock River Township of Alger County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 231. The village is at 46°20′52″N 86°55′44″W / 46.34778°N 86.92889°W / 46.34778; -86.92889 on M-94 and is considered a bedroom community to Marquette, Munising, and Escanaba. It was named after Chatham, Ontario, Canada, the town where the lumber company Sutherland Innis was headquartered