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.
Mackinaw City is a village in Emmet and Cheboygan counties in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2000 census the population was 859. The name "Mackinaw City" is a bit of a misnomer as it is actually a village. The population greatly increases though during the tourist season with seasonal workers for the large number of hotels and other recreational facilities along the Straits of Mackinac. Mackinaw City is at the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge, which allows travel to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Mackinaw City, along with St. Ignace across the straits, is a base for ferries to Mackinac Island. According to AAA's 2009 TripTik requests, Mackinaw City is the most popular tourist city in the state of Michigan. Local attractions include Fort Michilimackinac, the Mackinac Bridge, the Mackinaw Crossings shopping mall, Mill Creek, the Old Mackinac Point Light, the Historic Village, and the McGulpin Point Light. The larger portion of the village, in area, is in Wawatam Township, Emmet County, though the downtown district and much of the development lies within Mackinaw Township, Cheboygan County.