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.
Kerkhoven is a city in Swift County, Minnesota, United States, located roughly 100 miles (160 km) west of the Twin Cities region of Minneapolis/St. Paul along U.S. Route 12. It was incorporated as a city in 1881, largely due to the railroad recently built there. The population was 759 at the 2000 census. Kerkhoven is home to Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg High School on the west side of the community. The current building (which replaced the 1904 McKinley Building complex) was constructed in 1994. Kerkhoven's population has declined during the past 50 years due to the decline of agriculture based jobs. The community is home to Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Evangelical Free churches. The local high school (Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg Fighting Saints) claimed the 2008 Minnesota High School Football Class A Championship by defeating Royalton, MN.