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.
Park Rapids is a city in and the county seat of Hubbard County, Minnesota, United States. Thousands of tourists come to Park Rapids every year to enjoy the area lakes and visit Itasca State Park. Itasca State Park, the source of the Mississippi River welcomes almost half a million visitors every year. The population of was 3,276 at the 2000 census.