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.
Pontiac is an unincorporated community in southern Ozark County, Missouri about ten miles southwest of Gainesville. It is located on Bull Shoals Lake. The assumption is the town was named after the Indian chief, Pontiac. The town consists of a post office, two or three "resorts," a restaurant, a General Baptist church, and a boat dock/marina. Just across the Arkansas border is Price Place, which is physically separated from Arkansas by the waters of Bull Shoals Lake. Residents of Price Place bond with those of Pontiac to operate the volunteer fire department. Price Place also has a small church.