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.
Belt is a town in Cascade County, Montana, United States. The population was 633 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Great Falls Metropolitan Area. The current mayor is John Masonovich. The town is home to Belt Elementary School, Belt Middle School and Belt High School (sometimes called Belt Valley High School), collectively known as Belt School. Currently Kathleen Prody is the superintendent and Dan McGee is the principal. The current school building was built in 1949, though several major additions have followed, the most recent of which was completed in the late '90s. The town's main street is called 'Castner Street' after its founder, John Castner. The street is home to the majority of the town's businesses, notably the Belt Creek Brew Pub, Belt Valley Grocery, and the Belt Creek Cafe.