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.
Whitlash is an unincorporated community in northwestern Liberty County, Montana, United States, about five miles south of the province of Alberta across the Canadian border. Whitlash has a post office and an elementary school that provides educational services in grades prekindergarten through 8. The community is accessible only by unpaved road. The Whitlash Border Crossing is about five miles to the north. Whitlash is located near the East Butte of the Sweet Grass Hills which are major historic and physical landmarks of the Great Plains. Sacred to the American Indians, "The Hills" served as hunting grounds, battlegrounds, spiritual grounds, and of course were used for navigational purposes as well.