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.
Berkeley Heights is a township in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the township population was 13,407. What is now Berkeley Heights was originally incorporated as New Providence Township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on November 8, 1809, from portions of Springfield Township, while the area was still part of Essex County. New Providence Township became part of the newly-formed Union County at its creation on March 19, 1857. Portions of the township were taken on March 23, 1869, to create Summit, and on March 14, 1899, to form the borough of New Providence. On November 6, 1951, the name of the township was changed to Berkeley Heights, based on the results of a referendum held that day. In Money magazine's 2007 Best Places to Live rankings, Berkeley Heights ranked 45th of out of a potential 2,800 places in the United States with populations above 7,500 and under 50,000. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Berkeley Heights as the 59th best place to live in New Jersey in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey.