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.
East Orange is a city in Essex County, New Jersey, USA. As of the United States 2000 Census, the city had a total population of 69,824. The United States Census Bureau's 2005 population estimate for East Orange was 68,190. East Orange was originally incorporated as a township by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 4, 1863, from portions of Orange town, and was reincorporated as a city on December 9, 1899, based on the results of a referendum held two days earlier.