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.
Hasbrouck Heights (pronounced HAZ-brook) is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 11,662. An inner-ring suburb of New York City, Hasbrouck Heights is located approximately 10 miles (16 km) northwest of Midtown Manhattan and 8 miles west of Upper Manhattan. The current mayor is Rose Marie Heck. Hasbrouck Heights was formed with the passage of a referendum on July 31, 1894, and was created from portions of Lodi Township at the height of the "Boroughitis" phenomenon then sweeping through Bergen County. A part of the borough was annexed to Lodi in 1901.