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.
Mountainside is a borough in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the United States 2000 Census, the borough population was 6,602. Mountainside was incorporated as a borough on September 25, 1895, from portions of Westfield Township, based on the results of a referendum held the previous day. New Jersey Monthly magazine ranked Mountainside as its 16th best place to live in its 2008 rankings of the "Best Places To Live" in New Jersey, as well as 8th in the 2010 list.