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.
Thoreau is a census-designated place (CDP) in McKinley County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,863 at the 2000 census. Practically all residents pronounce the town's name like "thuh-ROO" (similar to "through" or "threw") and definitely not like "thorough" or "throw. " The town is also not named for Henry David Thoreau, the transcendentalist author, though this is a common misconception. A history of the town was compiled by local author Roxanne Trout Heath in her book "Thoreau, where the trails cross!" published in 1982. The ZIP code for Thoreau is 87323.