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 Greenbush is a town in Rensselaer County, New York, USA. The population was 15,560 at the 2000 census. The word Greenbush is derived from the Dutch "Groenen Bosch," referring to the pine woods that originally covered the land. The first settlement of the land now known as East Greenbush was made by tenants under Patroon Kiliaen van Rensselaer around 1630. The town was formed in 1855 as the town of Clinton, the name changing to East Greenbush three years later. It is mostly suburban along its major highways and rural in the southwestern and northeastern corners. Interstate 90 passes through the town. It contains the west (or south) end of US Route 4 and the northern terminus of NY Route 9J; as well as US Route 9 and US Route 20. The last two are concurrent, under the name Columbia Turnpike, and is often referred to by locals as "9 and 20".