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 Randolph is a village in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. The population was 630 at the 2000 census. The Village of East Randolph is adjacent to the northeast part of the Village of Randolph and is mostly within the Town of Randolph, with a small part inside the Town of Conewango. The mayor of East Randolph is Howard van Rensselaer. On March 16, 2010, referendums will be held in both the village of Randolph and East Randolph to dissolve each entity into the town of Randolph. If the referendum passes, the village will cease to exist after December 31, 2011.