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.
Fort Plain is a village in Montgomery County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village population was 2,288. The village is named after a fort built during the American Revolution. The village of Fort Plain is at the border of the Towns of Minden and Canajoharie and is west of Amsterdam. Because of its small size and the close connections with neighboring communities, some former residents who now live in more populous regions use Fort Plain to refer collectively to the actual village of Fort Plain and the surrounding villages of Nelliston, Canajoharie, and Palatine Bridge.