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.
Freehold is an unincorporated hamlet in the town of Greenville in Greene County, New York, United States. It has the ZIP Code 12431, and its own fire district. The hamlet is centered around the junction of NY 32 and Greene County Route 67. There are some buildings there, such as a gas station, the firehouse and a general store. Although it is not in the Catskill Mountains, the range's northern Escarpment dominates the view south from Freehold.