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.
Medford is a hamlet in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 21,985 at the 2000 census. Medford is a community in the southwest part of the Town of Brookhaven. It is served by the Patchogue-Medford School District, except for extreme southeastern Medford, which is served by the South Country Central School District, and extreme northeastern Medford, which is served by the Longwood Central School District. Some neighborhoods in Yaphank have Medford's zip code (11763.)