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.
Portageville is a hamlet located in the town of Genesee Falls in Wyoming County, Wyoming County, United States. Its name derives from the Native American canoists who would withdraw their craft from the river to avoid going over three waterfalls in the Genesee River gorge. They had to portage several miles to the site of present day Mount Morris where they could embark for the rest of the journey downriver. Portageville is the only named community in the town of Genesee Falls. The Genesee River Gorge with its scenic waterfalls was formed after the original valley was buried in glacial debris from the last ice age and the river had to cut a new valley though the Devonian sedimentary rock of the area. It has also been called The Grand Canyon of the East. The site has now been designated Letchworth State Park and is a major tourist attraction, with the upper entrance at Portage.