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.
Speculator is a village in Hamilton County, New York, United States. The population was 348 at the 2000 census. The village is named after a nearby Speculator Mountain. The postal ZIP code is 12164. The Village of Speculator is the only incorporated village within Hamilton County and is within the Town of Lake Pleasant. The village lies on the north end of a lake, also called Lake Pleasant. The local inhabitants sometimes refer to the village as the "Four Corners," referring to the intersection of NYS Route 8 and NYS Route 30 in the middle of the business district. Speculator is within the Adirondack Park.