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.
Raleigh (is the capital city of the state of North Carolina, the seat of Wake County and the second largest city in North Carolina . Raleigh is known as the "City of Oaks" for its many oak trees. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city's estimated population on July 1, 2008 was 392,552, making Raleigh the 8th fastest growing city and the 45th largest city in the United States. Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill make up the three historically primary cities of the Research Triangle metropolitan region. The regional nickname of "The Triangle" originated after the 1959 creation of the Research Triangle Park, located between the cities of Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill and the three major research universities of NC State University, Duke University, and UNC-Chapel Hill. The Research Triangle region encompasses the U.S. Census Bureau's Combined Statistical Area of Raleigh-Durham-Cary in the central Piedmont region of North Carolina. As of July 1, 2008 the estimated population of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary CSA was 1,690,557, while the Raleigh-Cary Metropolitan Statistical Area was estimated at 1,088,765, making it the nation's fastest growing metropolitan area. Most of Raleigh is located within Wake County, with a very small portion extending into Durham County. The towns of Cary, Garner, Wake Forest, Apex, Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Knightdale, Wendell, and Rolesville are some of Raleigh's primary nearby suburbs and satellite towns.