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.
Mount Pleasant is a suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States, within the Charleston–North Charleston–Summerville Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is the fifth largest municipality in South Carolina, and for several years it was one of the state's fastest growing areas, literally doubling in population size between 1990 and 2000. The population was 47,609 at the 2000 census. As of 2007, the town had an estimated population of 64,707. Mount Pleasant is included within the Charleston-North Charleston Urbanized Area and is the 3rd largest municipality in this metro behind Charleston and North Charleston. At the foot of the Arthur Ravenel Bridge is Patriot's Point, a naval and maritime museum, home to the World War II aircraft carrier USS Yorktown, which is now a museum ship. The Ravenel Bridge, an eight lane highway that was completed in 2006, spans the Cooper River and links Mount Pleasant with downtown Charleston.