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.
Woolwine is an unincorporated community in northern Patrick County, Virginia, United States. The western terminus of State Route 40 is here, at State Route 8. The community lies in the Rocky Knob American Viticultural Area. Three covered bridges are located in Woolwine: the Jack's Creek Covered Bridge (built 1914), the Bob White Covered Bridge (built 1921) and the more recent Clifford Wood Covered Bridge (built 1977) which is privately owned. All three covered bridges span the Smith River.