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.
Anacortes is a city in Skagit County, Washington, United States. The name Anacortes comes from Anna Curtis Bowman, the wife of early settler Amos Bowman. The population was 14,557 at the 2000 census. It is one of two principal cities of and included in the Mount Vernon-Anacortes Metropolitan Statistical Area. There is a Washington State Ferries dock that serves Lopez Island, Shaw Island, Orcas Island, and San Juan Island, as well as Victoria, British Columbia on Vancouver Island. There is also a Skagit County-operated ferry dock that serves Guemes Island.