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.
Benge is an unincorporated community in Adams County, Washington, United States. Because it is not tracked by the U.S. Census, a Census population estimate is not available. Benge is assigned the ZIP code 99105. The town is serviced by the Benge School District, and downtown Benge contains Benge Elementary School. As of the 2000 census, the Benge ZIP code (99105) had a population of 57 persons, with 33 housing units. The median household income was $37,500.