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.
Malott is a small unincorporated community in Okanogan County, Washington, USA. The community sits on the western bank of the Okanogan River and has bridge access to highway 97. It has a general store, bar and church. Originally a stopover point with a hotel founded in 1909, most of the town was destroyed by flooding in 1938 after a dam burst. Okanogan lies 9 miles to the northeast.