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.
Gary is a city in McDowell County, West Virginia, USA. In 2000 the population was recorded as 917. Gary is one of the four cities in McDowell County which includes Welch, Keystone, and War. Gary was home to the coal diggers before Gary High School and Gary Elementary School closed. Gary was once a booming coal mining company town run by the United States Steel Corporation. Gary was incorporated on July 1, 1971, by popular vote of residents in an election held on March 16, 1970. Incorporation includes five communities: Elbert, Filbert, Gary, Thorpe, and Wilcoe. The town was named in honor of Judge Elbert Gary, one-time president of U.S. Steel Corporation. U.S. Steel shut down its Gary Operations in 1986. The principal industry is coal mining, but poverty and unemployment have plagued the area since the closing of U.S. Steel.