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.
Levels is an unincorporated community in Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. According to the 2000 census, the Levels community has a population of 147. It is home to John J. Cornwell Elementary School. Levels was originally known as Levels Cross Roads because of its location at the intersection of four roads in north-central Hampshire County: Bright's Hollow Road north to Okonoko, Little Cacapon-Levels Road (County Route 3/3) southeast to Slanesville, Jersey Mountain Road (County Route 5) south to Romney, and Frenches Station Road (County Route 5/7) northwest to South Branch Depot.