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.
Reedsville is a town in Preston County, West Virginia, in the United States. The population was 517 at the 2000 census. Reedsville was named for James Reed, who moved to the area in 1827 and owned land covering most of the future townsite. The first house in the community was built in 1855, and the town was named in 1856. Reedsville was incorporated in 1906.