Wednesday, February 13th 2008
Woman Files $54m Lawsuit Against Best Buy for Lost Laptop
A woman in Washington D.C. has filed a $54 million lawsuit against Best Buy after the Geek Squad lost her $1,100 laptop when it was taken in for repairs. When Raelyn Campbell purchased the laptop she was persuaded to buy Best Buy's $300 extended warranty which offered three years of free repairs. In under a year the laptop in question developed a fault with the power switch so she took it to Best Buy where she was told it would take two to six weeks to repair. Campbell made numerous calls to Best Buy to check on how the repair was progressing and was continually told it should be fixed soon, however nothing happened so she left a message for the manager of the branch but received no reply.
Eventually one worker she spoke to revealed that the laptop had never been sent away for repair and had been lost in store - and all Best Buy were willing to offer was a $900 gift card, leaving Campbell $500 out of pocket. She then demanded $2,100 in cash, which Best Buy rejected, before contacting the Washington D.C. attorney general's office who contacted the store. The compensation was then raised to $1,100 cash and a $500 gift card, however Campbell discovered that her identity was at risk and filed a $54 million lawsuit against the firm, rejecting a further offer of $2,500 cash and a confidentiality agreement. Campbell admits that she doesn't expect to win a multi-million dollar settlement but is still chasing substantial damages.
Source:
DailyTech
Eventually one worker she spoke to revealed that the laptop had never been sent away for repair and had been lost in store - and all Best Buy were willing to offer was a $900 gift card, leaving Campbell $500 out of pocket. She then demanded $2,100 in cash, which Best Buy rejected, before contacting the Washington D.C. attorney general's office who contacted the store. The compensation was then raised to $1,100 cash and a $500 gift card, however Campbell discovered that her identity was at risk and filed a $54 million lawsuit against the firm, rejecting a further offer of $2,500 cash and a confidentiality agreement. Campbell admits that she doesn't expect to win a multi-million dollar settlement but is still chasing substantial damages.
49 Comments on Woman Files $54m Lawsuit Against Best Buy for Lost Laptop
Yes overpaid, overcharged idiots! I mean there are always a few that are good at their job and even too good for it but as a general whole...
Depending on her net worth, it could be very easy for her to get an out of court settlement for well over a million in this case... I hope she does, corporations need to learn not to step on peoples toes when they screw them over.
Those idiots should have done that.
millions in damages is way overdoing it but if her personal info was on it, it could cost this lady anywhere from 10k to 50k to straighten it out plus whatever they can steal from her as well depending on who has her information and what they do with it. getting your life back to normal after identity theft is near impossible. a fair offer from best buy IMO would be around 25k plus any expenses she has straightening out her credit.
you have to pay lawyers to spend weeks filling out documents and legal forms so the guy in basran who bought a new bmw on your credit doesnt have bills coming to your house and your paycheck docked by bill collectors. they dont care who charged it but they want you to pay for it or they make your life hell.
2500 is good, but it came to their head too late, now they are going to learn their lesson, good for them
although, I would usually go to CompUSA first, before online ordering - willing to pay the slighlty higher (although lower than Circuit City or Best Buy) price for the conveinence.
Anyhow, as with most lawsuits like this, one needs to over shoot what you expect to make out of it - very rarely is anyone ever awarded the full amount, usually it's less than 50%.I had thought of snagging a part time job at (CompUSA when they were still open) BB or CC on the weekends, but my personal boycott wouldn't let me.
And I wish All BB and CC staff would understand to let people know that... And I for one never got the reason for Firedog, or Geek Squad. the people on the floor knew more about computers then the ones that had the fancy title... IMO
and yeah most, i would say 97% of geeksquad employs are tards, theres a decent one at the bb closist to me, he tryed to get me a 2900 for the 8800gt that died on me just after i got it, but he wasnt able to order one from the warhouse as they where being disscontinued (3870 was around corner!!)
hes a good guy, and asked me if i had seen a problem on a lappy a lady droped off and i was able to tell him how to fix it, was just a little tweak to 3 settings and it was fixed, he took notes(good sign), told me i should work there ROFL
It's not about her getting that much money, it's about slapping BB with a wake up call.
Identity theft is a problem, but unless she is extremely wealthy, I doubt someone could make more than a few thousand using her identity.
Courts should do this;
Replace laptop with best thing they have for her trouble : $3000
Compensate her time and effort and attorney fees : $20,000
Pain and suffering for having to deal with BB : $2000.00
Kick a geek squad noob in the groin and post it on YouTube : Priceless.