Best Buy Loses Laptop: Owner Sues... for $54 Million
Tue Feb 12, 2008 11:33PM EST
See Comments (5425)
Don't dismiss Raelyn Campbell as a crackpot. Not yet. Listen to her story, and then decide if she's doing the right thing by asking Best Buy to compensate her to the tune of $54 million for a laptop that went missing when she took it in to Best Buy for repair under the store's own extended warranty.
Like many people, Campbell bought an extended warranty for her laptop when she bought it from Best Buy, and she took advantage of that when the power button broke off after a year. Best Buy accepted the machine for repair and said it would be ready in two to six weeks. But six weeks passed and the computer wasn't ready. After three months of ruthlessly hounding the company, Best Buy finally admitted it couldn't find the machine.
Ultimately, Best Buy offered to pay her $900 for losing the machine... as a gift card. She countered that it had originally cost over $1,100, not to mention all her data that was now gone for good. She demanded $2,100, and Best Buy simply ignored her.
At this point, Campbell was made aware that all her personal data on the machine could lead to a major identity theft issue, though Best Buy never filed their legally required notice that she was at risk. That was the last straw, and she filed suit for $54 million, representing herself. Best Buy has since upped its offer to a total of $4,100 if she withdraws the case. She says she doesn't expect to win, but wants to go to court anyway to force Best Buy to explain how her laptop was lost.
I have to agree that $54 million seems wildly optimistic, but it's amazing to hear how smug Best Buy has been throughout this process. Lowball, "go-away" offers that don't even value property properly, much less the value of the data inside it, are frankly embarrassing, and good for Campbell for making an issue out of it... even if she doesn't ultimately prevail.
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67 Posted by gentry410 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:07PM EDT Report Abuse
Once a customer so much as threatens to file a legal claim, any intelligent company will cut off all communication with them in order to protect their case. As for customer service, I've worked for 7 major retailers in the past five years, and chances are, Best Buy didn't ignore her - her claim is one of many, most fraudulent, that are investigated regularly. As far as tracking from point a to point b, Best Buy does an incredible job, using an internal service order tracking system, as well as a major international shipping service to ship packages so that each item is monitored every step of the way. Once an item is received at a service center, it is logged in the system, each time work is performed, that information is logged as well, so that there is accountability on the associate performing the work. I've worked in 5 Best Buy Stores over the past two years and seen 15 to 20 lawsuits ranging from customers throwing a hissy fit because they downloaded some email virus attachment from a sketchy spam email, to suing over mother board failure that was not covered under the manufacturer warranty. If the customer is not covered under a virus/spyware removal warranty or a service plan, Best Buy will charge them to repair the item - these charges are necessary to keep the doors of a store open - otherwise they'll end up like Circuit City/CompUsa/Lechmere/Fretter/Tweeter...you get the picture. These customers all had the option of purchasing anti-virus and anti-spyware software/removal guarantees and extended service plans, but chose not to, then tried to sue Best Buy because they didnt want to pay for the repair. As for Ms. Campbell's case, the only thing she may have going for her is that, according to ms. campbell, BBY allegedly never filed the proper paperwork upon losing the notebook. Ms. Campbell should make note of the agreement she would have signed at the time of drop-off which notes that Best Buy's Geek Squad is not responsible for data lost during the repair service. Finally, with regard to identity theft tied to the computer, there are a number of services provided by banks, and credit bureaus that make it easy to protect your identity. Usually costing $10 per month or less, these services put what's called a "fraud alert" on your credit report on your behalf. A fraud alert requires lenders to call you at a number you've provided during the alert process in order to confirm your identity and that you have authorized a lender to access your credit report. This causes up to a 24 hour delay in response for loan approvals, but is a fantastic way to prevent identity theft and the destruction of your credit score. I would say that a reasonable resolution would go something like this: BestBuy should offer Ms. Campbell a new, comprable notebook, as they would have done for any other customer covered under a service plan, as well as pay for her to enroll in an identity theft protection service. Perhaps issue a small gift card as well.
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68 Posted by gentry410 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:07PM EDT Report Abuse
Also, Best Buy has one of the most strict privacy policies in the industry when it comes to computer repair shops. When you have more than 50,000 computers in for service per day, there is bound to be one mistake here or there, When you bring your computer in to a Best Buy location to be repaired, rest assured the only people who will be performing service behind the scenes on it are certified Geek Squad agents, one of the highest paying hourly positions in the store, and by far the toughest position to land. These agents are under a microscope and monitored by the company to strict privacy standards. If your computer can connect to the internet when the services are performed, not only is your store's geek squad agent following policy, generally the system is connected to a "big brother" type secure monitoring system where random checks are performed every minute of every day to ensure that Geek Squad agents are following strict privacy guidelines. Believe me, the last thing a company of that size wants or needs is to lose a customer, or handle a Public relations nightmare such as this one. In my two or so years with Best Buy I've witnessed many employee terminations over things like internal theft or policy violations. Because Best Buy does not have a labor union, they can be very strict with their policies. Of these terminations only three that I can recall have been Geek Squad agents, two of them terminated for attendance issues, the third for internal theft in the form of issuing a replacement computer to a friend who had spilled coffee into his computer and was not covered for accidental damage. Otherwise, Geek Squad agents are by far the best of the best when it comes to service tech's. They've got the best tools and a plethora of resources with nearly 10,000 agents nationwide to share best practices and information with. Picture something similar to the guys from Verizon Wireless' "The Network" commercials, just dressed in white shirts and black ties....
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69 Posted by gentry410 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:07PM EDT Report Abuse
Also, Best Buy has one of the most strict privacy policies in the industry when it comes to computer repair shops. When you have more than 50,000 computers in for service per day, there is bound to be one mistake here or there, When you bring your computer in to a Best Buy location to be repaired, rest assured the only people who will be performing service behind the scenes on it are certified Geek Squad agents, one of the highest paying hourly positions in the store, and by far the toughest position to land. These agents are under a microscope and monitored by the company to strict privacy standards. If your computer can connect to the internet when the services are performed, not only is your store's geek squad agent following policy, generally the system is connected to a "big brother" type secure monitoring system where random checks are performed every minute of every day to ensure that Geek Squad agents are following strict privacy guidelines. Believe me, the last thing a company of that size wants or needs is to lose a customer, or handle a Public relations nightmare such as this one. In my two or so years with Best Buy I've witnessed many employee terminations over things like internal theft or policy violations. Because Best Buy does not have a labor union, they can be very strict with their policies. Of these terminations only three that I can recall have been Geek Squad agents, two of them terminated for attendance issues, the third for internal theft in the form of issuing a replacement computer to a friend who had spilled coffee into his computer and was not covered for accidental damage. Otherwise, Geek Squad agents are by far the best of the best when it comes to service tech's. They've got the best tools and a plethora of resources with nearly 10,000 agents nationwide to share best practices and information with. Picture something similar to the guys from Verizon Wireless' "The Network" commercials, just dressed in white shirts and black ties....
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70 Posted by magpagbst on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:03PM EDT Report Abuse
post #80, gentry . . . thanks for interjecting some sanity into this stream of "let's stick it to corporate america because we are too ignorant to make good and prudent business decisions for ourselves because if things don't work out all we'll have to do is file a lawsuit . . . " posts . . . (yeah, i know it's a run-on!) . . . as i've stated earlier in this stream . . . a local tv station did an undercover investigation involving local computer repair places . . . they brought a laptop in with a "complaint" that it won't turn on (they actually dislodged an internal power connection) . . . the laptop also had software installed that monitored ALL movements (files opened, keystrokes, etc) within the laptop during repair . . . the investigation revealed that ALL repair shops either opened personal files and/or misdiagnosed (to a more expensive and needless repair) problem . . . ALL repair shops except one . . . BEST BUY!! . . . this, and my personal experiences with best buy (all mostly positive) lead me to believe that the lady may be exaggerating her situation a little more than what actually did happen . . . by the way . . . i have never worked at best buy . . .
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71 Posted by cherryhalls2001 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:22PM EDT Report Abuse
This country is "sue" happy...you don't like someone, you sue them....instead of trying to solve things as adults, sue them. This is part of the reason merchandise, services, etc cost so much. I can see her being upset, but she should have taken the offer and ran with it.
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72 Posted by mk74105 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:23PM EDT Report Abuse
Good for her. I don't think she is going to get what she is asking for, but it will make BestBuy think twice for being indifferent. It also tells everyone to be careful with taking something back to bestbuy for repairs.
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73 Posted by gary.berthelsen on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:06PM EDT Report Abuse
if she didn't have an offsite data backup, she can't hold best buy liable for her poor planning.
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74 Posted by mrjsipp on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse
I agree with the woman totally. However I would get legal advice but maybe the fact that his article was placed on yahoo will serve as example that ordinary people have rights to and not just corporate America.
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75 Posted by millerdavid2002 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:20PM EDT Report Abuse
Yes, let her shake the store out of their take the peanuts and get going offer. The least they could have done is offer her the latest state of the art laptop in compensation.
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76 Posted by andyb69us on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:54PM EDT Report Abuse
Ridiculous waste of court time, to be perfectly frank. Take a reasonable settlement and stop clogging the courts with frivilous law suits. Granted it is annoying, but unfortunately these things happen from time to time. That does not however warrant a $54 lawsuit.
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77 Posted by caddyman69_2002 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:16PM EDT Report Abuse
there goes the price of EVERYTHING
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78 Posted by flyer_girl67 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:01PM EDT Report Abuse
this woman lost all her important files and this company ignored her? I say she deserves every penny they owe her!
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79 Posted by aerophool on Thu Sep 3, 2009 2:46PM EDT Report Abuse
don't settle, these big companies push us around too much. It is time they are held accountable for this crap....would like to see the airline industry get hit a couple times...maybe it would shape them up.
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80 Posted by mrnice20032 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:28PM EDT Report Abuse
Best Buy is natorous for screwing consumers, this is just another example, don't know how much she deserves for her loss/troubles but Best Buy DESERVES TO PAY
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81 Posted by studiozproductions on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:46PM EDT Report Abuse
I dont know this situation, i would need to be in the courtroom- But at this point i side with the lady! To brazenly treat your most valuable assets (customers) with such little respect is a million dollar error they may need to learn the hard way first hand once or twice (can i be the second one please)
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82 Posted by tictickchick on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:08PM EDT Report Abuse
People who file lawsuits for these types of purposes should be required to pay extra fees to the court to cover the costs of their "curiosity." Chances are she will probably walk away with at least $50k in her pocket...MORE than enough to cover her expenses. Granted, she'll have to pay over $30 percent in taxes, but don't we all?
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83 Posted by kishanupatel on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse
Yes I think she is right, when she ask that her laptop was worth $1100.00+/-, they need to pay the original cost because they lost it, so go ahead I think you are doing right, I know $54 million is not the amount for sue but to give a lesson when you cheat with somebody. Now they have to pay more then what originaly she ask for. Plus to replace her all identity and credit card and her personal data. I have gone thru identity theft and I know how hard it is to fix it.
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84 Posted by shadowconn on Thu Sep 3, 2009 9:15PM EDT Report Abuse
Actually, the identity theft issue might be worth a couple million. It costs thousands of dollars to repair identify theft, not to mention the hassle and time involved in fixing it. It also isn't something you can fix in a week, not even a month. It takes years to go through the beaurocratic bu11sh*t.
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85 Posted by ttickles13 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:23PM EDT Report Abuse
I think way to many of America's companies these days are getting away with murder.. from not paying there workers enough to poor customer service and making ridiculous profits.. kudos to her for standing up for herself! Best Buy should be held responsible for this nonsense.
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66 Posted by babybabsi@att.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:01PM EDT Report Abuse
Good for her. Identity theft is horrible to deal with and it will take her years to fix. I personally would be happy to settle in 5 yrs because that may be how long it would take get her identity theft straightend out not the mention the legal costs. As to the amount she is sueing for, sure it is alot but hit the companies hard in their pockets. After all she will surely be hit hard in her pocket with any identy theft. Wonder what the CEO of Best Buy would think if the shoe was on the other foot.