Over the top
February 14th 2008 08:45
If only people didn’t go over the top.
A woman in Washington, DC, one Raewyn Campbell, took her laptop to Best Buy for repair. Best Buy somehow managed to lose it. Campbell claims that it was stolen, in fact, and that the company told lies as to why they couldn’t track it down in their store. A to and fro series of debates has ensued, and Ms Campbell has now sued Best Buy for US$54 million.
Yup, you read it right.
She details on a blog specially written in response to the situation how Best Buy fobbed her off with small amounts of compensation and refused her request to pay something more reasonable – at that time she was only asking for $2500.
Quite why Ms Campbell is sure the laptop was stolen isn’t clear. She assumes it, I think, on the basis of the fact that BB made some rather daft attempts to cover their tracks.
It seems more likely that the laptop wasn’t properly checked in, and then got lost in the works, a not unlikely scenario in a busy retail business. Heck, I’ve had similar things happen with far less expensive items in much smaller stores.
However, Ms Campbell is going for the whole hog. Sick of being mucked around – something I can understand – she’s now suing them for this vast sum of money.
Her concern is the gross inadequacy of Best Buy's property and privacy protection practices and what a failure to address these issues immediately might mean for future customers.
I will agree with you on one point: $54 million dollars is not a reasonable amount to request for a stolen computer and related expenses. However, I want to make clear that this lawsuit is not simply about compensation for the expenses and time I have had to expend as a result of Best Buy's negligence and irresponsible practices. It is about motivating Best Buy to do what it should have felt compelled to do on its own, i.e., address the blatant, company-wide breakdown of privacy protection policies that I experienced, so that future customers do not have to endure what I have – or worse.
So there you have it. If the company won’t play ball, sue them for a ridiculous amount. That certainly gets their attention.
A woman in Washington, DC, one Raewyn Campbell, took her laptop to Best Buy for repair. Best Buy somehow managed to lose it. Campbell claims that it was stolen, in fact, and that the company told lies as to why they couldn’t track it down in their store. A to and fro series of debates has ensued, and Ms Campbell has now sued Best Buy for US$54 million.
Yup, you read it right.
She details on a blog specially written in response to the situation how Best Buy fobbed her off with small amounts of compensation and refused her request to pay something more reasonable – at that time she was only asking for $2500.
Quite why Ms Campbell is sure the laptop was stolen isn’t clear. She assumes it, I think, on the basis of the fact that BB made some rather daft attempts to cover their tracks.
It seems more likely that the laptop wasn’t properly checked in, and then got lost in the works, a not unlikely scenario in a busy retail business. Heck, I’ve had similar things happen with far less expensive items in much smaller stores.
However, Ms Campbell is going for the whole hog. Sick of being mucked around – something I can understand – she’s now suing them for this vast sum of money.
Her concern is the gross inadequacy of Best Buy's property and privacy protection practices and what a failure to address these issues immediately might mean for future customers.
I will agree with you on one point: $54 million dollars is not a reasonable amount to request for a stolen computer and related expenses. However, I want to make clear that this lawsuit is not simply about compensation for the expenses and time I have had to expend as a result of Best Buy's negligence and irresponsible practices. It is about motivating Best Buy to do what it should have felt compelled to do on its own, i.e., address the blatant, company-wide breakdown of privacy protection policies that I experienced, so that future customers do not have to endure what I have – or worse.
So there you have it. If the company won’t play ball, sue them for a ridiculous amount. That certainly gets their attention.
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