Best Buy sued for $54 million after Geek Squad loses laptop A woman in Washington DC is suing the Best Buy retailer for $54 million over a lost laptop computer.

Best Buy sued for $54 million after Geek Squad loses laptop

By Ben Thompson
Feb 14, 2008 14:48 PM GMT
Best Buy sued for $54 million after Geek Squad loses laptop

A woman in Washington DC is suing the Best Buy retailer for $54 million over a lost laptop computer.

Raelyn Campbell, 37, had preferably chosen the amount of $54 million to draw public attention to the consumer property and privacy-protection practices at Best Buy.

"It shouldn't take a $54 million lawsuit to get Best Buy to do what it is legally required to do," Campbell said.

Campbell said she spent six months making every effort to get the retailer to explain what happened to her laptop computer, but was met with insults by Best Buy employees and representatives. Campbell asked for $5,000 compensation but only collected $1,110 and a $500 gift card.

After filing a civil complaint with the local Attorney General, Best Buy carefully placed the money back into her account.

Campbell said her laptop contained personal identity information such as her Social Security number and date of birth, and credit card numbers. Best Buy never notified her about the exposure to identify theft, which is required by local law.

Geek Squad technicians at Best Buy lost the computer sometime around July 2007, then the company misled her about its whereabouts for a few weeks before finally admitting that it had been lost.

Best Buy isn't saying much about the matter since it's still before the court.

Filed Under:   Best Buy News   Technology News

A woman in Washington DC is suing the Best Buy retailer for $54 million over a lost laptop computer.