The $54 Million Laptop Lawsuit

Raelyn Campbell is the woman who took her laptop back to Best Buy for warranty work (broken power switch), waited months to get it back and finally sued for $54 million after Best Buy admitted they lost it. The story is a bit involved, but I would like to point out that this is NOT a story about someone trying to get rich off of some deep pockets.

She bought the laptop, filled it with data that she doesn't have backed up, then one day the power switch broke. She took it back to Best Buy to get fixed, waited, asked about it, waited, got the run-around, then eventually Best Buy admitted that they lost it. Sounds like Best Buy acted horribly in a number of ways, not all of which are worth going into. This article is about buying a computer not customer service 101!

Now Raelyn is concerned about the data she lost (her fault for not backing up) and potential identity theft if the laptop fell into unscrupulous hands (Best Buy's fault).

It sounds like Ms. Campbell bought a $1100 laptop with a $300 extended service plan (because the laptop only came with an unacceptable 1 year warranty). This was her first mistake. When the manufacturer only offers a 1 year warranty on a computer or computer peripheral, it's because they want to sell it CHEAP. In order to do that, they build the piece of hardware with cheap components. Buying the extended warranty helps you financially by covering the cost of repairs, but wouldn't you prefer an item that was less likely to need repair?

I have written about this so many times and discussed it face to face with clients, friends and (now enemies) thousands more times.

As Forrest Gump would say: "Cheap is as Cheap Does". There is a reason it's cheap.

Stay away from big box stores like Best Buy when buying computer hardware in the first place. And don't buy ANY computer, laptop or monitor without a 3 year warranty (caveat: you are running for public office and the whole operation goes away in November). The longer warranty costs more, but it also indicates that the manufacturer has more confidence in it. (Seagate hard drives purchased separately come with a 5 year warranty.)

It isn't clear if the $1100 that the laptop cost was with or without the $300 warranty, but 300 divided into 1400 or 300 divided into 1100 is a big percentage either way. I'm guessing that she could have bought a GOOD laptop (one where the power switch would not break in the first place) from Dell, with a 3 year warranty, for less. (Especially if she had my eBook "How to Save 8 - 16% Buying Dell Online"). Toss in a little extra and she could have Dell's "completecare" coverage that covers your own screw ups, like dropping it or spilling on it.

So she made a poor purchase decision; probably didn't know any better.

Now for the real story:

Best Buy was originally going to fix her laptop in 2 to 6 WEEKS!

You must be kidding me! Dell would have a technician at your home or office the next business day! The laptop wouldn't even leave your sight. No identity theft that way. No wondering what happened to it or when it would be fixed. My guess is that she didn't read the 2 to 6 weeks part in the warranty contract.

How about the lost data? Don't feel sorry for her. I don't mean to sound insensitive, but It is the users responsibility to have their data backed up at all times. You never know when you have turned your computer on for the last time. See the resource list for the Computer Backup section of my website.

The reason I push Dell Computer is because of the service. You still have to be careful what you buy, see my website buying guide for help on that. And as I mentioned before, I have an eBook to help you pay the right price. But neither the right product or the right price is enough reason to buy a computer or laptop that you will depend on. Especially with laptops, because of the banging around they get, service is essential!
Don't settle for cheap. Buy right and enjoy your purchase for a long time.