This article has sparked a lot of controversy. Initially, I felt like this person who allegedly had a notebook stolen/misplaced/forgotten about/etc was truly working to recoup the costs of a very unpleasant Best Buy experience. But when I looked closer at the dollar amount in question and how she opts to publish information like the Associate Corporate Counsel’s contact info, I have to question the real motives involved here.

• I get it, some people at Best Buy allegedly did something very sleazy and then lied about it according to the accuser. But asking for millions of dollars is absurd, even when considering the irreplaceable pictures/documents/etc lost. Not saying a hundred thousand is not reasonable, but seeking millions is just a reflection of pure greed in my honest opinion.
• Publishing the Associate Corporate Counsel’s contact info is highly suspect. His name and position, sure. Correspondence between parties, I totally get this as Ms. Campbell is blogging about this whole experience. I can understand and support that. But she immediately becomes something of a hack in my eyes once she begins posting the Associate Corporate Counsel’s fax and email address. How is this relevant to her otherwise well worded response? As far as I am concerned, it seems like someone looking to see if others might want to “take a swipe” at someone from Best Buy. It is inappropriate, meets on the same level as the jerks who allegedly ripped off her notebook and I am willing to bet will not help her with the case in the least.

To be fair, her request of $5000 was quite reasonable and in all honesty, would have saved Best Buy more poor press for their already PR trashed enterprise. But threatening to sue for millions is just frivolous and I going to go in print right here as stating that this individual will indeed receive some compensation, however it will not be anywhere near her target price. I will be shocked if she sees anything about a hundred thousand USD at the very most. And this includes legal fees.

I have for a long time felt like Best Buy is a physical representation of everything wrong with the tech industry as a collective whole. But this lawsuit is not helping anyone as it is currently being sought.

Anyone foolish enough to trust Best Buy despite the never-ending Geek Squad scandals making their way into the mainstream media nearly every day and then still opt to trust these folks to service something irreplaceable, is simply not simply not a shining example of someone using proactive consumer commonsense.

In short - “duh”.