Cyberock, Inc Foston Curtis, Cyberock Stole my laptop Raleigh , North Carolina

Berry Brown of Raleigh, NC bought his laptop in 2006 for $1000.  In Aug 2009, he brought it in for repairs.  While there, he asked about trading his laptop and cash for an upgraded model.  I told him we could work that out after the repairs.  We were suspiciously robbed two days later of about $150k worth of inventory (an ex-employee is being investigated according to the police).  His laptop was stolen, and we agreed to give him the better model with no additional cash for the inconvenience.  He was very happy about that, and waited for us to receive the upgraded model.  When they arrived, he asked us to get it ready for him, and he would take it the next day.  Instead, he came back with his original receipt, and asked for the full $1000.  I showed him on ebay where his laptop had depreciated, and was worth between $200-$300 on ebay (his model was the dell inspiron 700m).  Insurance will only replace it with the exact model, or the same value in cash.  The model we offered him was the Dell XPS m1330 which was worth $600-$700 on ebay.  The m1330 is a much better model, and he even asked about trading his in for it plus cash BEFORE the robbery.  His goal changed from getting the better model, to now wanting $1000.  We even offered to give him $350 cash, or we would buy his exact same one on ebay, but he only wanted $1000.  He reported us to the BBB, but after they heard the facts, they dropped his claim.  He tried to take us to court, but even the judge said he was crazy to think he would get $1000.  No insurance company, or anyone for that matter, will give you the purchase price of something you paid three years ago;  they go by the current value.  If you buy a new car in 2006 for $20k, and wreck it today, you won't get what you paid, but what it's worth now.  The court awarded him $325, which if he had taken the $350 from us, he would have had more money, and less trouble to deal with.  If he had just taken the m1330 he had wanted, he could have sold it for $600 on ebay himself! 

The thing that really disappoints me about Berry Brown is that we were friends.  I gave him free software, and repaired his laptops many times for less than our normal rate.  Ask anyone in town about me, and they will tell you I bend over backwards to help someone out if they need my help.  Berry would come many times to use our free internet, and just hang around without buying anything.  He totally took my kindness for weakness.  I even offered him a job at one point to help him through hard times.  I still don't understand why he would bite the hand that fed him.  At this point, it's his loss, because I can't help him anymore.