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Should BlackBerry users be compensated?

BlackBerry customers across the globe were up in arms last month as services went down. Now US and Canadian users are heading for the courts in a bid for compensation.

Research In Motion (RIM) - the maker of the popular Blackberry mobile device - is facing a number of compensation lawsuits following last month's outage, which crippled e-mail, instant messaging and browsing services for three days.

Blackberry Crumble

The problems came at a time when RIM least needed bad publicity. Faced with some great marketing and genuine innovation from Apple and Google, certain analysts were already predicting the demise of the Blackberry. Many find its handsets clunky in comparison to more elegant competitive devices and its touchscreen technology less slick. In the tablet market, the Blackberry PlayBook has only made ripples whilst Apple continues to ride the iPad 2 tidal wave.

Lawsuits in California and Quebec

Now PC Pro reports that the system-wide failure of the service has angered North American consumers so much that a compensation lawsuit has been brought in California on behalf of all US Blackberry owners. The US lawsuit, which would include 2.4 million Californian residents alone, accuses RIM of "breach of contract, negligence and unjust enrichment".
 

Will UK customers get a piece of the action?

RIM acknowledged the lawsuits to BBC News but did not elaborate on the situation, stating only that: "RIM will formally respond to the matter in due course." So it remains unknown whether RIM would providing any compensation to its UK customers.

But is compensation appropriate anyway? And with the passing of time, will our tales of what it was like to endure three days without email really ever compare to the disruption caused by a wholly natural phenomenon such as the Icelandic Ash Cloud?

Please email us tell us about how Blackberry Crumble affected you.
 

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