Data Breach
Data breaches have the potential to cause tremendous anxiety and distress, not to mention financial losses.
Yet even if a data breach did not affect you in these ways, you still may have grounds to claim if an organisation or public body has put your data and privacy at risk. If the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has found an organisation guilty of putting your data at risk or you would like us to explore a potential claim, get in touch.
Have you been the victim of a data breach?
If you have been the victim of a data breach due to negligent processes or data mismanagement, you may be entitled to claim compensation.
If your data is lost, retained against your wishes, disclosed, or accessed in an unauthorised manner, you may have grounds for a claim.
You can claim compensation whether your data has been accessed by criminals or an organisation has shared or sold your data without permission.
If you have fallen victim to a data breach, contact us now!
Making a claim
Falling victim to a data breach can lead to a vast range of consequences.
If you are fortunate enough to quickly discover your data has been compromised after the event, you can mitigate some of the damage by, for example, cancelling bank and credit cards or changing passwords for your online accounts.
However, cybercriminals will usually do serious damage before you have had the chance to realise.
This can lead to you suffering:
- Financial theft
- Identify theft
- Difficulty acquiring credit in future
- Potential financial difficulties
- Long-term anxiety and stress
Not all data breaches are the same!
Compared to the potential financial consequences of a data breach, having your data sold or shared for marketing purposes without your permission may seem trivial.
Yet, this is still a breach of your personal data.
Who can I bring a claim against?
We can help you make a data breach claim against a wide range of organisations. These include:
- Banks & other financial institutions
- Educational institutions
- Government & local authorities
- GP surgeries and other medical facilities
- Police
- Other public services
- Travel industry
- Hospitality and retail
- Online shopping & eCommerce
- Your employer
- COVID-19 Test & Trace
- Car dealerships
This is not a full-scale list. If you believe you have fallen victim to a data breach, you could claim compensation!
How does making a data breach claim work?
How we approach your claim will depend on the nature of the breach, including whether the ICO is investigating it.
- In the event of any incident the ICO is investigating, we will liaise with the ICO on your behalf. If the ICO finds an organisation guilty of misuse of data or negligence around data protection, it is difficult for them to defend a claim.
- If the ICO is not investigating the data breach you want to claim for, then once we have gathered all information and evidence from you, we will advise if we believe you have grounds for a claim.
- If you wish to proceed with a claim, we will build a case against the organisation on your behalf, outlining the basis for your claim.
- It is unlikely you will need to go to court to resolve your claim, as most organisations will want to avoid proceedings.
How long does it take to process a claim?
It depends on the specifics of the case, and the cooperation of the organisation you are claiming against.
For example, we may need to wait for the ICO to complete an investigation or for a court to pass a judgment. In dealing directly with organisations guilty of a breach, we may need to wait for them to raise an appeal, especially if they are disputing their guilt!
However, in some cases, such as where a business or organisation has accepted guilt and set aside reserves for compensation, your claim may be settled in a matter of weeks.
Whatever happens, LawPlus Solicitors aims to make the process of making a data breach claim as stress-free as possible for you. Once we have collected all of the evidence, we will do all the work and keep you updated along the way.
What is the ICO and what is its role?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent authority set up to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals.
The ICO does several things, including:
- Allowing you to make a complaint if you believe your data protection rights have been breached
- Providing a framework for companies to determine whether they should report data breaches
- Investigating data breaches, advising companies and issuing fines where necessary
If you are a consumer who has been affected by a data breach that the ICO investigates, the outcome can help determine the result of any subsequent claim you make against the organisation.
If the ICO finds an organisation guilty of negligence leading to a data breach and fines them accordingly, that makes it much easier for you to make a claim as the business in question has already been found to be at fault. However the ICO will not help you with making a claim.
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Data Breach FAQs
We will liase with the ICO when pursuing any data breach claims on your behalf. This is because we are able to use ICO evidence to support your case, and if the ICO finds an organisation guilty of a data breach, this should make it much easier for us to file a claim on your behalf and get the compensation you deserve.
You can still contact LawPlus Solicitors if an ICO investigation is ongoing; we can collect your details and prepare as much as we can so we are able to act quickly once the ICO has published its findings.
Yes; you can make a data breach claim on the grounds of emotional distress or simply on the grounds of failure to protect your data. You do not need to have experienced any financial loss to make a claim and get compensation.
You can make a data breach claim simply on the basis that a business failed to adequately protect your data, regardless of whether a breach occurred due to negligence or hacking, for example.
While you do not need to have suffered any financial loss, emotional distress, or other inconvenience, such outcomes may lead to you being awarded a more significant compensation amount.
You can make a data breach claim against any organisation that has put your personal data and privacy at risk.
It depends on the specifics of your case, including what data was involved and how the data breach affected you. There are no guidelines around minimum or maximum compensation awards for data breaches, so what you are awarded may depend on what the defendant offers you or what a judge awards.
It depends on the specifics of the case, and the cooperation of the organisation you are claiming against.
In dealing directly with organisations guilty of a breach, we may need to wait for them to raise an appeal. The timeframe of the process will also depend on whether your case itself needs to go to court.
Whatever happens, LawPlus Solicitors aims to make the process of making a claim as stress-free as possible for you. Once we have collected all the evidence, we will do all the work and keep you updated along the way.
Yes, there is a limitation of six years from notification of the breach. In some group actions however, a court will specify a deadline by which claimants must join if they wish to receive compensation as part of any potential judgment.
The best thing to do is to make a claim as soon as you have discovered that your data may have been involved in a breach. While we may need to wait for the outcome of an ICO investigation before proceeding with a claim, acting at the earliest opportunity is always the most favourable approach.
First, take steps to protect yourself. Depending on the data involved in a breach, you may need to cancel your credit cards or change some of your passwords for your online accounts.
Once you have done this contact LawPlus Solicitors for a FREE assessment of your potential data breach claim!
As soon as an organisation tells you that your data has been involved in a breach, or you suspect your data has been involved in a breach, start keeping a diary. Logging events, such as fraudulent attempts at acquiring credit in your name or having to change passwords, can be valuable evidence in backing up a claim.
Both the General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act (2018) mandate that organisations must tell you if your personal data has been involved in a data breach. However if you suspect your data has been exposed and your privacy put at risk but you have not received a notification, you should report the business in question to the ICO.
The ICO will not be able to do anything if you think your data has been involved in a breach but are not able to provide details around the organisation you believe to be responsible.
Yes; you can make a data breach claim against an existing or a former employer.
Yes. While the ICO may investigate whether an organisation is guilty of a data breach, they won’t help you with a compensation claim. However we will be able to use any evidence uncovered by the ICO, as well as any judgments they make, to support your case and get you the compensation you deserve.
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