Data Breach Claims

The full impact of a data breach is not always immediate

Having dealt with hundreds of different types of data breach cases, we know that the full impact is often not apparent until months after the initial violation.

We have seen cases where the financial losses only start to occur three to six months later. This is because stolen data is batched and used over time.

The impact of UK data breaches goes much further than financial losses. We’ve seen cases where experiencing a data breach has resulted in adverse life events. For example, having to move to a new house or area, losing a job, relationship stress and separation, and dislocation from friends and family. All of which can lead to a diagnosable psychological injury. Like financial losses, this often happens months after the initial breach.

Individual data breaches can have a big impact

It’s almost impossible to pick up a newspaper or turn on the television without hearing about how a hacker has targeted some big company. Usually, with thousands of customers put at risk. But, while these cases are important, every day, individual data breaches in the UK are causing misery and upset to people right across the country.

While these incidents don’t make the headlines, for those involved, the experience can be devastating.

Crucially, in most cases, these data breaches aren’t caused by scammers trying to hack big businesses, but by simple human errors. At Hayes Connor, our experts deal with a significant volume of data breach cases each day. During our work, we see many different types of claims. So, we know how data breaches can affect people in different ways.

We are helping individuals claim data breach compensation for violations of the Data Protection Act. We help with claims against:

• Health & Medical Organisations
• Central and Local Government
• Police & Criminal Justice Bodies
• Educational Bodies
• Private Companies
• Charities
• Financial Organisations

Types of data breach claims

A data breach can occur in any industry, business, school, organisation, or government department (e.g. the police, the NHS and the social services).

Most often, breaches happen in service-based industries where there is direct contact with the public. Over the last few years, mobile phone networks, tech firms, retailers, and banks have all hit the headlines due to data security breaches.

Types of data protection compensation claims include where:

• Data has been inadvertently lost, hacked or leaked.
• An identity has been stolen to obtain credit cards fraudulently.
• Personal data has been sent to a third party without your express permission.
• An organisation failed to maintain up-to-date, accurate information about you and this caused you damage.
• Your privacy has been compromised as part of a whistle-blowing operation.
• Personal information has been misused or mishandled.
• An organisation broke the law and used your information for journalism, artistic or literary purposes without your permission.
• Businesses have had their company data leaked (e.g. banking information, business plans, etc.).

What is the information commissioner’s office?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent authority. It was set up to uphold information rights in the public interest and to promote openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. While the ICO does not award compensation, it does have the power to impose hefty fines on organisations after data breach claims have been raised against them.

You have the right to ask the ICO to assess if an organisation breached the Data Protection Act.

If the ICO believes that the organisation in question broke the law, you can use this information in court to help prove your claim. However, the judge may not agree with the ICO’s view. While you can make a compensation claim against a company without first going to the ICO, we would always recommend this as a first step.

Under the GDPR, organisations MUST tell you if they have breached your personal data. But despite this, too often, people still don’t know that their data has been breached until they hear that a company has been fined by the ICO. In such cases, it’s worth finding out whether your data was put at risk. Because, if so, you may have a claim for compensation.

If you have already contacted the ICO about a potential breach, Hayes Connor Solicitors can still investigate your claim. We will work with the ICO to gather as much evidence as possible to help our clients succeed.

How can I check if my data has been breached?

Under the terms of the Data Protection Act 2018, organisations responsible for a data breach are required to notify you if your data may have been exposed.

However, there is always a risk that an organisation fails to meet this legal obligation, and, even in cases where they do, the relevant information can be easily missed. It is often the case the data breach victims only hear about a data breach after it is reported by the ICO.

If you suspect that you have been the victim of a data breach (such as if you are getting an unusually high number of spam emails and/or cold calls), you can check with haveibeenpwned.com to see whether any email addresses you used have been compromised in a data breach.

If you are still unsure whether your details have been exposed in a data breach, our data breach experts can work alongside you to help find this out.

What should I do if my personal data has been breached?

Here are a few steps to help protect your personal information following a data breach:

1. If you are worried that your financial details are exposed, contact your bank/credit card provider immediately and ask them to keep a close eye on your account and request a new card.
2. Consider a credit freeze until you are safe.
3. Beware of fraudsters who attempt to gather personal information (phishing).
4. Report any suspected phishing attempts to the police and relevant authorities (Action Fraud).
5. Look out for any bills or emails showing goods or services you haven’t ordered. Or any unfamiliar transactions on your account. And alert your bank or card provider immediately if there is any suspicious activity.
6. Keep an eye on your credit score for any unexpected dips (register for updates).
7. Let the credit reference agencies know of any activity that was not down to you.
8. Register with the Cifas protective registration service. This will slow down credit applications made in your name, with additional verification checks made to ascertain that the applicant is actually you.
9. Beware of any unsolicited communications that refer you to a web page asking for personal data.
10. Register with a suitable fraud prevention service.
11. Change your passwords on all your accounts.

For more advice on how to keep your data safe, follow our #NotJustHackers campaign on Twitter and Facebook.

Start your data breach claim today

At Hayes Connor Solicitors, we help you to claim compensation. We also steer you through the aftermath of a data breach – minimising the impact on you as much as possible.

In most cases, data breaches in the UK happen because of a failure to implement reasonable and robust processes. So claiming compensation isn’t just in your best interests. The only way organisations will be persuaded to take their responsibilities seriously and make the necessary improvements is by hurting their bottom line.

With strict time limits in place for making data breach claims, it’s important to act now.