This guide can assist you if you’re looking into making a claim following a data breach by a website. A breach of your personal data can lead to serious financial losses and psychological injuries. Whether the incident occurred accidentally or by criminal intent, if you can prove unlawful conduct on the part of the organisation responsible for your personal data led to you sustaining damage, you may have grounds for a data protection breach claim.
Data breach by a website claims guide
We will discuss what legislation is in place to protect your personal information and explain how you can seek a settlement if a breach has taken place. Alongside this, you can see data breach compensation examples that may assist you in valuing your claim.
Furthermore, we will outline the benefits of No Win No Fee claims and how working with a solicitor through Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA) can strengthen your case. If you have any questions about personal data breach claims that this guide cannot answer, you can contact our advisors using the following details:
- Make a claim through our website
- Call us at 0333 241 2521
- Use the live chat
Choose A Section
- I’ve Experienced A Data Breach From A Website – Can I Claim?
- Am I Eligible To Make A Data Protection Breach Claim?
- What Could I Receive From A Data Breach By A Website?
- What Can I Do If I’ve Experienced A Data Breach?
- Why Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
- Learn More About Claiming For A Data Breach By A Website
I’ve Experienced A Data Breach From A Website – Can I Claim?
It’s important to understand what rights you have as a data subject when seeking a settlement for a data breach by a website. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) set out the key principles that all organisations must follow when processing personal data.
These organisations can be described as data controllers, who decide how your data is processed, and data processors, who process your data on behalf of the data controller. Data controllers and processors must only collect and use data with an established lawful basis, and they must do so in line with data protection legislation. If positive wrongful conduct is present, causing you to sustain damage, you may be eligible to seek data breach compensation.
A data breach can include any information that identifies you, including your name, home address and phone number. Personal data breaches are security incidents involving the accidental or unlawful loss, destruction, alteration, or unauthorised disclosure of or access to personal information. Both accidental and intentional data breach cases are covered under data protection law. However, it is unlikely that you will be awarded a settlement without providing relevant evidence.
Continue reading to learn more about making a claim following a data breach by a website. Or, get in touch with our team of advisors to start your claim.
Am I Eligible To Make A Data Protection Breach Claim?
Personal data breaches can include both physical and digital data. Some examples of data breach claims may include:
- A company website is hacked due to enforcing inadequate cybersecurity policies, causing your debit and credit card information to be stolen.
- A website you bought clothes from sends the receipt to the wrong email address. This receipt contains personal information, such as your address or bank account details.
- Personal data entered into a website form, such as your name, sexual orientation, or phone number, is published on a publically accessible site due to human error.
However, not every data breach can be claimed for. There are certain eligibility criteria that your claim must meet in order to be valid, laid out by the UK GDPR. For example, the data controller or processor must commit positive wrongful conduct. This means that their failings must lead to the breach. It must also lead to you suffering harm. This can be psychological harm or financial harm.
Read on to learn more about what compensation you could claim following a data breach by a website. Or, contact our team to start your claim today.
What Could I Receive From A Data Breach By A Website?
You can seek compensation for the psychological injuries caused by the breach through non-material damage. For example, if the breach causes you to suffer from anxiety, distress or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), you may be able to claim compensation under this head.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a publication that displays compensation brackets for data breach claims. Legal professionals use these figures to assist them in valuing compensation. We’ve added a table below to display compensation brackets from the JCG that may relate to your claim. You can also use a compensation calculator to estimate a payout.
| Psychological Injury | Severity | Compensation Range | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Damage (a) | Severe | £54,830 – £115,730 | Injuries will affect all aspects of life, including relationships with all contacts and cause an inability to return to work or education. |
| Psychiatric Damage (b) | Moderately Severe | £19,070 – £54,830 | Long-standing disabilities cause issues with daily life and relationships, though the prognosis is more optimistic than above. |
| Psychiatric Damage (c) | Moderate | £5,860 – £19,070 | Problems are associated with managing life, work and education, but symptoms improve significantly by the time of trial. |
| Psychiatric Damage (d) | Less Severe | £1,540 – £5,860 | Minor physical injuries may affect sleep and daily activities. |
| PTSD (a) | Severe | £59,860 – £100,670 | All areas of life are poorly affected, and the injured person will be unable to function as they did before the trauma. |
| PTSD (b) | Moderately Severe | £23,150 – £59,860 | Significant disabilities will progress for the foreseeable future, but professional treatment can lessen the severity. |
| PTSD (c) | Moderate | £8,180 – £23,150 | Injuries can be mostly recovered from, with some effects progressing into the future that are not grossly disabling. |
| PTSD (d) | Less Severe | £3,950 – £8,180 | Any injuries that remain after recovery within 1-2 years are minor. |
Please note that the figures above are guidelines, and these amounts are not exact due to the complexities of each individual case. Contact our advisors today for an estimate of what you could receive.
Data Breach By A Website – Other Damages That Could Be Claimed For
You can also be reimbursed for financial losses from personal data breaches through material damage. For example, if cybercriminals gain access to your bank details, this can lead to money being stolen from your accounts. It can also result in identity theft, debt, and damage to your credit score.
You must provide evidence of these losses in order to claim. This could be through bank statements, receipts, or bills.
If you need further support and advice, please don’t hesitate to contact our advisors. Our phone lines are available 24/7, so you can call at any time that suits you.
What Can I Do If I’ve Experienced A Data Breach?
The organisation responsible for the personal data breach should inform you without undue delay if the breach can affect your freedoms or rights. They should also make a report to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) within 72 hours. As an independent UK body, the ICO upholds data protection laws and holds companies accountable for their actions.
You can also reach out to the organisation responsible and enquire about what happened and what information was breached. Following this, if the response you receive isn’t satisfactory, you can report to the ICO yourself and ask them to investigate. However, this must be within three months of your last meaningful contact with the organisation.
You cannot receive compensation through the ICO, but they can impose fines against organisations that breach legislation. Get in touch with our advisors to learn more about how to report a data breach.
Why Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
Working with a No Win No Fee Solicitor using a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) means you usually aren’t required to pay upfront or ongoing fees. There are also no solicitor fees to pay if you’re unsuccessful in gaining compensation at the end of your claim.
If you succeed in gaining a settlement at the end of your claim, your solicitor will require a success fee. This is taken from your settlement total, though the percentage has a legal cap. If your claim fails, you do not pay this fee.
To find out how our No Win No Fee data breach solicitors could help you make a claim following a data breach by a website, get in touch with our advisors today.
Contact Us For Free Legal Advice Today
If you’re ready to start the claims process or if you have any remaining questions, our advisors are available 24/7 to offer their support.
- Call 0333 241 2521
- See how to make a claim
- Message us directly using the live chat
Learn More About Claiming For A Data Breach By A Website
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Writer Jess Aloe
Publisher Cat Heart
