Bank Data Breach Compensation – A Step By Step Guide To Claiming

This guide will provide you with more information about when you are eligible to claim bank data breach compensation.

Bank data breach compensation

Bank data breach compensation – claims guide

The amount of compensation you could receive for a bank data breach will depend on the extent of the harm caused to you. Other factors influence the amount of compensation you could receive from a successful data breach compensation; we will explain these in further detail. This guide will describe what could be received from a successful bank data breach claim and also highlight the benefits of using No Win No Fee solicitors.

In order to claim compensation for a data breach, you will need evidence to prove that the breach was caused by positive wrongful conduct.

If you would like to receive free legal advice from a member of our team, contact our advisors today.

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A Guide To Receiving Bank Data Breach Compensation

The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) run alongside each other to protect the personal data of UK residents.

The legal definition of a data breach is found in Article 4 of the UK GDPR, which states it is a security incident involving your personal data being lost, altered, or destroyed either unlawfully or accidentally. It can also involve your personal data being disclosed or accessed without authorisation.

Personal data is classed as any information that could be used to identify you either when processed by itself or in combination with other personal information. This could include your name, email address, phone number, and postal address. There is also personal data known as special category data, such as health data and information relating to your racial or ethnic origin and trade union membership, which is given extra protection.

Data controllers and data processors have to follow the steps laid out by data protection legislation.  A data controller establishes how and why your data will be used, whereas a data processor processes this data on the controller’s behalf.

We will discuss the criteria that your case must meet in order to make a claim for bank data breach compensation in the following section.

When Are You Eligible To Make A Data Protection Breach Claim?

A bank holds a lot of sensitive personal information about its customers. Due to the large number of customers that a bank may have, a data breach could negatively impact many people. But, not every breach can lead to a valid claim.

The bank data breach needs to be caused by the data controller or processor’s failings for an eligible UK GDPR data breach claim. Secondly, you must experience harm because of the breach.

Data breach claim examples that could lead to a valid claim could include:

  • Your bank suffered a data breach of a database due to a hack because they did not have sufficient cybersecurity systems in place.
  • A bank sending a credit report to the wrong address in a credit score data breach claim.
  • Your bank statement being sent to the wrong email address could result in a personal data breach.

To find out if you could have a valid bank data breach claim, get in touch with our team.

 Bank Data Breach Compensation – What Could You Receive?

The UK GDPR states that you must have suffered material or non-material damage because of the data breach to claim. Material damage is financial loss, whereas non-material damage is a psychiatric injury such as distress due to a data breach.

There are figures from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) provided below. The guidelines set out compensation brackets that coincide with different types of psychiatric injury based on their severity. Data breach solicitors can use these figures to help them when calculating compensation for non-material damage payouts.

Type of HarmSeverityDescriptionCompensation
Psychological HarmSevereThe injured person will find it very difficult to cope with life, education, or work. There is a poor prognosis.£54,830 – £115,730
Psychological HarmModerately SevereThe injured person will have daily issues coping with life, education, or work. However, there will be a more optimistic prognosis than above.£19,070 – £54,830
Psychological HarmModerateThe injured person may have some issues with their life, but this category is specific to those who have made a recognisable improvement by trial.£5,860 – £19,070
Psychological HarmLess SevereThis bracket considers the length of time affected by symptoms, as well as the effect symptoms have on daily life.£1,540 – £5,860
Anxiety DisorderSevereThese cases involve permanent effects which prevent the injured person from working or functioning at a level compared to what they could do pre-trauma. £59,860 – £100,670
Anxiety DisorderModerately SevereThis bracket presents a better prognosis, as there may be some recovery with professional intervention.£23,150 – £59,860
Anxiety DisorderModerateThis category is for injured people who have made a large recovery, and remaining symptoms are non-disabling. £8,180 – £23,150
Anxiety DisorderLess SevereIn these cases, only minor symptoms continue following a near full recovery.£3,950 – £8,180

Compensation can also be claimed for material damage. This aims to compensate you for the financial impacts you suffer because of the breach. For example, a bank data breach could see stolen funds, damage to your credit score, or debts in your name. As previously mentioned, you should provide evidence of these losses to claim them back.

For more information on bank data breach compensation, get in touch with our team.

Potential Evidence In A Data Protection Breach Claim

You can do several things to help you during the bank data breach claims process. One step you could take is collecting evidence.

Correspondence between you and the organisation responsible could help you establish how the data breach occurred and who is liable for this. It can also provide details on the nature of the information that was affected negatively. This can be used as evidence to support your potential claim.

Additionally, you can collect evidence of any psychological harm you sustained. Medical evidence can be helpful when making personal data breach claims. If you choose to hire a solicitor, they may arrange an independent medical assessment to assess the psychological harm you suffered because of the data breach. This report can then help to strengthen a claim.

Thirdly, if you suffered any financial losses, you’ll need evidence of this material damage to be eligible for compensation. This can be in the form of bank statements, credit or debit card statements, and payslips.

After a bank data breach, you can make a complaint directly to your bank. If no satisfactory response is given or they do not respond at all, you can report the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent public body responsible for upholding data protection rights in the UK.

How Can You Make A No Win No Fee Bank Data Breach Compensation Claim?

A No Win No Fee agreement is an arrangement between you and your solicitor. This helps you access legal counsel and provides certain benefits. For example, under an agreement known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), you usually won’t have to pay any upfront or ongoing legal costs to your solicitor while the case is being worked on. The only fee required by a No Win No Fee solicitor is a success fee if your claim succeeds. If it doesn’t, your solicitor will not charge you for their work.

Get in touch with our team today to learn how one of our data breach claim solicitors could help you. To contact an advisor:

Learn More About Receiving Compensation For A Bank Data Breach

If you’d like to learn more or if you have any questions, please get in touch using the details above.

We have also provided some additional resources below that you may find beneficial.

Additionally, please find more of our guides below:

Thank you for reading this article about bank data breach compensation.

Writer Saif Small

Editor Cat Heart

Learn About Different Types of Data Breaches and How to Claim Compensation

 

Thank you for reading this article about bank data breach compensation.

Writer Saif Small

Editor Cat Heart