My Data Privacy Was Breached By Loan Provider, Could I Claim Compensation?
Data privacy is a right enshrined in law. A breach of the security and privacy of your personal data and information could have severe consequences on your financial situation, your mental health, and your personal safety as well. That’s why the law says that there are strict restrictions on what a company can do with a person’s data and what they must do in order to ensure that the data is kept secure and private. That is also why you could have the right to seek compensation if you have been on the receiving end of a loan provider data breach.
Loan provider data breach compensation claims guide
In this guide, you are going to learn about the laws regulating data protection in the UK and in what circumstances you could be entitled to make a compensation claim.
More importantly, we are going to explain how we can provide you with legal support to make a claim.
For more information, call 0333 000 0729, write to us via our contact us page about your loan provider data breach case or get in touch with us through our online chat.
Select A Section
- A Guide On Loan Provider Data Breach Compensation Claims
- What Is A Loan Provider Data Breach?
- When Is A Data Sharing Agreement Required?
- Calculating Loan Provider Data Breach Compensation Amounts
- Types Of Compensation Awarded For Breaches Of Data Privacy
- What Will The Information Commissioner Do If A Loan Company Breaches Your Privacy?
- No Win No Fee Loan Provider Data Breach Compensation Claims
- What Do Data Protection Lawyers Do?
- Could I Claim For A Breach Of My Data Privacy Or The GDPR?
- Speak To A Data Protection Solicitor
- FAQs On Loan Provider Data Breaches
- Where To Find Out More On Data Breaches
A Guide On Loan Provider Data Breach Compensation Claims
This guide gives an insight into how the process of making data breach compensation claims work, specifically, how the process of making a claim against a loan provider works. This will mean explaining how the law protecting people’s data privacy rights works and how it applies to your situation.
One of the aims of this guide is to help you know whether or not the situation you have been in is one that could entitle you to make a compensation claim against your loan provider.
Other aspects of making a claim will also be covered on this page, such as how the process of working out the value of your data breach compensation operates.
We will also go over the process you can follow to prepare for making a compensation claim. Most importantly, this page has information on the benefits of working with our panel of data breach solicitors. There are a number of advantages to working with us, but the most important is probably the ability to make a No Win No Fee claim.
Throughout this page, there are links to other pages on our website and resources on other websites that could be useful to understanding this issue. If you would like to speak to an advisor to get more detailed information or to speak to us about starting a claim, use the contact information at the top or bottom of this page to reach our team.
What Is A Loan Provider Data Breach?
A data breach is any situation in which your loan provider, or any other organisation looking after your data, fails to abide by the principles of data protection. This can result in your data becoming unsafe and at risk of being accessed or shared with those who should not be able to see it.
Data breaches can also occur when data is inaccurate or deleted or destroyed. Your loan provider could allow a data breach to occur either deliberately or by accident.
Some examples of the different circumstances leading to a data breach are listed below.
- Inadequate cyber-security measures leading to hacks or accessing of the data by cyber-criminals
- Inadequate storage of physical documents containing personal data, leading to theft or accessing of the data.
- Sharing the data willingly with other parties
- Using the data for purposes not explained to the data provider, i.e. market research.
A data breach can have all sorts of different consequences for the person affected by it. These consequences can range from the stress of knowing that your data has been breached and your trust and rights violated, to theft or harassment or discrimination on the basis of confidential personal information being released by the breach.
If you would like advice on whether or not your circumstances constitute a data breach, please get in touch with our legal advice team.
When Is A Data Sharing Agreement Required?
When you agree to hand over your personal information to a third party, you enter into an agreement with them. Once an organisation begins collecting data they are under an obligation to abide by the rules of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
The GDPR is the set of rules and regulations passed by the European Union and the Data Protection Act 2018 is the enactment of these guidelines into UK law.
The principles that apply to the protection and privacy of your data when you share it with a third party include the following:
- When the data is collected it must be done in a way that is legal, transparent, and fair to the data provider
- Only the type of data that the third party needs for its stated purposes can be collected
- The data can only be stored for as long as it is required for the purposes stated in the data collection
- The data must be only used for the stated purpose of the collection
- The data has to be kept up to date
- The data must be kept secure, with measures in place for its protection
- The entity collecting that data has an obligation to provide proof when challenged that it has taken steps to enforce all of the above principles
Calculating Loan Provider Data Breach Compensation Amounts
The amount of compensation you could be entitled to claim for a loan provider data breach depends on your circumstances and how badly affected you have been by the breach.
One metric by which the impact of the breach can be measured is the impact that it has on your mental health. A data breach can be an immensely stressful experience. The knowledge that your confidential information and your personal data such as your banking information can cause stress, anxiety, and loss of sleep even if nothing eventually actually happens.
There is a legal precedent that has been established for awarding compensation to people whose mental health was damaged by a data breach. This was established in the Court of Appeal case of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015].
It was established here that compensation can be sought for the mental damage inflicted by a data breach even if no financial damage was experienced. This was a departure from the previous position which required some form of financial damage in order to claim for the mental impact.
The table at the bottom of this section is our alternative to a compensation calculator. It shows how different amounts can be awarded for different degrees of mental harm.
These are not exact figures of the compensation you could possibly be awarded, but it should help to give you a ballpark idea. These figures are taken from the guidelines of the Judicial College, a body that reviews compensation awards made by the courts.
| Injury | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Severe psychiatric damage | £51,460 to £108,620 |
| Moderately severe psychiatric damage | £17,900 to £51,460 |
| Less severe | £5,500 to £17,900 |
| Less severe PTSD | £56,180 to £94,470 |
| Moderately severe PTSD | £21,730 to £56,180 |
| Moderate PTSD | £7,680 to £21,730 |
| Less severe PTSD | £3,710 to £7,680 |
To work out exactly what amount of compensation you could be awarded, it will be necessary to undergo a medical assessment as part of your claim. If you choose to work with our panel of specialist data breach solicitors, this assessment will be conducted as close to your home as possible.
As well as helping your lawyer gain an idea of the value of your claim by reviewing your diagnosis and outlook for recovery, they’ll also use it to prove that your suffering was caused by the data breach.
To learn more about data breach compensation or to get a more accurate assessment of your claim, please get in touch.
Types Of Compensation Awarded For Breaches Of Data Privacy
In the above section, we described how you could be awarded compensation for the harm done to your mental health by a data breach. But this represents only a portion of the compensation you could potentially be entitled to claim.
In addition to the direct harm done to you by the data breach, you could also be entitled to claim material damages. This relates to the monetary losses connected to the data breach.
There are a number of ways in which a data breach could lead to substantial financial losses. Cyber-criminals breaching your financial information could commit theft or identity fraud. In the long term, the breach of your data security could impact your credit rating, resulting in you losing out on loans, mortgages, and access to bank policies in the future.
You could also end up losing work or having to take time off work as a result of the impact of a data breach.
If you can prove your losses by presenting documentation such as wage slips, bank statements, and so on, you could be able to claim back your financial losses.
To learn more about what else you can factor into a data breach claim, please get in touch with our team.
What Will The Information Commissioner Do If A Loan Company Breaches Your Privacy?
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the regulator and enforcer of data privacy laws in the UK. They are the authority you should make a complaint to if you become aware of, or suspect, a breach of your personal information. You can find information on lodging a complaint with the ICO on this page.
The ICO has the authority to conduct investigations into reports of data breaches and to impose fines on organisations that it finds to have inadequately protected their user’s data. Such an investigation could serve as useful evidence if you did decide to claim.
You could make a complaint to the ICO or you could pursue a compensation claim. There is no legal requirement to involve the ICO.
If you do wish to make an ICO complaint you should do it within three months of the last time you had meaningful communication with the loan provider. The ICO will be unlikely to investigate a complaint after this period due to the delay.
Like we said above, making an ICO complaint is not mandatory, you can come straight to us if you wish to take action after becoming aware of a data breach.
No Win No Fee Loan Provider Data Breach Compensation Claims
Our panel of data protection solicitors can offer you a way around the issue of how you will be able to afford to pay for the services of a lawyer. It is an arrangement known as a No Win No Fee claim.
In this arrangement, you will not be charged fees by your solicitor upfront or during the case. Instead, you will agree to give them a small portion of your compensation payout if you win the case. This portion cannot legally exceed a certain limit of the total amount awarded.
Crucially, no legal fees will be charged to you by your lawyer if you make a compensation claim that is unsuccessful.
For more information on No Win No Fee data protection claims, please get in touch with our team on the number at the top of this page.
What Do Data Protection Lawyers Do?
Data protection lawyers help their clients put together the case for their claim. They help them calculate the worth of the compensation they are claiming for, gather the evidence to present in support of the claim, and try to negotiate the best settlement possible.
It is theoretically possible to make a claim in which you represent yourself, however, this is inadvisable. The legal process is fraught with procedures that can seem complex to those unfamiliar with them. And there is the added cost of obtaining evidence that you wouldn’t have to pay for if you worked with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
Plus, a lawyer will have the experience and legal knowledge needed to ensure that you have the best chance possible of winning your claim.
Our panel of lawyers could handle your case even if you aren’t based in the same area as them. They can make all of the necessary communications over the phone or online. They can also offer you the benefits of making No Win No Fee claims.
If you’d like to take advantage of our service, simply call us on the number at the top of this page.
Could I Claim For A Breach Of My Data Privacy Or The GDPR?
If you believe that your data has been breached, then your first step should be to contact the company you believe to be responsible, if you have not already done so.
You should also change your passwords and login details and sure up your personal security as much as possible. The company may be able to provide a satisfactory solution to the situation.
If not, then you could make a complaint to the ICO. If the ICO does not satisfy you, or if you choose not to pursue the matter through the ICO you could contact us for more information.
If you want to start the process of making a compensation claim with our panel of lawyers, your first step should be to get in touch with our data breach claims advisors. They can provide you with a free legal consultation on whether or not you have grounds for making a claim, with no obligation on your part to proceed with a claim.
If you do wish to proceed, then they can offer to connect you with a personal data protection lawyer from our panel to begin a case with.
Speak To A Data Protection Solicitor
If you wish to speak to a solicitor from our panel or one of our friendly and helpful advisors, you can reach us by doing one of the following.
- Ringing our team on 0333 000 0729
- Arranging a phone call with our advisors via our contact us page
- Chat with us now using our live chat, bottom right.
FAQs On Loan Provider Data Breaches
In this section, we’ve included answers to some questions we often get asked about data breach claims and loan providers.
How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Data Breach Compensation Claim?
The amount of compensation you could be awarded could be in the thousands or the tens of thousands. It depends on how badly you have been affected by the breach. To receive an evaluation, you can speak to one of our advisors about your situation.
How Long Does A Data Breach Claim Take?
The amount of time it takes to make a claim depends on the circumstances of the claim. The claim could be resolved in just a few months, or it could last longer if the defendant disputes liability.
Could I sue A Company For A Data Breach?
If there are grounds to claim that a company has allowed a data breach and has been in contravention of the GDPR then you could be entitled to make a data breach compensation claim.
Is revealing my email address a breach of GDPR?
The GDPR requires that all identifying personal information is anonymised and held securely. If a company allows your email address to be accessed or shared with another third party that could be considered a breach of GDPR and grounds for making a compensation claim.
Where To Find Out More On Data Breaches
In our final section to making a claim following a loan provider data breach, we’ve included some extra guides you may find useful.
- My Employer Breached The Data Protection Act, What Are My Rights?
- Making Compensation For Breaches Of Medical Information
- Making A Bank Data Breach Compensation Claim
- A Guide to GDPR Data Breach Compensation
- What Is The ICO?
- NHS Advice on Anxiety
- Enforcement Action Taken By The ICO
Guide by JY
Edited by REB
