This guide looks at how to claim data breach compensation after your personal information was sent to the wrong address. In the sections below, we explore the criteria of eligibility that must be met to start a claim for a personal data breach. We also discuss the types of evidence to support a claim.
Can I Claim For A Data Breach If My Personal Information Was Sent To The Wrong Address?
Our guide also discusses the legislation that protects the personal data of UK citizens and how certain parties have a responsibility with regard to the processing, handling, and storing of your personal data. We then look at some example scenarios of how data can be sent to the wrong or old address, causing it to become compromised, and the impact this could have.
Later on in our guide, we explain the data breach compensation payout that could potentially be awarded in a successful claim.
In the final section, we outline the advantages of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor from our panel who has experience handling data breach claims and the services they could offer.
For more information, you can contact our advisors. They are available 24/7 to provide free advice and they can offer a free no-obligation, case check. You can do this by:
- Calling the team on 020 8050 3051.
- Enquiring about your potential claim via the ‘contact us‘ option.
- Starting a conversation via the live chat feature below.
Browse Our Guide
- Can I Claim For A Data Breach If My Personal Information Was Sent To The Wrong Address?
- How Could Personal Information Be Sent To The Wrong Address?
- Potential Compensation From A Postal Data Breach
- What Can I Do If My Data Has Been Breached?
- Claim For A Postal Data Breach Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
- Learn More About Claiming If Personal Information Was Sent To An Old Address
Can I Claim For A Data Breach If My Personal Information Was Sent To The Wrong Address?
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) are legislation that are in place to protect your personal data. Additionally, they place an obligation on data controllers, those responsible for setting the means and purpose for processing, and data processors, those who act on behalf of the controller.
Both a controller and processor must adhere to these laws. Should either party fail to comply with data protection laws, a personal data breach could arise.
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), is an independent body in the UK set up to uphold information rights. They define a personal data breach as a security incident that impacts the integrity, confidentiality, or availability of your personal data.
Personal data is any information that can be used to identify you, such as your name, postal address, email address, date of birth, and credit or debit card details. Additionally, special category data is another type of personal data that requires extra protection due to it being more sensitive in nature. This can include data concerning your health, such as your medical records.
In order to be able to begin a claim after your personal information was sent to the wrong address, you must be able to prove:
- There were failings by the controller or processor to adhere to the DPA and UK GDPR.
- This led to a breach in which your personal data was compromised.
- Due to the breach of your personal data, you suffered mental harm, financial loss, or both.
Call an advisor on the number above to find out whether you’re eligible to begin a claim for data breach compensation.
How Could Personal Information Be Sent To The Wrong Address?
Below we provide examples of how personal information could be sent to the wrong address:
- Despite notifying your GP surgery about your change of address, they failed to update their records. As a result, a letter containing sensitive personal information was sent to an old address. This causes you distress and anxiety.
- Due to human error, a bank sent your new debit card and pin number to the wrong address, despite having the correct details on file. As a result, money is stolen from your account.
If you would like to discuss your specific case in more detail, please contact an advisor on the number above.
Potential Compensation From A Postal Data Breach
A payout awarded following a successful personal data breach claim could comprise compensation for non-material damage. This refers to the psychological harm you have experienced due to the breach of your personal data, such as stress, anxiety, depression or other types of diagnosed mental conditions, such as post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Legal professionals can use medical evidence and publications such as the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to calculate a value for non-material damage. The JCG lists a set of guideline award brackets for different kinds of mental harm.
We have included an excerpt of the JCG below. However, you should use the figures as a guide only. This is because compensation for a data breach claim differs from case to case.
Compensation Table
| Type of Injury | Severity | Compensation Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Psychological Harm | (a) Severe | £54,830 - £115,730 | A very poor prognosis with marked problems affecting different areas of the person's life. |
| (b) Moderate / Severe | £19,070 - £54,830 | Cases in this bracket have a better prognosis but still see significant problems affecting several areas of the person's life. | |
| (c) Moderate | £5,860 - £19,070 | A significant improvement and a good prognosis. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £1,540 - £5,860 | Factors, such as how long the person is affected and to what extent, will be considered when valuing settlements. | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (a) Severe | £59,860 - £100,670 | Permanent and negative issues stop the person from returning to a pre-trauma level. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £23,150 - £59,860 | A better prognosis is achieved through receiving professional help but the person is still likely to suffer a significant disability for the foreseeable future. | |
| (c) Moderate | £8,180 - £23,150 | A significant recovery with any ongoing issues not being majorly disabling. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £3,950 - £8,180 | Almost a total recovery within a 24 month period and only minimal symptoms beyond this. |
Claiming For Material Damage In Data Breach Claims
Your payout could comprise compensation for material damage which refers to the financial losses caused by the personal data breach. For example, if you have had to take time off work to deal with the mental harm the breach has caused, this could cause you to incur a loss of earnings. You could seek reimbursement of this loss if you have sufficient evidence to prove the loss, such as payslips.
Alternatively, if your credit or debit card details have been compromised, this might lead to money being stolen from your account. In this instance, you could seek compensation to reimburse this monetary loss if you have evidence to substantiate your claim, such as bank statements.
Call our team for further guidance on compensation for data breach claims. They could offer a free valuation of your potential settlement.
What Can I Do If My Data Has Been Breached?
There are steps that you can take to prove who is liable for a data breach and strengthen your claim for data breach compensation.
For example, you should keep all correspondence about the data breach. Data controllers must notify you without undue delay about a personal data breach that puts your rights and freedoms at risk. They often do this via letter which details that a breach has occurred and what data has been affected. If you haven’t been notified by the organisation, you can contact them directly if you suspect that your personal data has been compromised. Any emails or letters between you and the organisation can be kept as evidence to support your potential claim.
You could also make a complaint to the ICO. The ICO might choose to investigate your case and any findings from this investigation could be used to strengthen your case.
Finally, you can obtain evidence of how the personal data breach has affected you. This can include copies of your medical records to show any psychological injury you have suffered because of the data breach, as well as any financial documentation to demonstrate any monetary losses.
For more information on the steps you could take if your personal information was sent to the wrong address, please contact an advisor on the number above,
Claim For A Postal Data Breach Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor
If you have valid grounds to begin a claim after your personal information was sent to the wrong address, you might benefit from instructing a solicitor. The data breach solicitors on our panel have years of experience handling claims such as this. They offer their services under a version of the No Win No Fee contract called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
This means that they can start work on your claim without the need for upfront or continuing fees. In addition to this, fees are not required for the solicitor’s services if the claim fails.
You will pay your solicitor a success fee following a claim that completes successfully. This fee is taken as a percentage of your compensation but has cap applied to it by the law which ensures that you always benefit the most from a successful claim outcome.
If you want to find out whether a solicitor from our panel can help you through the data breach claims process, contact an advisor on the number above. To reach them, you can:
- Call the team on 020 8050 3051.
- Enquire about your potential claim via the ‘contact us‘ option.
- Start a conversation via the live chat feature below.
Learn More About Claiming If Personal Information Was Sent To An Old Address
For more of our helpful guides:
- A guide looking at when you could make a personal data breach claim for stolen and lost paperwork and the steps you could take to do so.
- Learn what you could do if a fax was sent to the wrong person and this caused your personal data to become affected.
- Find out whether you could claim for a pregnancy data breach and the compensation that could be awarded if you succeed.
For more external resources:
- Data breach guidance from the National Cyber Security Centre.
- Read about action taken by the ICO for data breaches.
- Information on dealing with anxiety from the NHS.
Thank you for reading this article on when you could claim for personal information sent to the wrong address. Please do not hesitate to reach out to our advisors with any queries or questions.