This informative guide will explore what you can do following a mortgage broker data breach. It will look at whether you’re eligible to claim data breach compensation after an organisation failed to adhere to data protection laws leading to your data becoming compromised.
Mortgage broker data breach claims guide
Two central pieces of legislation that govern data protection are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). The UK GDPR sits alongside the updated DPA to provide legal guidelines on how organisations should process personal data. Additionally, the UK GDPR provides those affected by a personal data breach the right to claim compensation.
A personal data breach can impact you in various ways, such as mentally and financially. The stress of not knowing who has access to your data and how it will be used can be debilitating and isolating. To claim compensation for a data breach, an organisation must have failed to adhere to data protection laws, resulting in a breach of your personal data causing you mental harm or financial loss.
Read on to learn what data is protected by the UK GDPR and how a data breach could happen. Alternatively, please get in touch with our helpful team of advisors for more information. You can:
- Call us on the number above
- Complete our online contact form
- Speak with an advisor via the live chat function below
Choose A Section
- Can I Claim For A Mortgage Broker Data Breach?
- Examples of A Data Protection Breach
- What Steps Can I Take After A Data Breach?
- Mortgage Broker Data Breach – What Compensation Could I Receive?
- Do Data Breach Solicitors Work Under No Win No Fee Agreements?
- More Information About Claiming For A Mortgage Broker Data Breach
Can I Claim For a Mortgage Broker Data Breach?
Firstly, we should examine the role of the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) in personal data protection. It is an independent UK body that upholds information rights and enforces data protection laws. Although they cannot award compensation, they can issue organisations monetary penalties for failing to comply with legislation.
Some useful definitions from the ICO:
- Data breach – A security incident that affects the confidentiality, availability or integrity of your personal data.
- Data controller – The decision maker in control of determining the purpose for processing personal data. They can also process data themselves.
- Data processor – Processes the data on behalf of the controller.
- Personal data – Information that can be used to identify you.
In order to claim, there needs to be some form of wrongful conduct on the part of the data controller or processor. This can include them failing to adhere to data protection law. You also must prove that due to their failings, your personal data was compromised leading to you suffering psychological harm or damages to your financial situation.
If you would like to enquire about whether you are eligible to claim for a mortgage broker data breach, contact our team of advisors.
Examples of a Data Protection Breach
A mortgage broker would need to hold various personal data that could be used to identify you. It can include digital and physical data such as:
- Name
- Postal address
- Email address
- Place of work
- Date of birth
- Email address
- Phone number
- Bank account details
Examples of how personal data could be breached might include:
- Someone sends an email containing personal data to the wrong person.
- Someone sends a letter containing personal data to the wrong address.
- Insufficient security checks are performed when discussing personal data on the phone.
- Someone misplaces a physical copy of data in an unsecured location.
Get in touch with our advisors to find out more about how a mortgage broker data breach could happen and whether you could claim.
How Often Does a Mortgage Broker Data Breach Happen?
The ICO provides statistics on reported data security incidents. Specifically, we will look at the number of cyber and non-cyber security incidents in the finance, insurance and credit sector and how they were caused in the 4th quarter of the 2021/2022 financial year:
- There were 173 total incidents, both cyber and non-cyber.
- The highest cause at 35 was data emailed to the wrong recipient.
- 29 incidents were caused by data being posted or faxed to the incorrect recipient.
What Should I Do After A Data Breach?
Have you been wondering what to do if your personal data is breached? Firstly, an organisation is expected to alert you, the subject without undue delay if the breach affects your freedoms and rights. Also, they should alert the ICO within 72 hours of discovering the occurrence of a data breach that affects your freedom and rights.
After receiving this information, the ICO recommends you raise a complaint with the organisation. You should detail what has happened and how you are being affected. You can also do this if you have not been notified but suspect a breach has happened.
Following no reply or unsatisfactory responses from the organisation, you could make a complaint to the ICO. They can investigate the data breach, and their findings could provide useful evidence for your claim.
Additionally, you could seek legal advice to help you claim compensation for the damages you have suffered. You do not have to have complained to the ICO to claim compensation.
Contact our team of advisors to discuss you potential mortgage broker data breach claim.
Mortgage Broker Data Breach – What Compensation Could I Receive?
There are two heads of claim that could make up your data breach settlement. Material damages cover the financial losses caused by the breach. Non-material damages account for the psychological harm caused by the breach, such as anxiety, distress, depression and, in extreme cases, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Prior to the Vidal-Hall and Others v Google Inc [2015] Court Of Appeal, you could not claim for psychological harm if you were not also claiming financial loss. However, this case changed the court’s position on data breach compensation so that you can now claim for psychological damage independently of financial losses.
Similarly to personal injury law, solicitors can now use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), produced in April 2022, to help them value non-material damages. The JCG contains compensation brackets that correspond to different injuries. The amounts are based on previously awarded compensation.
We have included the figures from the JCG in the table below.
| Injury | Details | Amount of Compensation |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Injury (a) | The injury causes significant problems with the ability to cope with work, education and general daily life. The prognosis is very poor. | £54,830 - £115,730 |
| Moderately Severe Psychological Injury (b) | The injury causes significant problems with the ability to cope with work, education and general daily life. The prognosis is more optimistic than the bracket above. | £19,070 - £54,830 |
| Moderate Psychological Injury (c) | Although the injury caused some problems with the ability to cope with work, education and general daily life, there will have been a marked improvement, and the prognosis is good. | £5,860 - £19,070 |
| Less Severe Psychological Injury (d) | The injury would have affected daily activities and sleep. The amount awarded takes into consideration the extent and length of the period of disability. | £1,540 - £5,860 |
| Severe PTSD (a) | The person may be permanently unable to work or function at the level they did pre-trauma. | £59,860 - £100,670 |
| Moderately Severe PTSD (b) | Similarly to the above, the person has a significant disability continuing in the future. However, there is a better prognosis with professional help. | £23,150 - £59,860 |
| Moderate PTSD (c) | A large recovery will have been made, leaving behind no continuing grossly disabling effects. | £8,180 - £23,150 |
| Less Severe PTSD (d) | Within 1-2 years of the incident, a virtually full recovery will have been made. | £3,950 - £8,180 |
Please remember that these figures are only a guide, as each case has a unique set of details that determines the amount of compensation awarded.
Contact our advisors to learn more about how much you could be entitled to damages following a mortgage broker data breach.
What Else Could I Claim For After A Data Breach?
Following a mortgage broker data breach, you can claim reimbursement for financial losses under material damages. This can include loans taken out in your name after your credit card details have been stolen. It is important to note that you must be able to prove that the financial damages are a result of the breach. You could provide financial records and a credit score history to do this.
Do Data Breach Solicitors Work Under No Win No Fee Agreements?
When you enter into a No Win No Fee Agreement you may sign a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This can benefit you by eliminating large payments for your solicitor’s services upfront, during your claim or if your claim is unsuccessful.
If your claim is successful, your solicitor will take a small success fee from the awarded compensation. The law caps the percentage.
Call our advisors to determine whether a data breach solicitor from our panel could represent your potential mortgage broker data breach claim.
See If You Can Make A Data Breach Claim Today
We aim to help you take steps to seek the compensation you deserve. Get in touch with our team of advisors for more guidance. You can contact us by:
- Calling us on the number above
- Completing our online contact form
- Speaking with an advisor via the live chat function below
More Information about Claiming for a Mortgage Broker Data Breach
More helpful pages from our site:
- What Is A Data Breach And Can I Claim Compensation?
- You can also view our guide on claiming compensation if you have been affected by a pension data breach.
External sites to look at for further information:
- NHS – Find A Psychological Therapies Service
- GOV – Make A Data Protection Complaint
- GOV – National Cyber Strategy 2022
We hope this article has answered your questions about what to do following a mortgage broker data breach. If you have any other questions, please get in touch using the number at the top of the page.
Writer Jess Opal
Editor Meg Monsoon