Welcome to our guide to EE data breach claims. Have you recently suffered from a data breach through no fault of your own? Were EE’s failings responsible for your personal information being compromised? If you can prove your case, you could be entitled to compensation for any financial, mental or other damage that you’ve experienced as a result.
In this article, we’ll present you with our expert guide on how you could make an EE data breach claim. We’ll help answer some questions that you may have on the subject to give you a better understanding of your rights in this situation, such as:
- How could a data breach be caused?
- How could a data breach be addressed?
- How could I formally report a data breach?
- How much compensation could I be entitled to for a data breach?
- How could I give my claim the best chances of success?
Alternatively, by getting in touch with our team at Legal Expert today, you could learn all of this and more. Our advisors offer specialist consultations tailored to your unique situation, free of charge.
If you’d like to make legal proceedings and we believe that you have grounds to make a successful claim, we can put you in touch with our solicitors. With years of experience successfully handling claims, we operate a No Win No Fee service so you don’t pay a penny if they don’t win you the compensation that you deserve.
So, whether you’d like to get some open and honest advice about your situation or you’re interested in making a claim, speak to our team:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill out a contact form
- Email us about your data breach claim at info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Use the chat feature on your screen
Select A Section
- A Guide To Data Protection Breach Claims Against EE
- What Are Claims For An EE Breach Of Data Protection?
- How Telecommunication Companies Should Comply With The GDPR
- Data Breaches And Failures By EE
- Could A EE Data Protection Breach Be Reported To The ICO?
- How Could A Victim Of A Breach Of Customer Data Protection Be Compensated?
- Calculating Compensation for a Data Breach
- How Do I Claim Compensation If My Personal Data Has Been Breached?
- How Do I Get Legal Help From A Data Breach Lawyer?
- No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Claims Against EE
- Talk To A Specialist Lawyer
- Quick Resources For Claimants
A Guide To Data Protection Breach Claims Against EE
In this article, we’ll present you with our expert guide on how you could make an EE data breach claim.
We’ll begin by familiarising you with some key definitions that we’ll make reference to over the course of this article, including what we mean when discussing data and data breaches. To contextualise these terms, we’ll outline some principles established in data protection laws that determine how your data can and can’t be interacted with by organisations, helping you understand how EE could be liable for your data breach.
Next, we’ll explain how a data breach could happen, providing you with some examples including human error and cyberattacks. We’ll also present you with some real EE data breach case studies to show you how they unfolded, what consequences they had for customers affected and what action was taken against the company by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Following this, we’ll introduce you to the claims process and begin explaining how you could make a successful claim for the compensation that you deserve for an EE data breach. We’ll cover everything from how to estimate the value of your case according to compensation brackets outlined by the Judicial College Guidelines, to what steps you can take to boost your chances of success.
Alternatively, by contacting our team at Legal Expert today, you could learn all of this and more. Our advisors offer specialist consultations tailored to your unique situation, free of charge. With years of experience successfully handling claims, why not get in touch today?
Limitation Periods
Before you make any legal proceedings, it’s important that you’re aware of the following limitation periods that could mean you don’t have long to make a valid claim:
- Typical data breach claims have a 6 year limitation period, after which you’re no longer entitled to compensation
- Data breach claims involving a human rights breach have a 1 year limitation period, so you need to act fast before this window closes
If you don’t claim within the relevant time limit, you run the risk of losing the compensation that you deserve for any suffering that you’ve endured as a result of your data breach. To see whether you could still be able to claim, speak to our data breach team at Legal Expert today for a free consultation on your case.
What Are Claims For An EE Breach Of Data Protection?
To help you understand how you could make an EE data breach claim, we’ll begin by familiarising you with some key definitions that we’ll reference over the course of this article, including what we mean when we refer to data and data breach.
Data refers to any piece of private information that could be used to identify you, either directly or indirectly. This could include:
- Name
- Address
- Date of birth
- Contact details – email address, telephone number and the like
- Financial details – bank account, card details and the like
A data breach is a security incident that puts the privacy of this personal information at risk, either deliberately or accidentally. In such instances, your data may be accessed without authorisation, leaked or disclosed to third parties, or even lost or destroyed.
If financial details are among your data which is accessed, then this could compromise your bank accounts and lead to the theft of your money also. There have been many instances of data breaches leading to the theft of money and credit card details across many different types of businesses. Just one example is the pay as you gym data breach incident from 2016, where members of the fitness website PayAsUGym had their financial details stolen when one of the company’s servers was hacked.
If you can prove that you’ve suffered an EE data breach through no fault of your own, you could be entitled to compensation for any financial, mental or other damage that you’ve experienced as a result. For more information about how you could make a successful claim for compensation, please continue reading our expert guide or speak to one of our advisors today about your situation.
How Telecommunication Companies Should Comply With The GDPR
EE and any company that handles personal data are subject to data protection laws in the UK. These laws are in place to help ensure that your personal details remain confidential and are only used for purposes that you’re aware of and consent to.
Following the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the UK introduced the Data Protection Act 2018 to enact into law the principles of GDPR, such as:
- Data can only be processed for reasons clearly consented to
- Data must be processed fairly and according to the law
- Existing data should be regularly updated
- Data can only be retained for as long as is necessary and consented to
- Data can only be transferred to countries with their own data protection laws
If a company exposes data, then they’re legally required to alert you of this situation within 72 hours. In many cases, victims don’t actually realise that they’ve suffered a data breach until they’re formally notified, though unusual activity may raise suspicion.
If you can prove that you’ve suffered an EE data breach and that EE’s failings were to blame for it, please continue reading to learn about the type of action that you could take. Alternatively, please don’t hesitate to speak to us to see how we can support you.
Data Breaches And Failures By EE
In this section, we’ll present you with some real EE data breach case studies to show you how they unfolded, what consequences they had for customers affected and what action was taken against the company themselves by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
When EE suffered a data breach in 2018, the way in which victims can be impacted were brought to light.
When Francesca Bonafede’s phone stopped working for no apparent reason, she contacted EE, her network provider, to raise her concerns. Five days later, she was informed that someone had switched her account to a new handset.
However, when EE went over the new handset’s details with her, Ms Bonafede recognised that the new address registered was that of her ex-boyfriend. As he was an EE employee, he was able to access Ms Bonafede’s data and successfully transfer her account to a new handset of his own. This meant that any communication meant for Ms Bonafede over the past 5 days had been intercepted by her ex-boyfriend without her consent.
Once Ms Bonafede alerted EE of this issue and filed a complaint against her ex-boyfriend, they reportedly ‘didn’t seem concerned at all’ and told her that ‘no one was available’ to discuss the incident with her. As a result of her personal information being unlawfully accessed, Ms Bonafede’s data breach also led her to being subjected to harassment, with her ex-boyfriend turning up at her home address on multiple occasions.
Due to the distressing impacts of her data breach, Ms Bonafede reported her situation to the police and her ex-boyfriend was arrested. Under data protection regulations, it’s illegal for subjects’ personal data to be accessed without proper authorisation, placing EE in breach of this legislation.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-46896329
In another incident that year, EE unlawfully sent over 2.5 million messages for marketing purposes to their customers without their consent.
Initially, a message was sent out to all customers with the purpose of encouraging them to make use of the My EE app. However, the second round of messages was sent without customers’ permission, as they hadn’t shown any engagement with the initial message.
Under data protection laws, a company must have customers’ consent before they send them direct marketing of any kind. An option to ‘opt-out’ of this type of communication must be given to allow customers to reject receiving them in future. Therefore, the company then has a responsibility to no longer send them.
For their breach of data protection regulations, EE was fined £100,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
How A Telecommunications Company Could Suffer A Hack Or Data Breach
As demonstrated in the case studies above, there are many factors that could cause an EE data breach, which we’ll explore in this section.
Data breaches can be the result of a cyberattack, in which hackers target your personal information in attempts to orchestrate an identity fraud crime or simply steal money from you by accessing your financial details.
It’s also possible for a data breach to occur as the result of human error. In these cases, those with a duty of care to protect your data act in breach of their responsibility and subsequently compromise your privacy. Some examples of this could include:
- Your data being accessed by someone without authorisation
- Your data being missent to the wrong recipient
- Your data being altered without your consent
- Your data being improperly stored, resulting in accidental damage or loss
Whatever the circumstances of your data breach, if you can prove that EE’s failings were responsible for it, you could be able to make a claim against them for any damage that they’ve caused. Please continue reading to find out what steps you could take towards securing the compensation that you deserve.
Alternatively, please get in touch with us today.
Could An EE Data Protection Breach Be Reported To The ICO?
As mentioned above, if you can prove that EE’s failings led to the data breach, you could be able to make a claim against them for any damage that they’ve caused.
In attempts to evidence your claim, you could report your data breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is an independent organisation that regulates how companies interact with your data according to data protection laws. If you report your breach to them within 3 months, they could investigate it for you and determine whether the company in question is liable.
If the ICO find EE liable for your data breach by breaking data protection laws, they could issue them with a fine as punishment. However, though the ICO’s report could help support your claim, this does not guarantee that your case will be successful. In addition, the ICO cannot provide you with any compensation, as they simply function to improve data protection practices in the UK.
How Could A Victim Of A Breach Of Customer Data Protection Be Compensated?
Compensation for data breach claims considers two different types of damage that may have been caused; material damage and non-material damage.
- Material damage
- Whether you fell victim to theft or an identity fraud crime, you could recover any financial shortfall that you experienced as a result of your data breach by claiming material damage. The financial impacts of a data breach can have lasting damage, so things like your credit rating that may not recover could also be considered in your settlement.
- Non-material damage
- In many cases, having your privacy compromised can feel the same as being robbed. Have you found yourself suffering emotionally or mentally as a result of your data breach? If so, you could be compensated by claiming non-material damage. Therefore, any subsequent suffering that you’ve endured could be taken into account in your settlement.
To learn more about how much compensation you could be entitled to for a possible EE data breach claim, please see the section below about calculating estimated settlement figures. Alternatively, why not contact us today for a free assessment of your situation.
Calculating Compensation for a Data Breach
If a data breach at EE were to occur, and you sustained financial damage or psychological harm as a result, you could potentially receive material and non-material damages in your settlement. This could cover financial and psychological damage, respectively.
Previously, you were only able to claim for non-material damages if you’d suffered some form of financial loss. However, due to the ruling in the 2015 Court of Appeal case Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc, this is no longer true. Now, if EE were hacked, and you were harmed, you may be able to claim for psychological injuries caused even if you’ve suffered no financial losses.
The Judicial College Guidelines can give you a better idea of what you could receive. Please note, that these figures only relate to successful claims in England and Wales. Furthermore, they have been taken from the latest guidelines available, published in 2022. Please remember that these figures are not guaranteed, as there are many factors that can determine compensation in a successful case.
| Type of Injury | Severity | Description | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Damage (General) | Severe | There will be marked problems with aspects of the person’s life, such as their ability to deal with education or work. Prognosis will be poor. | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| Psychiatric Damage (General) | Moderately Severe | Significant problems will still be present. However, the prognosis will be more optimistic than in severe cases. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| Psychiatric Damage (General) | Moderate | Prognosis will be good and there will be a marked improvement by trial. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
| Psychiatric Damage (General) | Less Severe | The extent that daily activities and sleep have been negatively impacted will partly determine the compensation amount. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
| PTSD | Severe | Permanent effects will prevent the injured person functioning anywhere close to the pre-trauma level. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| PTSD | Moderately Severe | There will be a better prognosis and some form of recovery due to professional help. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| PTSD | Moderate | Continuing effects will not be particularly disabling as the injured person will have largely recovered. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| PTSD | Less Severe | Within two years, a virtually full recovery will be made. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
How Do I Claim Compensation If My Personal Data Has Been Breached?
As you may be able to gather from the table above, compensation for non-material damage in data breach cases is valued according to the extent of the claimant’s suffering.
If you’re wondering how much compensation you could be entitled to for your EE data breach, please get in touch with our team at Legal Expert today. Our advisors offer specialist consultations tailored to your unique situation, free of charge.
If you decide to work with our solicitors, they’ll arrange a medical assessment for you with an independent expert to help further value your case. The medical report will evaluate how your data breach has impacted you mentally and emotionally, as well as any wider impacts it’s had on your life or could have in the future.
How Do I Get Legal Help From A Data Breach Lawyer?
If you’re interested in making an EE data breach claim and you’d like to find legal help to give your case the best chances of success, it can be difficult to know where to start.
You could ask around to see if family and friends have any recommendations. Alternatively, you could visit your local high street to look for a law firm near you.
However, why not save yourself the time and simply get in touch with our team at Legal Expert today? We can connect with you remotely wherever you are, so there’s no need to prioritise the locality of your solicitor to you. If you’re still undecided, why not take a look through our reviews page to see what our past clients have to say about our services?
No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Claims Against EE
To help eradicate the sense of financial risk associated with making a claim, we work under No Win No Fee agreements so you don’t pay a penny if they don’t win you the compensation that you deserve.
If our solicitors are successful in winning your compensation for you, they’ll only ask for a small percentage of your payout known as a ‘success fee’ to go towards their legal costs. As this is legally capped and there aren’t any hidden or upfront fees to pay at any point, you can rest assured that there’s no catch to a No Win No Fee agreement.
Talk To A Specialist Lawyer
Our advisors offer specialist consultations tailored to your unique situation, free of charge.
If you’d like to make legal proceedings and we believe that you have grounds to make a successful claim, we can put you in touch with our data breach solicitors. With years of experience successfully handling claims, our solicitors operate on a No Win No Fee basis so you don’t pay a penny if they don’t win you the compensation that you deserve.
So, whether you’d like to get some open and honest advice about your situation or you’re interested in making a claim, please speak to us today at your convenience:
- Call 0800 073 8804
- Fill out a contact form
- Email info@legalexpert.co.uk
- Use the chat box, bottom right
Quick Resources For Claimants
We’d like to take this time to thank you for reading our guide to making a claim for an EE data breach.
If you found our guide useful and you’re interested in seeing how our solicitors at Legal Expert could help your case, speak with us today for a free consultation. In the meantime, please take a look at some of the extra resources that we’ve provided below that could be of use:
A detailed guide to professional negligence claims – A guide to professional negligence claims.
Time Limits When Making Claims – A guide to claim limitation periods
No Win No Fee services – A guide to No Win No Fee services
Accident at Work Claims – Understand your rights and legal options if you’ve been hurt at work.
Road Traffic Accident Clams – This guide looks at what are road traffic accidents and how you may be able to claim for one.
Restaurant Accident Claims – Read about how you may possibly be able to claim compensation if you are harmed by a restaurant.
Slip, Trip or Fall Claims – A guide to claiming for an accident involving a slip, trip or fall.
Medical Negligence Claims – Learn more about how claims for medical negligence work.
The following links below provide additional information about the EU and the UK’s data protection laws, which you can access in full at your convenience:
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)
Thank you for reading our guide to EE data breach claims.
