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Bank Data Breach – Could I Claim?

By Stephen Hudson. Last Updated 11th July 2024. If your personal data is exposed through a bank data breach the company could receive a fine from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). You may also be due compensation for the breach if it is caused by wrongful conduct and causes you emotional or financial harm.

All organisations in the UK must implement the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). We will explain these legislations in further detail later on in this guide.

Our advisors can help if you’re unsure whether or not you are eligible to claim. When you get in touch, our team can offer a free consultation, where they can answer your questions and give you free legal advice. To get started:

Laptop with a padlock on the keyboard with the words 'data breach' written on the front and 3 smaller padlocks attached.

Select A Section

  1. Am I Eligible To Receive Compensation From A Bank For A Data Breach?
  2. How Could A Bank Data Breach Occur?
  3. Do I Need Evidence To Claim Compensation From A Bank?
  4. Calculating Bank Data Breach Compensation Payouts
  5. How Could Data Breach Solicitors Help Me?
  6. Related Information On Data Breaches

Am I Eligible To Receive Compensation From A Bank For A Data Breach?

If a bank data breach has impacted you, then you may have a valid reason to seek compensation if you can provide evidence of the following:

  • You can provide confirmation that your personal information has been breached at a bank holding it.
  • The breach has directly caused you to suffer financial losses and/or psychological harm.
  • The data breach happened because a data controller or data processor did not comply with data protection laws.

A data controller determines how your personal information will be processed. Data controllers are often organisations. Data processors carry out the processing of personal data on behalf of a data controller. A data processor is usually an organisation or agency that is separate from the data controller.

All data controllers and processors in the UK should follow relevant legislation when handling data, including the UK GDPR and DPA mentioned previously.

For more advice on whether you’re eligible to start a bank data breach claim, please contact our advisors for free today either online or on the phone.

Time Limits For Making A Bank Data Breach Claim

In the UK, there is a time limit on which bank data breach claims must be submitted. This time limit is generally 6 years, starting from the date you had knowledge that the breach occurred. 

A good thing about working with one of our data breach solicitors, amongst other things, is that they will ensure that your data breach bank claim is submitted on time. 

To find out, “Can I sue my bank for a data breach?”, please contact us today.

How Could A Bank Data Breach Occur?

In this section, we want to discuss how bank data breaches may happen. In order to do this, we’ll go through some examples. Whilst a breach of data protection can happen as a result of cyber criminals hacking data or through malware threats, we want to focus on scenarios where a human error could have occurred.

Below we have listed how a potential bank accounts data breach could happen:

  • Your bank may accidentally send a mass email out to customers. However, instead of using the BCC function, the CC tool is used, meaning a group email data breach occurs, and all recipients will be able to see each other’s email addresses and names.
  • A letter containing your bank account information, including your sort code and account number, may be sent to the wrong address. This is despite your bank having your correct details on file.
  • If a bank employee loses a device containing your personal data, such as their work laptop, your information could be accessed by an unauthorised person.

Continue reading to find out what compensation for a data breach you could be owed. Our advisors are available 24/7 to chat about your situation if you seek more specific information.

Do I Need Evidence To Claim Compensation From A Bank?

In order to build a strong case and successfully claim compensation from a bank for a personal data breach, you must be able to prove that their wrongful conduct caused the breach and that the breach caused you harm. To do so, you can collect evidence.

Evidence can help support a number of different areas of your claim, ranging from the mental or financial harm you’ve suffered as a result of the breach to how the breach occurred and who is at fault. Some examples of evidence that you could collect to help strengthen your claim include:

  • The findings from an ICO investigation: If you decide to notify the Information Commissioner’s Office of the compromise of your data, and they choose to investigate it, their findings could be used to support your case.
  • Letter of notification: If the bank sends you a letter or email of notification with information on the breach and what data was affected, this could later be used as evidence.
  • Medical records: Your medical records may detail the extent of the mental harm you suffered as a result of the breach and any treatment you may need going forwards.
  • Bank statements: Your bank statement, credit report, or other financial documents that illustrate the financial harm you have suffered.

If you choose to work with a solicitor on your personal data breach claim, they can help you collect this evidence and ensure that all areas of your claim are covered.

Read on to learn more about claiming after a personal data breach caused by a bank, and compensation amounts for successful claimants, or get in touch for more information.

Calculating Bank Data Breach Compensation Payouts

Personal data breach at a bank compensation amounts could include two heads of claim. These are:

  • Non-material damage to compensate for harm to your mental health. In the next section, we provide examples of what you could be compensated for under non-material damage.
  • Material damage to help recover any financial losses caused by the data breach. For example, if the data breach resulted in fraudulent purchases from your account. However, you must be able to prove your losses, such as by presenting bank statements.
  • Due to a Court of Appeal ruling in the case of Vidal-Hall and Others v. Google Inc (2015), the way you can claim data breach compensation has changed. Before this ruling, if your personal data was included in a bank data breach, you needed to be eligible to claim for financial harm to make a claim for emotional distress. Now, however, personal data breach at a bank claims can be made for mental harm without including financial harm in the same claim.

Following a breach of data protection, you could suffer psychological injuries such as anxiety or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). If you have been affected by a personal data breach caused by a bank, compensation amounts can be valued in line with figures featured in the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

Although the JCG features settlement ranges relating to personal injury claims, following Gulati and Others V MGN Limited (2015), it was ruled that non-material damage can be valued similarly to how psychological injuries are in a personal injury claim. Therefore, we have taken figures from the JCG to give you an insight into the award you might receive. Please note that the first entry in the table is an estimated figure that is not based on the JCG.

Injury SeverityGuideline Amount
More than one type of serious psychological harm with material damageSeriousUp to £250,000+
Psychiatric Damage Severe (a)£66,920 to £141,240
Moderately severe (b)£23,270 to £66,920
Moderate (c)£7,150 to £23,270
Less severe (d)£1,880 to £7,150
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Severe (a)£73,050 to £122,850
Moderately severe (b)£28,250 to £73,050
Moderate (c)£9,980 to £28,250
Less severe (d)£4,820 to £9,980

It’s worth noting that the figures above are intended to be used as guidelines only. A data breach solicitor will also assess any material damage you may have suffered before valuing your bank data breach claim. Get in touch if you would like one of our expert specialist solicitors to assess your claim.

How Can Data Breach Solicitors Help Me?

Those making a valid bank data breach claim can speak to our advisors about their case. They can confirm whether your case is strong, and if it is, they could then connect you with one of our No Win No Fee data breach solicitors.

Our solicitors can offer their support under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). You can typically expect the following terms under a CFA:

  • You won’t need to pay for your solicitor’s work upfront or as your claim proceeds. You also normally won’t pay for their services if your data breach claim doesn’t succeed.
  • If your claim is successful, your solicitor will be due a success fee which will be taken from your compensation. This success fee is a legally capped percentage to ensure you get to keep most of your compensation.

To learn more about claiming for a data breach in a bank or working with a No Win No Fee solicitor, you can speak to our advisors for free today. To get in touch, you can:

A solicitor and client discuss compensation for a bank data breach.

Related Information On Data Breaches

To conclude, we hope this article has been helpful for you. If you want to make a financial data breach claim but still have lingering questions you may want to check these online guides.

External Resources

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