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Holiday Inn Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – How Much Compensation Can I Claim? – Amounts For Holiday Inn Data Breach

How To Claim For A Breach Of Holiday Inn Guest Data Protection

When you book into a hotel, you need to provide a lot of personal information like your name, email address, telephone number, address and sometimes your passport number. That sort of information could easily be used for criminal purpose if it ends up in the wrong hands. Therefore, in this guide, we’re going to look at when you could claim compensation following a Holiday Inn data breach. We’ll look at the harm a data breach could lead to, how they could happen and when a claim might be possible.

Holiday Inn data breach claims guideThe rules on protecting your personal information were tightened with the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and The Data Protection Act 2018. The new laws mean that companies who don’t have procedures and policies in place to protect your data or those involved in data breaches could face massive financial fines from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) so we’ll look at their role later in the guide too.

Legal Expert is here to help if you decide you’d like to make a claim. We offer a no-obligation telephone consultation regarding your case and our advisors can provide free legal advice to help you as well. If they believe your claim is viable, you could be connected with one of our experienced solicitors. Any claim that they take on will be handled on a No Win No Fee basis.

To start a hotel data breach claim right away, please contact us today on 0800 073 8804. Alternatively, please carry on reading to find out more about how data breaches can happen and when you could claim.

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A Guide To Data Protection Breach Claims Against Holiday Inn

You might not have heard of the GDPR, but you’ll probably have noticed the ways in which it affects companies who want to use your personal information. It’s the reason you see pop-up boxes on websites asking you to consent to the use of tracking cookies and why you’ll often see questions on forms relating to how your data is used when you sign up for a new service, pay for goods or book into a hotel.

The new data protection rules mean any company who needs to use your personal information must first ask your permission to use it, the ways in which it is used, and who it can be shared with. Once they’ve sought your permission, it’s really important that the company only uses information about you in the ways you’ve allowed. While most companies have implemented systems to help them comply with the GDPR, mistakes can still happen and, if they do, you could claim compensation for any harm that results.

If you are interested in making a claim, we should tell you about the time limits. In general, you’ve got 6-years to start a claim but that may be reduced to 1-year if the claim relates to a breach of your human rights. We’d always advise you to start as early as possible though, as you’ll find it much easier to recall how you’ve been affected the sooner you discuss your claim with a solicitor.

When you’ve finished reading this guide, please get in touch if you have any questions or if you’re ready to start a data breach claim.

What Are Data Protection Breach Claims Against Holiday Inn?

While this guide is about claiming for a Holiday Inn data breach, the information we’ll provide could be relevant to other hotels too, but what exactly is a data breach? Well, it’s where a breach of security means that your personal information is accessed, disclosed, altered, lost or destroyed in ways that you’ve not permitted.

Data breaches could result from illegal and deliberate acts, but they are also possible when a mistake is made by somebody holding information about you. Also, data breaches can involve information held on computer systems, but they can also relate to physical documentation as well.

While it is entirely possible that a data breach might not lead to any harm, the company responsible could still be issued with a fine by the ICO. If the organisation becomes aware of a breach containing your information, you should be informed when it happened, what data was exposed and how the incident occurred.

The GDPR For Your Hotel

Within the GDPR documentation, there are some key terms defined which we’ll cover in this section. They include:

  • The data subject – this is the party whose personal information is going to be processed. In this case, they are the hotel guest.
  • A data controller – the organisation who needs to define why personal information is required and how it will be obtained (Holiday Inn in this scenario).
  • The data processor – the organisation who will collect data and process it on behalf of the data controller.

As well as those roles, there are some important principles listed as well, which include:

  • There has to be a legitimate reason why personal information will be processed.
  • Processing should be legal, fair and transparent to the data subject.
  • Data may only be kept for as long as was agreed when it was processed.
  • The minimum amount of data possible should be processed.
  • Processing should be secure and confidential.
  • All personal information which is stored should be kept up to date.
  • The data controller must be able to show that they are abiding by these rules.

If you’d like free advice on claiming for a Holiday Inn data breach, please contact an advisor today. To succeed in a claim, it’s important you have clear evidence of the breach and the harm caused.

Examples Of Hotel Guest Data Protection Breaches

While some data breaches are down to human error, others are caused by criminal entities who try to steal personal information for financial gain. In one case, Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) which owns Holiday Inn reported that about 1,200 of its franchisee-owned hotels were affected by malware used to steal customer financial information.

In the breach, which mainly affected US-based hotels, the malware was found on reception desk computers and was thought to have been operational for up to 3-months. The data leaked included card numbers, expiry dates and verification numbers. The reason for the breach was thought to be that chip and pin card machines were not as well used in the US as in other countries.

The company advised customers to monitor their bank statements for any unusual activity and report them to their banks where necessary.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-39642172

How A Hotel Could Be In Breach Of A Guests Data Protection Security

There are many different ways in which a hotel data breach could happen. Some involve computers and others involve documentation that contains personally identifiable information. Here are a few examples:

  • When a computer system fails, and insufficient backups mean personal data is lost.
  • If an email or letter that contains your personal information is sent to the wrong customer.
  • Where a member of staff copies personal information and sells it to competitors.
  • If an office is broken into and personal information is stolen because it was kept in unlocked filing cabinets.

Whatever the cause of a data breach, we could help you claim if it has caused you some form of harm. Please let us know what you think happened and we’ll get the ball rolling.

How To Report A Data Security Breach To The ICO Office

As we described earlier, the ICO has the power to step in and investigate organisations who have broken data protection laws. Before you approach them, though, you should raise a formal complaint with the company you blame first. After you’ve exhausted the complaints procedure of the company involved, you have two choices:

  • Ask the ICO to start an investigation.
  • Seek legal representation and start a compensation claim.

The two options differ because while the ICO can issue fines to companies involved in data breaches, they can’t award you compensation. However, their investigation could provide ammunition for your claim if they agree that the rules were broken.

If it’s been 3-months since your last meaningful contact with the company you’re complaining about, we’d advise you to contact our team to see if a solicitor will take your claim on. If they do, they’ll determine whether an ICO investigation is required or whether an amicable settlement can be reached without more formal action.

To find out how we could help you start a claim, please discuss what happened with a member of our team today.

Ways In Which Breach Of Data Victims Could Be Compensated

When claiming for a Holiday Inn data breach, your solicitor will assess how you’ve been affected. They’ll usually split the claim into two parts:

  • Material damages: This is the compensation that could be claimed for any financial losses you’ve suffered.
  • Non-material damages: The compensation that you could claim to cover the pain, suffering and loss of amenity caused by psychological injuries.

It’s not as easy as that though because each claim is unique and so your solicitor will need to properly understand the impact that the data breach has caused and any long-term problems it could lead to as well.

For instance, if you’ve suffered financial losses already, your solicitor will include those in the claim. They will also consider whether there will be any future financial impact as well. This might be the case if your personal information has been sold on to criminals who’ve used it to obtain credit which could mean your credit file is affected for years to come.

Similarly, when looking at psychological injuries, your solicitor will hire a medical specialist to look at what harm has been caused by anxiety, depression or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). They’ll work out what effect the injuries have had on your ability to cope with life, work and education and also your personal and professional relationships.

As you can no doubt appreciate, there are a lot of things to consider before your claim is submitted. Our advice is to use a specialist solicitor to review your case and claim on your behalf to try and avoid missing out on the compensation you could be entitled to.

For a no-obligation assessment of your case and free legal advice on your claim options, please feel free to get in touch with an advisor at Legal Expert today.

Calculating Compensation For Data Protection Breach Claims Against Holiday Inn

One factor that might help you decide whether to start a claim or not is the amount of compensation you might receive. In some compensation claims, you’re only able to claim for psychological harm if you’ve suffered monetary losses. However, for data breach claims, the Court of Appeal decided in the case of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc [2015], that you could claim for any illness or injuries even if there were no financial losses. In addition, the judges ruled that payments for such harm should be made in line with personal injury law.

As no two cases are the same, we can’t give you a true estimate of what compensation you could be entitled to until your claim has been assessed properly. However, for guidance, we’ve included the table below that shows example compensation figures taken from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG is used in courts and by insurers and solicitors to help calculate compensation settlements.

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Claims For: Level of Severity Range of Compensation Extra Information
General Psychiatric Injuries Severe £51,460 to £108,620 A claimant will suffer serious problems with coping with life, work and education and managing relationships with colleagues, friends, family and anybody else they come into contact with. Additionally, treatment is unlikely to help and the claimant will remain vulnerable in the future. Overall the prognosis will be very poor.
General Psychiatric Injuries Moderately Severe £17,900 to £51,460 The claimant will suffer significant problems which fall into the same categories as those listed above but their medical prognosis will be more optimistic.
General Psychiatric Injuries Moderate £5,550 to £17,900 Again, the same categories of suffering will be inflicted in this category but a good prognosis will be issues and there will already have been a good level of improvement.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Severe £56,180 to £94,470 In this compensation range, the claimant will suffer permanent PTSD effects including symptoms like flashbacks, suicidal ideation, mood disorders and sleep disturbance. Claimants in this category will find all aspects of their life are affected.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Moderate £7,680 to £21,730 While the claimant will suffer in similar ways to the previous category, their prognosis will be better because professional support should help in the long-term.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Less Severe Up to £7,680 When a claimant’s symptoms have all but resolved in around 2-years, with only minor issues continuing, their illness will fall in to this category.

Due to the fact that settlements amounts are based on the severity of your suffering, your solicitor will ask you to attend a local medical assessment as part of your claim. At your appointment, a specialist will review your medical records and ask you questions about the impact of your psychological injuries. After the meeting is over, they’ll prepare a report for your solicitor that contains their findings.

What To Do If You Are The Victim Of A Data Breach?

In this section, we’ll reiterate how you should proceed if you believe you’ve got a valid Holiday Inn data breach claim. In the first instance, you should contact Holiday Inn directly and raise a formal complaint with them. You should be clear about what information you want from them. When you receive a response, you can accept their findings or escalate the complaint if you’re not happy with the answers you’ve been given.

If it’s been three months since you last had contact with the company and you’re still not satisfied, you could seek legal representation to start a claim against them. At this point, your solicitor will evaluate whether a settlement can be reached with the company or whether you’ll need to ask the ICO to investigate your concerns.

If you’d like one of our specialist solicitors to review your data breach claim, please contact us today and let us know what steps you’ve taken so far to ascertain what caused the data breach to happen. If your claim is accepted, a solicitor will be assigned who’ll represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.

Solicitors Dealing With Data Breach Claims

If you’re sat there thinking, “How do I find a solicitor to take on my Holiday Inn data breach claim?”, we could help. While you could ask friends for a recommendation, read online reviews or just choose the most local law firm to take your claim on, you might not end up with a solicitor who specialises in data breaches.

Our team of solicitors have been representing claimants for decades in all sorts of cases. If your case is accepted, you’ll be assigned a solicitor who’ll be available throughout your claim to answer any queries that might arise. They’ll work hard for you to try and ensure the correct amount of compensation is awarded and they’ll handle all communications on your behalf throughout the claims process.

To find out more about how Legal Expert could help you make a hotel data breach claim, please call our team today.

No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Claims Against Holiday Inn

It’s fair to say that making a compensation claim can be worrying. The main factor that concerns people is the risk of losing the money they pay to a solicitor if the case fails. That’s why we have a team of data breach solicitors who will conduct your claim on a No Win No Fee basis if it’s accepted. Not only does that mean your financial risk is lowered, but you’ll also find the whole process a lot less stressful.

When you get in touch, your claim will be assessed by a solicitor before the case is accepted. If they’re happy that there’s a reasonable chance of success, you’ll be given a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to sign. The CFA will explain clearly what work the solicitor will carry out for you and it will also show that:

  • No upfront charges are made which means the claim can begin right away.
  • You won’t be asked to pay any hidden charges or solicitor’s fees while the claim progresses.
  • If the claim is lost, you don’t have to pay any of your solicitor’s fees at all.

Within the CFA, you’ll find a section about the success fee charged by your solicitor if you are compensated. This fee covers the solicitor’s work and costs and forms a small percentage of your compensation. By law, the success fee is capped and, so there aren’t any surprises when the claim is settled, your percentage will be detailed clearly in the CFA.

To enquire about using our No Win No Fee service today, please call one of our friendly advisors.

Begin Your Hotel Data Breach Case

If you’re now in a position where you would like to begin a Holiday Inn data breach claim, there are a number of ways to contact Legal Expert, including:

  • Calling our team of advisors for free advice on 0800 073 8804.
  • Starting an online claim to arrange a call back from a specialist advisor.
  • Asking an online advisor for support in our live chat channel.
  • Sending an email to info@legalexpert.co.uk detailing your claim.

To make things as easy as possible, our claims line is available 24-hours a day, 7-days a week so please feel free to contact us when it’s most convenient for you.

Data Breach Claim Guides

This is the last part of our guide about claiming for a Holiday Inn data breach. To provide you with additional support, we’ve listed some guides and resources below which could prove useful both now and in the future. If you require any further information, please let us know and we’ll do our best to help.

Hotel Accident Claims – Details on when you might be entitled to sue for injuries sustained while using hotel facilities.

Data Breach Compensation – A more generalised look at the harm a data breach can cause and when you could seek compensation for one.

Accident At Work Claims – This guide explains how our specialist personal injury solicitors could help you claim for injuries caused by accidents in the workplace.

ICO Fines – A list of enforcement action and the fines issued by the ICO following data breaches.

IHG Holiday Inn Privacy – This privacy statement from Holiday Inn’s parent company IHG explaining how your personal information is used.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Guide by Hambridge

Edited by Billing