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

I Was Affected By A BT Data Privacy Breach, Am I Due Compensation?

By Daniel Archer. Last Updated 21st June 2022. Have you been affected by a BT data breach? Did you know that if you were and can prove you suffered harm as a result, you could be eligible to make a BT data breach claim for compensation?

In the data-driven world we’re in, the security of our personal data is something that data processors should take very seriously indeed. However, sometimes things go wrong, and if your personal data has been breached due to a cyber attack, hacking, a security incident or simply due to human error, it could have a number of unpleasant consequences. Due to the legal responsibilities companies such as BT have when it comes to GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, a breach of your personal data that causes you to suffer harm could lead to you being able to claim compensation.

BT data breach claims guide

BT data breach claims

This guide has been put together to help those who have been affected by a BT data protection breach. In the sections that follow, you can find information about the General Data Protection Regulations, or GDPR, and how a breach of GDPR could lead to a company like BT being issued with enforcement action by the ICO.

We also look at how those people who have been harmed psychologically or financially by a BT data breach, could seek compensation from BT with the help of one of our lawyers.

If you’d like to ask us anything about making such claims, or would like us to provide you with a No Win No Fee data breach solicitor to help begin a claim on your behalf, you can reach our expert team on 0800 073 8804 at any time.

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A Guide To Data Protection Breach Claims Against BT

This guide has been created to help victims of a BT data breach claim compensation for financial and emotional harm they can prove they sustained as a result of a breach of their personal data.

BT, like all other organisations that store and process personal data, are legally obligated to abide by the Data Protection Act 2018, and GDPR, which require organisations to carefully protect the data they hold and process.

But sometimes, through accidental or malicious means, your data could be breached. This could be the result of:

  • A cyber attack
  • A virus
  • The loss or theft of computer equipment containing your personal data
  • A hacking
  • Human error
  • Negligence in the maintenance of computer equipment

If your data has been breached and it has led to you suffering financial damage or emotional distress, you could be eligible to claim compensation.

This guide provides a wealth of information surrounding data breach claims against BT. We offer information on how your personal data should be protected, and advice on reporting a data breach. We also talk about the types of compensation you could claim and the legal precedent that allows you to claim for personal injury as the result of a data breach.

You’ll also find information about how we could help you make a compensation claim against BT for a breach of your personal data. We hope you find this guide helpful.

What Is A Data Breach Claim Against BT?

If your data has been breached, it may cause you to suffer financial harm. It could also cause you anxiety, stress and emotional distress. But what is a data breach and what are the consequences of a data breach? And how do you know whether you could make a claim?

What Is A Data Breach?

Data relating to you could include your name, e-mail address, home address, telephone number, financial details and more. A data breach is classified as an incident where your personal data is unlawfully or mistakenly:

  • Lost
  • Stolen
  • Accessed
  • Transmitted
  • Altered
  • Processed
  • Stored

What Harm Could A BT Data Breach Cause?

Depending on the cause and nature of the breach, it could lead to some unpleasant consequences, such as:

  • Financial theft – if someone were to use the data that has been breached, whether on its own or in combination with other data to access your financial accounts, they could make unlawful purchases in your name. They could even take money from your bank account.
  • Identity theft/fraud – if someone used the data that had been breached to assume your identity, they could apply for finance in your name and this could leave you in a precarious financial situation.
  • Emotional harm – whether someone has committed financial theft/identity fraud due to a breach of your personal data or not, the breach could cause you to suffer emotional distress. The worry of what someone could do with your personal data could lead to a loss of sleep, anxiety, depression or other negative effects on your mental health.

While data breach claims against BT may not undo all of the harm caused by a breach, compensation could help you recover financially, and it could help you to move on after what could be considered a traumatic experience.

GDPR Compliance For Telcos

GDPR, or the General Data Protection Regulation, has been enacted into EU law since 2018. It is the strongest security and privacy law throughout the world and requires anyone who processes or stores personal information relating to EU subjects to comply with it. In 2018, the Data Protection Act 1998 was replaced with the Data Protection Act 2018, which was enacted to bring it into line with GDPR.

In order to comply with GDPR organisations that hold or process data must do so in accordance with the following 7 principles.

  • Accountability – controllers and processors of data must be able to prove compliance with the principles of GDPR
  • Confidentiality and Integrity – The confidentiality and integrity of data must be maintained.
  • Accuracy – personal data must be updated regularly and must be accurate.
  • Minimisation – data stored and processed must be the minimum required for the purpose.
  • Storage limitation – the length of time data is stored should be kept to a minimum for its purpose.
  • Purpose limitation – the data collected must be the minimum amount of data needed for its purpose.
  • Transparency, lawfulness and fairness – the controllers or processors of data should be transparent with the subjects it has collected data from and must hold and process data lawfully and fairly.

What Happens If There Is A Breach of GDPR And My Data Is Breached?

If BT has breached GDPR, and you can prove that the breach has caused you to suffer financial or emotional harm, you could make a BT data breach claim against them for compensation. We could help you claim the compensation you deserve.

Examples Of Breaches By BT And Action Taken Against Them

If you’re wondering what are the consequences of a data breach in terms of the action the ICO could take against an organisation, you might be interested to know about a case where the ICO fined BT for such a breach.

The fine, which amounted to £77,000, was levied against BT after it was found to have sent almost 5 million ‘nuisance’ emails to customers between December 2015 and November 2016. The ICO’s investigation discovered that the customers’ consent had not been given for these e-mails and that BT was in breach of Regulation 22 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003.

How A Telecoms Company Could Breach Your Data Privacy

Data breach claims against BT could be justifiable in cases where personal data they held about you was:

  • Sent to an unauthorised person without your permission (accidentally or deliberately)
  • Stored on a device or system that was lost or stolen
  • Altered without you giving permission
  • Accessed by someone who was unauthorised to do so
  • Breached due to deliberate or accidental action/negligence by the data controller or processor

These are just a few examples. As well as proving that your data has been breached, you would also have to prove that you had suffered material or non-material harm because of the breach of your personal data to be eligible to make a claim—something we’ll discuss further below.

If you’re at all unsure as to whether you could claim, why not get in touch with our expert advisors? We could assess your case and provide guidance and support to help you claim the compensation you deserve.

Should I Report The Company To The Information Commissioner’s Office?

You may not be aware of this, but in the first instance, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) suggest you contact the company that breached your data, rather than reporting it directly to the ICO. Their advice is to report concerns if:

  • You believe your information is not being kept secure/has been breached
  • You believe the information someone holds about you is inaccurate
  • You believe the organisation has disclosed your information without your permission
  • You believe the organisation is keeping your information longer than it should
  • Has collected your information for one reason but is using it for another

What Should Be Included In A BT Data Security Breach Report?

It would be wise to include a description of the specifics of the breach of your data, how you believe it happened and how it has affected you. It would also be useful to ask them to respond within a given timescale.

If you do not receive a satisfactory response, or they do not respond within the timescale you gave, you could then report your concerns to the ICO and ask them to investigate. We should mention that any undue delays in reporting a breach to the ICO could mean they don’t investigate it.

We should also mention that reporting a breach to the ICO isn’t a requirement for making a data breach compensation claim. If you believe you could be eligible to claim, we could advise you on your rights and help you get started with a claim.

How You Could Be Compensated For The Data Breach

Successful data breach claims against BT could lead to compensation for both material (financial) and non-material (psychological) harm.

Calculating the costs of the financial harm you’ve suffered might not be as simple as you may have thought, however. You could claim for the financial harm you’ve suffered if your bank account or card details have been breached and you’ve been stolen from. However, a lawyer could also claim for the loss of privacy you’ve endured due to a data breach too.

Additionally, if a BT data breach has caused you to lose sleep, suffer from anxiety, depression or other types of emotional distress, this could lead to further compensation. This would require you to undergo an assessment with an independent medic, who could write a report detailing the harm you’ve suffered and how it has affected you. This could be used as evidence in a claim for personal injury caused by the breach of your personal data.

How Much Compensation Could I Receive For A BT Data Breach?

If your personal data breach claim is successful, you could be awarded two types of damages. The amount that is calculated to compensate you for the effect on your mental health is called non-material damages. The figure for financial harm is known as material damages.

Since 2015, data breach victims have been permitted to claim non-material damages without also claiming for financial loss. This is due to the ruling in the Court of Appeal case of Google Vs. Vidal-Hall.

Due to the result of another case in 2015, Gulati & Others Vs. MGN, legal professionals should now value non-material damages in data breach claims at the same value as psychological damage in personal injury claims. This means they are now permitted to use a publication called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to assist them in valuing non-material damages.

Each injury in this publication has a range of figures. We have included some examples from the latest edition of the JCG (2022) in the table below.

Edit
Injury type Level of compensation Notes
Moderately severe psychological injuries £19,070 to £54,830 There would be an impact on the injured party’s ability to cope with life, education and work and on their relationships too. However, the prognosis would be more positive than the most severe injuries of this type.
Moderate psychological injuries £5,860 to £19,070 Issues above could still remain but there would have been a marked level of recovery prior to trial and a good prognosis.
Less severe psychological injuries Up to £5,860 The ability of the injured party to sleep and perform their usual daily tasks would be assessed as well as the length of their suffering.
Moderately severe cases of PTSD £23,150 to £59,860 With professional assistance, the injured party might have made some improvement to their ability to cope with life. However, there would be significant disabilities that would be lasting.
Moderate cases of PTSD £8,180 to £23,150 The injured party would have largely recovered. Any continuation of symptoms would not be highly disabling.
Less severe cases of PTSD £3,950 to £8,180 Injured parties would have recovered almost completely within 1 to 2 years. Some very minor symptoms may persist.

Should a BT data breach occur you might be wondering if you could claim BT compensation? Get in touch with our advisors should BT be hacked and your personal data be exposed.

How To Start Your Claim If A Private Company Breached Your Data Privacy

If you can prove that you’ve been harmed by a BT data breach, you could take action on your own. You could report the breach to the Information Commissioner’s Office, and you could write to BT to ask them to compensate you for the harm you’ve suffered. But how do you know what a ‘good’ offer of compensation would be for a data breach? And how would you react if the company refused your request for compensation?

Can I Get Compensation For A Data Breach With Assistance From A Lawyer?

Having a solicitor on your side when you are making a data breach claim could be beneficial. A lawyer could:

  • Take on the legal legwork involved with making your claim
  • Respond to communications from BT about your data breach claim
  • Negotiate compensation on your behalf
  • Fight for the maximum compensation possible for your case
  • Ensure that you don’t miss out on any compensation you could be eligible to claim
  • Ensure that the action taken is within the relevant time limit for your claim (6 years for data breaches and 1 year for breaches of human rights)

How To Choose A Specialist Solicitor

There are many legal firms out there that could help you with data breach claims against BT, but here at Legal Expert, we believe we’re in a great position to assist you. We could provide free legal advice and guidance, as well as eligibility checks if you can prove you’ve suffered material or non-material harm from a BT data breach. We could also provide you with a solicitor who could fight for compensation on your behalf.

We have been helping claimants in a variety of situations to claim the compensation they deserve. Not only do our lawyers work on a No Win No Fee basis, which means you would not pay them anything until your claim was successfully won, but they come highly recommended, as you can see from our reviews.

We’d be delighted to help you with making a data breach claim against BT for a breach of your personal data, provided you have clear evidence of the breach and the harm caused. Why not give us a call?

No Win No Fee Data Protection Breach Claims Against BT

Data breach claims against BT could be launched under No Win No Fee terms. This means that claimants don’t have to pay their lawyers upfront and would not have to pay them until compensation had been paid out, either.

Such claims are documented under Conditional Fee Agreements (the formal name for No Win No Fee agreements). The way in which they work is as follows:

  • You’d be asked to sign an agreement. The agreement would show you the success fee that you would pay your lawyer if they achieved a payout for you. The success fee is legally capped. It represents a small proportion of your compensation.
  • Once you’d signed your agreement, your lawyer would begin to build your case and negotiate compensation for you.
  • If they achieved a compensation payout, the success fee would be taken from your eventual payout.
  • If they did not get any compensation for you, you would not be asked to pay their success fee or costs.

We have included a link to provide further information on making a No Win No Fee data breach claim in the resources section below. If you’d like us to provide you with a No Win No Fee lawyer for your BT data breach claim, we’d be happy to do so. All you need to do is get in touch.

Talk To An Expert

If you’re ready to get started with a BT data breach claim, or you’d like us to check whether you could be eligible for compensation, our team are ready and willing to help you. You can contact us by any of the means below:

What Else Do You Need To Know?

General Guidance On Data Breach Reports– Information about reporting data breaches and claiming compensation can be found in this guide.

How Should A Company Act If They’ve Been Breached – If a company is made aware of a potential data breach, this page shows what they should do.

How Is My Data Used? – The use of your personal data is discussed on this page of the ICO website.

Making a No Win No Fee Data Breach Claim– Details of how to make a No Win No Fee claim could be found here.

Data Breach Involving Credit Card Information – If you believe your credit card information has been breached, this guide could be useful.

ICO Enforcements – You may be interested to know what enforcement actions the ICO has taken against companies who have had data breaches before. If so, this page could be useful.

Other Useful Compensation Guides

Thank you for reading our guide to BT data breach claims

 

Guide by Jeffries

Edited by Billing

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