Last Updated 18th August 2025. If you have been involved in a credit score data breach, you may wonder if you are entitled to compensation. This guide will provide information on who may be able to make a personal data breach claim following a credit score breach. We illustrate the data protection legislation that might prove vital when it comes to assessing your eligibility to claim. Near the middle of the guide you will find a table that has a list of mental suffering a data breach could cause along with values that have been attributed by the Judicial College. You could use it to estimate the value of your suffering for your data breach claim.

For more information, you can contact us by:

• Calling on 0800 073 8804
• Using the live chat feature on this page
• Make a claim online

Select A Section

1. What Is A Credit Score Data Breach?
2. UK GDPR Compliance For Credit Score Companies
3. What Data Could Be Exposed In A Credit Data Breach?
4. What Evidence Can Be Used In A Credit Score Data Breach Claim?
5. Time Limit For Starting A Credit Card Data Breach Claim
6. Has The ICO Fined Credit Reference Agencies?
7. How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Credit Score Data Breach?
8. Find Out If You Could Make A No Win No Fee Claim

What Is A Credit Score Data Breach?

A credit score rates how reliable you are when it comes to paying the money back. As such, when you sign up to have your credit score rated you will likely provide lots of information, much of which will be personal or sensitive information. This type of data is protected by data security laws.

A personal data breach happens when information that can identify you is breached in a security incident. In this way, someone may compromise the confidentiality or availability of your personal data.

When making a personal data breach claim the onus will be on you to prove that the security incident in which your data was accessed, lost, stolen disclosed or altered was caused because the company had failed to keep it secure.

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the UK’s independent body that can impose penalties on companies that have breached your personal data.

Who Could Access Your Credit Score?

There are numerous parties who could process your financial information. We’ve put together a list of who those parties could be:

• Credit reference agencies
• Loan providers
• Landlords, housing associations and estate agents
• Banks and financial service providers

It should be noted that the above examples do not represent all parties that could potentially access your credit data. For more information, speak to an advisor today.

UK GDPR Compliance For Credit Score Companies

An organisation that states why and how your personal data should be processed are known as a data controller. You are the data subject if an organisation processors your data. All data controllers must follow data security and privacy laws that are applicable to them

The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), which runs alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), govern how data controllers must function when handling personal or sensitive information.

An organisation can adhere to these laws by being:

• Lawful, fair and transparent.
• Purpose limited.
• Minimal data collected.
• Accurate
• Storage limitation.
• Integrate and confidential (security)
• Accountable.

Collecting evidence is vital to any successful personal data breach claim. If you have experienced a credit score data breach call our advisors for further information. You may have the grounds to make a valid claim. Speak to our team of advisors for more information.

What Data Could Be Exposed In A Credit Data Breach?

Personal information that a credit score company may hold includes your:

• Name
• Address
• Date of birth
• Driver’s license number
• National Insurance number

Any of this information could be used, either alone or in combination with another piece of information, to identify you. This makes all the above details examples of personal data which the data controller must protect.

Failure to do so could come about because of basic human error, or from insufficiently protecting data from an attack.

A credit score data breach could theoretically come about for many different reasons. For example:

• Your data could be emailed to the wrong recipient due to an admin error. If you and the other recipient get each other’s emails and are both affected, you could each seek credit score leak compensation.
• Incorrect system management could mean your information is sent to the wrong address in a letter.
• Systems are backed up by outdated security, allowing hackers to easily access your credit score and personal information.
• If a company still uses fax machines, a misdirected fax could expose your data.
• An employee could print out credit score information and then accidentally leave it in a public place.

If a data breach has led to your suffering, you could have the right to make a credit score error claim. Call now to get a free and straightforward review of your chances of claiming compensation for a data breach.

What Evidence Can Be Used In A Credit Score Data Breach Claim?

Evidence that can be used in credit score data breach claims can include:

• Professional medical diagnosis with psychological distress, and details of any treatment you received.
• A data breach notification letter from the credit organisation, informing you that a personal data breach has taken place and your personal data has been affected.
• Any other correspondence between yourself and the data controller regarding the incident.
• Bank statements, invoices, payslips and other documents that show what financial harm you have experienced. 
• If the ICO opens an investigation, any findings from this can be used as evidence.

The ICO will not award compensation for a credit score data breach, however they do have the power to investigate any data controller or processor and issue reprimands or fines for violations of the UK GDPR. While it is not required to make a claim, a data subject can make a complaint to the ICO if they believe their personal information is being handled incorrectly or suspect a data breach has occurred.

When making a claim for a credit score data breach, supporting evidence is key. As well as demonstrating that some wrongful conduct occurred, causing your personal data to be exposed, the evidence you collect will also show the extent of the damage caused. This is very useful to solicitors when valuing your potential claim. You can find out more about the evidence needed for a personal data breach claim by talking to our advisors. Get in touch today using the details provided below.

Time Limit For Starting A Credit Score Data Breach Claim

You typically have up to 6 years to start a credit score data breach claim. Therefore, you may want to keep a record of the date your data was compromised to ensure you claim within the limitation period.  

If you are not sure how long you have to start a claim, our advisors or solicitors may be able to determine this. 

How Long Will My Claim Take To Settle? 

The amount of time it takes to settle a credit score data breach claim depends on a variety of circumstances. As such, there is no specific timeframe for reaching a settlement. 

Some factors that may determine how long it takes to settle your claim include:

• Whether the third party admitted or disputed liability 
• Whether the number of people affected by the breach is known
• The time it takes to gather evidence and establish third-party liability 
• Whether the data breach is being investigated by the ICO 
• The length of time settlement negotiations take 
• Whether your claim goes through legal proceedings in court 

Regardless of the complexity of your data breach claim, our solicitors will utilise their legal expertise and experience to try to reach a settlement within a reasonable timeframe.

If your claim is successful and you are awarded compensation, you will receive this at the end of the claims process. 

If you have any questions regarding the timeframe for claiming credit score data breach compensation, please reach out to our friendly advisors.

Has The ICO Fined Credit Reference Agencies?

The ICO imposes monetary penalties on data controllers that fail to comply with the legislation set out in the DPA and UK GDPR. The penalties are decided on a case by case basis and aim to be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.

Although the compromised systems were in America, the ICO stated that Equifax UK failed to protect the information of UK citizens during the cyber attack in 2017 that led to nearly 15m Britons being affected. The ICO fined Equifax £500,000.

Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england

More recently, after a two-year investigation concluded in 2020, regarding how Experian, Equifax and TransUnion used personal data, the ICO found ‘invisible’ processing taking place. This may have affected millions of adults in the UK. It is ‘invisible’ because the data subject does not know that the organisation is collecting and using their personal data. This is against data protection law.

This investigation and results prompted these companies to make changes. However, the ICO took no further action against Equifax and TransUnion after the company made improvements.

Although Experian made some improvements, the company did not accept that they had to make further changes. The ICO, therefore, took enforcement action stating changes must be made within nine months or risk a fine totalling £20m, or 4% of the company’s total annual worldwide turnover.

Please get in touch if a credit reference agency has breached your data. Our advisors can offer guidance.

How Much Compensation Could I Get For A Credit Score Data Breach?

You could be compensated between £66,920 and £141,240 if you suffer severe psychological damage that affects all areas of your life badly and has a very poor prognosis. This is according to the Judicial College Guidelines. However, as the title suggests, this is only a guideline figure. Furthermore, various factors impact how much compensation for a credit score data breach someone could be awarded. Additionally, if you suffered both material and non-material damage, this will impact the overall settlement.

• Material damage, or financial losses experienced due to a personal data breach. For example, having to pay for therapy or a loss of earnings.
• Non-material damage. This refers to the psychological harm, such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), that the breach has caused.

It is possible to seek compensation for either or both. For example, compensation for incorrect credit report entries in the UK that lead to a data breach, such as the stress the situation caused and relocation costs.

You should keep records of loss such as credit card statements or invoices to prove material damage. Non-material damage will be calculated during the claim.

Those figuring out your non-material damage for your  credit score data breach compensation might look at the guideline figures for psychological injuries found in a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG).

The table we have created below features JCG amounts, plus a top line that does not come from the document. However, it is only a guide as all non-material damage payouts are based on the merits of each case.

If you have any further questions about what to do after a personal data breach, get in touch with our advisors at any time.

Find Out If You Could Make A No Win No Fee Claim

Working with a No Win No Fee solicitor could be an option if you are worried about the fees a solicitor may charge. Solicitors who work under this arrangement require no upfront fees. When you sign a Conditional Fee Agreement there are no ongoing costs either. Furthermore, you will only pay a legally capped fee if you successfully claim compensation. A fee is agreed with your solicitor before proceedings occur, and it is deducted from your award. Additionally, your solicitor requires no costs if you are unsuccessful in your claim.

Our data breach solicitors may be able to help you make a No Win No Fee claim following a personal data breach. You can speak to an advisor for more information by using the live chat feature on this page. You can also:

• Call on 0800 073 8804
• Use the live chat
• Use our form to claim online

Financial Data Security And Data Breach Resources

You may find the following resources useful.

Data Security Incident Trends – The ICO produces a quarterly report on the latest data security incident trends.

Make A Complaint – The ICO provides information on how to make a data protection complaint.

For further reading, take a look at some of our other guides.

How To Report A Data Breach – What steps you need to take to report a data breach.

Bank Data Breach Compensation Claims – Find out how much you could be owed if a bank has breached your data.

Credit Card Data Breach – What to do if you have suffered damage as a result of a credit card company data breach.

Legal Expert are here to help you following a credit score data breach. Check out our reviews for yourself and decide if you want our advice and support.

Guide by Jennings

Edited By Melissa.