Data Breach Claims Against United Utilities – Could I Claim Compensation?
You will often have to provide your personal information to organisations in order for them to provide a service to you. Once you have given your personal information, the organisation has a responsibility to ensure they take reasonable steps to protect it. If they fail to do so, it could result in a breach of your personal data. This could lead to you experiencing psychological harm or financial loss. In these cases, you could make a claim for compensation against them. This guide will explore when data breach claims against United Utilities could be made.
A guide to data breach claims against United Utilities
This guide will talk about the data protection and privacy laws in place to protect your personal data. It will also outline the responsibility utility companies and other service providers have as per data protection law.
Additionally, we have explored the benefits of hiring a solicitor who offers No Win No Fee services.
If you want to speak to someone directly, our advisers are available to offer free legal advice. To get in touch, you can reach us by:
- Calling us on 0800 073 8804
- Using our contact page
- Using the live chat feature below
Select A Section
- What Could Data Breach Claims Against United Utilities Involve?
- What Data Could Be Exposed In A Utility Data Breach?
- How Could A Utility Provider Breach Your Data Privacy?
- What To Do If You’re Affected By A Data Breach?
- Calculate Compensation For Potential Data Breach Claims Against United Utilities
- Learn More About Steps To Take Should A Data Breach By United Utilities Occur
What Could Data Breach Claims Against United Utilities Involve?
A data breach claim against an organisation involves seeking damages for the financial loss, psychological harm or both that you experienced as a result of a personal data breach. A personal data breach is defined as a security incident that results in your personal data being unlawfully or accidentally altered, destroyed, lost. It can also involve personal data being disclosed or accessed without authorisation.
There is legislation in place that outlines an organisation’s responsibility to protect people’s personal data. The UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and an updated version of the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) are in place to ensure organisations uphold the responsibility they have. The DPA was updated after the UK left the European Union and now sits alongside the UK GDPR.
If an organisation fails to adhere to the legislation in place, it could face investigation from the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). The ICO is a non-departmental public body of the UK government. They are able to issue fines and take other enforcement action if they find an organisation is in breach of data protection law.
If you have evidence of a personal data breach, call our team to find out when data breach claims against the United Utilities could be made.
What Data Could Be Exposed In A Utility Data Breach?
The type of personal information a utility company might process includes:
- Personal information: This could include your name, phone number, address and email address.
- Financial information: This could include your credit card or debit card details.
If you have evidence that your personal data was breached then please speak with an adviser. They can give you more information about when data breach claims against United Utilities and other utility companies could be made.
How Could A Utility Provider Breach Your Data Privacy?
According to Section 3 of the DPA, data processing is any action taken with information such as recording, storing, using or sharing.
Either a data controller or data processor could process your personal data and they must have a lawful basis for doing so. Data controllers determine the purpose for which they are going to process your personal data. They may process this data themselves. Data processors are responsible for processing personal data on behalf of the controller if required.
As per Article 6 of the UK GDPR, there are six lawful bases for the processing of personal information, including consent and legal obligation.
However, the data controller or processor only needs one lawful basis. For instance, if the data controller had your consent, they wouldn’t need another lawful basis for processing.
There are instances where an organisation might fail to adhere to the laws in place to protect your personal data resulting in a breach. For example:
- Your monthly bill containing financial information may have been sent to the wrong postage address, despite having the correct address on file.
- A member of staff may have made a human error and failed to securely store away your personal information. As a result, someone without authorisation may have accessed it.
If you can prove that your personal data was breached due to an organisation’s wrongful conduct, get in touch. An advisor can provide information on when you could make data breach claims against United Utilities.
What To Do If You’re Affected By A Data Breach?
You may be wondering what steps you could take should a United Utilities data breach occur and affect you. After a personal data breach, you could contact the organisation to make a formal complaint. Any communication you have with them can serve as evidence should you choose to make a valid claim.
Additionally, you could make a complaint to the ICO. If they choose to investigate the complaint, you could present their findings as evidence to support your potential claim.
Furthermore, you could hire a data breach solicitor to help you formally begin a claim. They can help you gather relevant evidence and may arrange for you to attend an independent medical appointment. Your solicitor may arrange this in certain cases, such as where you have sustained severe psychological damage.
To see if you could work with one of our solicitors, please reach out to one of our advisers. They can also help you understand when you could make data breach claims against United Utilities.
Calculate Compensation For Potential Data Breach Claims Against United Utilities
The settlement you receive following a successful data breach claim could comprise:
- Material damages: Financial losses incurred as a result of the personal data breach can be reimbursed under material damages.
- Non-material damages: Compensation for mental suffering, such as stress or post-traumatic stress disorder, could be awarded under non-material damages.
To calculate awards for non-material damages, legal professionals such as solicitors often refer to the Judicial College Guidelines to help them. The guidelines contain bracket compensation amounts corresponding to different types of psychological harm.
We have used figures from the most recent edition of the guidelines, published in April 2022. Please only use the figures as a guide.
| Injury | Notes | Compensation Bracket |
|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric Damage | ||
| (a) Severe | The person will experience significant problems relating to different areas of their life. For instance, work, education and their relationships. | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| (b) Moderately Severe | A person will have suffered significant issues affecting several areas of their life but will have a better prognosis. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| (c) Moderate | The person will have made a significant improvement by the time of trial and the prognosis will be good. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
| (d) Less Severe | The award given will take into consideration the amount of time someone was affected. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
| PTSD | ||
| (a) Severe | Cases in this bracket will prevent a person from being able to work or functioning the same as before the trauma. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| (b) Moderately Severe | The person will show improvement following professional help. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| (c) Moderate | The person will have mostly recovered with any ongoing issues not being hugely disabling. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| (d) Less Severe | A person will have mostly recovered within a 2 year time frame. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
You can make a claim for non-material damages independent of material damages, so you do not need to have suffered financial losses to make a claim for mental suffering.
For more information about potential compensation payouts, please reach out to one of our advisers.
Learn More About Steps To Take Should A Data Breach Claim By United Utilities Occur
Our experienced data breach solicitors can offer No Win No Fee services such as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means your solicitor would not require an upfront fee, and they would not charge you any ongoing costs.
Payment would come as a success fee. However, you would only need to pay the success fee if your claim succeeds. If your claim is not successful, you would not pay the fee. The fee comes directly from your compensation and is subject to a legal cap.
Our advisers could potentially put you through to one of our solicitors to help you make your claim on this basis. They could also discuss when you could make data breach claims against United Utilities. If you would like to find out more, you can get in touch by:
- Calling them on 0800 073 8804
- Using our contact page
- Using the live chat feature below
Resources
Below, we have provided some additional resources that you may find helpful.
- ICO: Taking your case to court and claiming compensation
- GOV: Data protection rights for data subjects
- NSCS: 10 Steps To Cyber Security
- Data Breach Via Dropbox
- Microsoft Teams Data Breach
- British Airways Data Breach
For information on when you could make data breach claims against United Utilities, call our team.
Written by Charles
Edited by Mitchell
