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

By Mark Armstrong. Last Updated 26th August 2021. Welcome to our Data Protection Act breach examples guide. Have you recently fallen victim to a housing association data breach through no fault of your own? If your housing provider’s failings were to blame for your privacy being compromised, then you could be entitled to compensation for any subsequent damage that you’ve suffered, whether that be mentally or financially.

Housing Association data breach claims guideThis article aims to provide you with a comprehensive guide on how to make a housing data breach claim. We’ll attempt to address some important questions that you may have as a data breach victim, such as:

  • What could a housing data breach be caused by?
  • How could I be affected by a housing data breach?
  • What personal information could be compromised in a housing data breach?
  • What do data protection laws stipulate for organisations like housing providers?
  • How could I report a housing data breach?
  • How much compensation could I be entitled to for a housing data breach?
  • How could I give my housing data breach claim the best chances of success?

Why not get in touch with our team at Legal Expert today to easily learn all of this information about how to claim? In having a free consultation with one of our advisors, they could tell you whether you have grounds to make a valid claim and offer you open and honest advice on your situation. In addition, they could put you in touch with our solicitors to handle your claim for you on a No Win No Fee Basis, with years of experience winning clients the maximum compensation that they deserve for their suffering.

So, whether you’re looking for legal advice or you’d like to begin making a data breach compensation claim today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at Legal Expert:

Select A Section

  1. A Guide To Housing Data Breach Claims
  2. What Is A Housing Data Breach?
  3. Who Could Be Affected By A Housing Data Protection Breach?
  4. How Could A Housing Data Breach Happen?
  5. What Personal Information Could Be Exposed?
  6. General Data Protection Regulations And Housing Data
  7. How Do I Claim For A Housing Data Breach?
  8. What Is The ICO And Could They Help Me?
  9. How Much Compensation Could I Claim For A Housing Data Breach?
  10. Housing Data Breach Compensation Payouts Examples
  11. No Win No Fee Housing Data Breach Claims
  12. How To Find A Lawyer Specialising In Housing Data Breach Claims
  13. Start Your Claim
  14. Extra Resources

A Guide To Housing Data Breach Claims

This article will present you with our guide to making a housing data breach claim against the provider responsible. Whether it’s your local council or a private company, you could be entitled to personal injury compensation if their failings were to blame for your personal information being compromised. If you’d like to find out how you could successfully access the compensation that you could potentially be entitled to, please continue reading or get in touch with one of our advisors today.

To start, we’ll familiarise you with some definitions that will be key to your understanding. Throughout this guide, we’ll make reference to the terms data and data breach, as well as the legislation that surrounds them. Therefore, we’ll outline what we mean by data and explain what a data breach could involve, as well as establishing some of the important principles of the country’s data protection laws that you should be aware of.

Next, we’ll provide you with some examples of how a housing data breach could happen, as well as who could be affected by one and the consequences that it could have, ranging from financial to mental damage. To further illustrate this, we’ll also include a real case study of a Watford Community Housing data breach.

To help introduce you to the claims process, we’ll begin by outlining some steps that you can take in the wake of a data breach. These include complaining to the housing provider responsible for your breach directly and reporting them to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to be formally investigated and fined if found liable for breaching data protection laws.

Finally, we’ll offer our expert advice, including how a No Win No Fee agreement could benefit you and how to find a solicitor to give your housing data breach claim the best chances of success.

Get in touch with us at Legal Expert today for our solicitors to handle your claim for you? Rather than entering into legal proceedings yourself, it may be best to rely on the knowledge of a solicitor. To see how we could help you make a housing data breach claim on a No Win No Fee basis, please speak to one of our advisors today.

Limitation Periods

Before you decide to make a housing data breach claim, please be aware that there are certain time limits that apply to your entitlement. If you attempt to make your claim after its relevant limitation period has ended, you risk losing the compensation that you deserve for your suffering.

  • For a typical data breach claim, a time limit of 6 years applies
  • For data breach claims that involve a breach in your human rights, a time limit of 1 year applies.

If you’re unsure whether you could still be entitled to make your data breach claim, please get in touch with Legal Expert today to receive a free consultation on your unique situation. If we believe that you could have grounds to make a valid claim, we can put you in touch with one of our solicitors who could handle your claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

Securing the right legal help could not only boost your case’s chances of success but maximise the settlement that you’re awarded for your suffering, so why not get in touch and see how we could help you?

What Is A Housing Data Breach?

Before offering Data Protection Act breach examples, we’ll familiarise you with some definitions that will be key to your understanding. Throughout this guide, we’ll make reference to the terms data and data breach, as well as the legislation that surrounds them.

Data refers to any of your personal information that could potentially identify you either directly or indirectly. This could include:

  • Name
  • Address
  • Date of birth
  • Contact details
  • Financial details

If any of this personal information is compromised without your consent, whether it’s unlawfully accessed, destroyed, leaked or disclosed, then this is a security incident referred to as a data breach. A data breach can be deliberate or unintentional but typically describes the act of handling your data without authorisation.

Have you suffered a data breach and believe your housing provider’s failings to be responsible? If so, please continue reading to see how you could make a housing data breach claim against them or speak to one of our specialist advisors today for a free consultation.

Who Could Be Affected By A Housing Data Protection Breach?

In this section, we’ll briefly outline the different types of people that could be affected by a housing data breach.

If you’ve suffered a data breach due to the failings of your housing provider, you could potentially be able to make a housing data breach claim against them if you have suffered as a consequence. For more information on how to go about initiating a claim please continue reading this guide or get in touch with one of our advisors at Legal Expert today.

How Could A Housing Data Breach Happen?

There are many things that could contribute to a data breach happening, whether intentionally or unintentionally caused. In this section, we’ll explore some common examples of this to help illustrate how you could be entitled to make a housing breach data claim against the organisation responsible for your breach.

Data breaches can be caused by cyberattacks, in which case a hacker unlawfully infiltrates data security systems to access personal information. A housing provider could be liable for a hack if their data protection systems were inadequately designed or staff weren’t trained to use them properly. Generally, cyberattacks have a purpose of financial gain, with personal information being used for monetary theft or even identity fraud.

On the other hand, data breaches can also be caused by human error:

  • Sending communication containing personal information to an incorrect recipient
  • Leaving documents containing personal information in view of those who aren’t authorised to see them
  • Unauthorised parties accessing databases to obtain personal information for their own personal use
  • Disclosure of personal  information in an inappropriate way or without proper authorisation

If you believe that your housing provider’s failings were to blame for your data breach, you could potentially be entitled to compensation for any damage that you’ve been caused. Please continue reading this guide to learn more about whether you could have a valid housing data breach claim or alternatively, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our specialist advisors for a free consultation.

What Personal Information Could Be Exposed?

Organisations like housing providers can collect a range of personal information that could be used to identify you. The list below presents some examples of data that are often obtained by these organisations but please note that it isn’t exhaustive:

  • Your name
  • Your phone number
  • Your home address
  • Your email address
  • Your date of birth
  • Your ethnic origin
  • Your religion
  • Your sexual orientation
  • Your housing needs
  • Your tenancy details

For more information on the legislation that exists to uphold proper data protection practices, please see the section below or get in touch with one of our advisors today.

General Data Protection Regulations And Housing Data

Any organisation responsible for handling your personal information owes you a duty of care to protect its privacy.

Regulations are outlined under the Data Protection Act 2018, a framework for data privacy and protection practices and also the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Some key principles include:

  • Data processing must be fair and according to the law
  • Data collected must be regularly updated
  • Data can’t be retained for longer than necessary
  • Data can’t be sent to countries without their own proper data protection laws

To see how you could get compensation for any damage caused by your housing provider’s failings, please continue reading for guidance on how to make a housing data breach claim.

How Do I Claim For A Housing Data Breach?

When your personal information has been compromised you could get in touch with the organisation directly to raise your concerns with them.

In an attempt to increase your chances of gaining some form of compensation from them, you could detail the type of suffering that your data breach has caused you, whether that’s financial losses or mental distress. Following this, you could suggest that you intend to be compensated for your suffering.

Whether or not any compensation results from this communication, any response that you do receive from them could still be used against them regardless. For example, they may admit that their failures were responsible for your data breach, supporting any future claim that you may wish to make by evidencing their liability for your suffering.

Once you’ve obtained this information, we advise that you seek legal help to help give your claim the best chances of success. At Legal Expert, our solicitors have years of experience winning compensation for their clients on a No Win No Fee basis. And they can use their experience of handling many Data Protection Act breach examples to help win your case.

What Is The ICO And Could They Help Me?

If you’ve suffered a data breach and believe your housing association to be responsible, you could report them to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO). Providing that a report is made within 3 months of a said data breach, the ICO could investigate the incident to determine whether they are liable for a breach of data protection regulations.

The ICO provides both guidance and penalties to organisations that don’t comply with data related laws in the UK. If their findings show that your housing association was responsible for your data breach, they could fine their behaviour as they see fit.

However, if your intention is to be compensated for your suffering as a result of your data breach, please note that the ICO does not provide compensation regardless of their findings. As part of a housing data breach claim, the ICO’s findings could be used to support your case by evidencing liability. Therefore, it’s important that you report your incident to the ICO in attempts to boost your chances of making a successful claim.

How Much Compensation Could I Claim For A Housing Data Breach?

In this section, we’ll help you understand how much compensation you could be entitled as part of your housing data breach claim. Firstly, we’ll familiarise you with the two different types of compensation that you could claim after falling victim to a data breach; material damage and non-material damage.

  • Material damage aims to restore any financial losses that you incurred as a result of your data breach. You may have had money stolen through having your account accessed. Such incidents can cause permanent issues in terms of your credit, which accounts for why future damage is also taken into consideration when calculating compensation for a data breach.
  • Non-material damage attempts to account for any mental trauma that may have been caused by your data breach. Having your privacy violated can often equate to the feeling of being robbed, which has the potential to affect wider aspects of your life, such as relationships, work, and even your day-to-day ability to function as you did before.

Following the case of Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc in 2015, compensation for data breach claims can now be awarded for non-material damage alone. Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) can be used to assess mental injury.

Housing Data Breach Compensation Payouts Examples

To help illustrate how a housing data breach could happen, we’ll present you with a real case study concerning Watford Community Housing.

In the case of the Watford Community Housing data breach in 2020, victims were told they may be able to claim up to £15,000 after their personal information was sent to over 3,000 of their fellow tenants without their consent.

The data breach was reportedly the result of human error, in which a spreadsheet of tenants’ data was mistakenly attached to an email notifying customers about service changes during the coronavirus pandemic. The spreadsheet included thousands of tenants’ identifiable details, such as their names, home addresses, and contact information.

In addition, sensitive details like their housing needs, religion and sexual orientation were included, making the data breach severely problematic. Many of the tenants requiring housing services were older individuals.

Watford Community Housing has reportedly raised this incident with the ICO and is working closely with them. They are undergoing a review of their practices to prevent an incident like this from happening again. And so these serve as strong Data Protection Act breach examples.

Sources:

  • https://www.watfordobserver.co.uk/news/18611804.watford-community-housing-tenants-can-claim-15k-information-leak/
  • https://www.hayesconnor.co.uk/group-actions/watford-community-housing-trust-data-breach

No Win No Fee Housing Data Breach Claims

Did you know that with a No Win No Fee agreement, you don’t have to pay a penny to your solicitor if your solicitor doesn’t win your case for you?

Given claimants’ sense of financial anxiety in regards to making a claim, we ensure that our solicitors always work on a No Win No Fee basis.

If our solicitors secure your compensation for you, then you’ll be expected to pay them a ‘success fee’ from your payout. However, this is a small percentage that’s capped by law so you don’t have to worry about losing much of your settlement money. With no upfront or hidden fees to pay, why not get in touch to see how our No Win No Fee solicitors could help your housing data breach claim today?

How To Find A Lawyer Specialising In Housing Data Breach Claims

If you’re looking for legal help, there’s no need to ask for recommendations or scour online reviews. In addition, you don’t need to worry about your solicitor’s locality as technology means you can connect from wherever you’re based.

With this in mind, why not get in touch with our team at Legal Expert today? With years of experience winning clients the maximum compensation that they deserve for their suffering, our solicitors could help you make a successful housing data breach claim. For more information, please take a look at our reviews page.

Start Your Claim

In having a free consultation with one of our advisors, they could tell you whether you have grounds to make a valid claim and offer you open and honest advice on your situation.

So, whether you’re looking for legal advice or you’d like to begin making a claim today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our team at Legal Expert today:

Extra Resources

As we draw our housing data breach claims guide to a close, we’d like to thank you for reading. If you’d like any more information about anything that you’ve read today, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with our advisors at Legal Expert for free advice and support.

In the meantime, we’ve provided some additional resources below that may be of interest to you, including our alternative claims guides and links to access the data protection legislation mentioned earlier in full.

Our alternative claims guides:

Access to the UK and the EU’s data protection legislation:

Data Protection Act Breach Examples FAQs

What is a breach of data protection?

This is any situation where personal data falls in the wrong hands or appears in front of the wrong people.

When could a Data Protection Act breach happen?

This is possible at any time; there is no set period when this might occur.

Can you lose your job for breaching data protection?

This depends on the severity of the breach, but it is a definite possibility.

Is sharing an email address a breach of data protection?

This would count as a breach of data protection, especially to a large number of people.

What happens if you breach data protection at work?

This could lead to the organisation receiving a large fine, possibly in six figures or even in seven figures.

Can personal information be shared without consent?

Unless there is a very good reason for doing so, such as safeguarding somebody else, this shouldn’t happen without consent.

What are the golden rules of information sharing?

So, be honest, get advice, only share when appropriate, consider the person’s safety and keep a paper trail.

What is the purpose of the Data Protection Act?

This is to avoid the misuse or mishandling of personal data.

Thanks for reading our guide on what to do if you fall victim to a housing association data breach. But please get in touch if you want further Data Protection Act breach examples prior to filing a claim.

Guide By Mavers

Edited By Melissa.

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