Luton Borough Council Data Breach Compensation Claims Guide – How Much Compensation Can I Claim?
On the page below, we will look to examine what steps you could take if a Luton Borough Council data breach occurred. We look at how your personal data is now protected more than ever with the UK General Data Protection Regulation and the Data Protection Act 2018. This guide will explain the laws related to data privacy and security. Also, how the UK GDPR allows victims of an avoidable data breach to make a claim for compensation.
Luton Borough Council data breach claims guide
We have covered a vast amount of information within this guide. However, if you have any questions that we have not answered our claims team is available 24 hours a day. You can contact us on 0800 073 8804 and an advisor will answer all of your questions for you. They can also inform you whether you have a valid data breach claim for compensation. Why not call us today?
Select A Section:
- A Guide On Claiming For A Luton Borough Council Data Breach
- Statistics
- What Could Be A Luton Borough Council Data Breach?
- Are Borough Councils Exempt From The GDPR?
- Ways Local Government Bodies Could Potentially Breach Your Data Privacy
- Breaches Of Tenancy Records And Rent Statements
- Should The ICO Be Notified Of My Case?
- Claiming Compensation And Taking Your Case To Court
- What Could Your Payout Compensate You For?
- Calculate Payouts For A Luton Borough Council Data Breach
- Claim For A Luton Borough Council Data Breach On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Start Your Local Government Data Breach Claim
- Contact Us
- Useful Information
- FAQs On Data Breaches By Borough Councils
A Guide On Claiming For A Luton Borough Council Data Breach
This guide aims at giving you all of the background information on what you could do should a Luton Borough Council data protection breach happen. We begin this guide off with some basic statistics related to data breaches, and a general overview of what a data breach claim is.
Following this, we look at the laws that apply to data security and privacy in the UK that if not complied with by a local authority, could potentially be construed as a local council data breach. You will learn about some of the ways that a data breach can happen as well. Including how council tenants personal information could be exposed if not protected appropriately.
Next, we look at the regulatory body that is responsible for managing data security and privacy in the UK. Importantly, we look at the criteria for making data breach claims. We must state from the outset that just because a data breach has occurred this does not automatically entitle you to be able to make a claim. If an organisation has ticked all the relevant security boxes in keeping data safe they may not be liable if a breach occurs.
Next, we look at financial considerations. Including information about the types of damages you might be able to claim, as well as an example compensation table. To conclude we examine how No Win No Fee solicitors can provide their services without an upfront payment. We finished this guide off with some advice on how to begin a claim, some reference links and finally a short FAQ section.
Time Limits For Claims
If you need to make a data breach, there is a time limit you need to start your claim within. The time limit is driven by the circumstances of your claim. For example:
- In general, six years for a data breach against a private company.
- If your claim is against a public body or council, then you have one year to start your claim.
Other factors can affect the time limit, and we don’t want you to miss out on compensation by taking too long. So we recommend that you contact our team of advisors to find out exactly which time limit applies.
More Advice
You might be the type of person who doesn’t like to take advice from the text on a website. We understand this and have an alternative for you. It may not always be easy to know what steps you can take if a Luton Borough Council data breach happened our claims team is on hand whenever you need them. They will answer all of the questions you have about claiming data breach compensation. You can use the contact data at the end of the page to reach out to our team. They are available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day to help you.
Statistics
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is a non-departmental public body that is responsible for upholding information rights. As part of the service offered by the ICO, it publishes data and statistics related to data breaches. We have created this graph below based on some of this data.
What Could Be A Luton Borough Council Data Breach?
Luton Council has to comply with rules and regulations of the country, that pertain to keeping your sensitive and personal data safe. This includes the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA), which enacted the EU General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) into UK law. However, since leaving the EU the UK had devised their very own version of GDPR.
A data controller, those who collect a data subject’s personal information, have to comply with these laws at all times. A failure to do so could put your data at risk of access by an unauthorised party. Additionally, these laws limit the use of your data to only uses that you have expressly given permission for. Or that have another lawful basis for processing. Should a Luton Borough Council data protection breach occur it could potentially mean that personal information is exposed.
To hold a valid claim for data breach compensation the onus would be on the data subject to prove with evidence that their personal information was not protected in the way it should have been.
Are Borough Councils Exempt From The GDPR?
Luton Borough Council is not exempt from DPA compliance. A council will usually be known as a data controller as they process personal information. Data controllers have to comply in the same way as any organisation processing personal data has to. There are 6 lawful bases for processing personal information and consent is just one. So data controllers do not always need a data subject’s consent to process personal information.
If a local authority is in breach of UK-GDPR, the ICO has the power to enforce these regulations. The ICO also has the power to initiate large fines for breaches of the Data Protection Act.
Ways Local Government Bodies Could Potentially Breach Your Data Privacy
A data breach is a security incident that has the potential to compromise a data subject’s personal information. If a data breach occurs data has either been accidentally or deliberately accessed, lost, destroyed, disclosed or altered without authorisation. Let’s now look at ways that a data breach could potentially occur;
- Lax cyber security allows access to personal data through the a council website.
- An employee speaks to an unauthorised third party about a data subject’s personal information.
- Data breaches are caused by a letter being posted to the wrong address when the address was recently updated.
- Personal information is not redacted when a group email is sent out.
- Laptops and memory sticks that are not passworded or encrypted are lost.
If a Luton Borough Council data breach did occur then the Luton Borough Council data protection officer may need to inform the ICO of the breach if the freedoms and rights of a data subject were at risk. This would need to be done within 72 hours of recognising personal data has been breached.
Breaches Of Tenancy Records And Rent Statements
Tenancy agreements and rent statements can hold a lot of personal information about a tenant on them. It is important that local authorities who provide public housing ensure that this information is kept safe. Falling into the wrong hands this information could be used for criminal activity. If such personal and sensitive information is breached victims can also suffer through mental anguish as well as any financial losses. How could information on tenancy agreements and rent statements be breached?
- Due to poor cyber security hackers are able to infiltrate computer systems and download tenancy and rent statements.
- Files containing tenancy agreements are thrown out in general waste.
- A council laptop is lost containing unencrypted files with tenancy information.
These are examples of scenarios for data breaches. Of course, the list is by no means exhaustive. If you think your tenancy data has been compromised in some way, speak to our team to learn whether you have a valid claim or not. If it is, we may be able to provide you with a solicitor to process your claim for you.
Should The ICO Be Notified Of My Case?
If a Luton Borough Council data breach was to occur depending on whether the rights and freedoms of data subjects were at risk would dictate whether the ICO should be informed. Not all data breaches will need to be reported to the ICO.
You also have the right to contact the ICO if you suspect you have fallen victim to a data breach. But first, you may want to make a Luton Borough Council data protection request for clarification on the problem. If you do not receive a proper response you can contact the ICO within 3 months of your last communication with a council. You do not have to report the problem to the ICO. You can move straight on to making a claim if you wish. Call our claims team for more information about how to go about this.
Claiming Compensation And Taking Your Case To Court
Before moving straight to a data breach claim you may want to gather evidence but also ensure that you have a valid case. As we have mentioned previously not all data breaches will mean a compensation claim is possible. An organisation may have gone to full lengths to protect your data but a breach occurred anyway. In these circumstances a data breach claim is unlikely.
So Firstly, it may be a good idea to contact the organisation you believe may have been responsible for breaching your personal information. If you are not happy with the responses that you are given as we said above you can move to make a complaint to the ICO.
You can start a claim regardless of whether you have made a complaint to the ICO, and regardless of any action (or lack of) that the ICO has taken. To have your data breach case assessed for free call our advisors today. Through a consultation that is free of charge your case, along with any evidence can be reviewed.
What Could Your Payout Compensate You For?
Back in 2015, there was a case in the Court of Appeal, Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc, that set the stage for people claiming compensation for mental harm alone caused by a data breach.
Facing the consequences of a data breach could be a very stressful and traumatic time for you, especially if it has led to significant financial loss. Such stress could easily lead to psychological problems. Problems that could be claimed for.
The flip side of the coin is the financial loss you may have faced. In a case of identity theft, your savings might have been accessed, your credit cards run to the max, and new loans are taken out in your name. All of these could potentially be claimed for. On top of this, there are the direct costs of making a claim. Such as postage or using a document courier. These could be claimed for as well.
Our claims team can tell you more about the types of damages you might be able to claim if you call and explain your case to them. If you do have a valid claim, we can organise a lawyer to start working on your claim without paying a fee until the claim has been won.
Calculate Payouts For A Luton Borough Council Data Breach
It is impossible to give an average amount of compensation you might get if you win your data breach claim. Instead, you can use the table we have included below to get a rough idea of the level of compensation your suffering might be worth. A data breach settlement can consist of material and non-material damages. Therefore, the figures in the table below are for non-material damages such as stress. Material damages consist of financial losses.
We based this table on information found in the guidelines by the Judicial College. The table shows possible compensation ranges for different levels of psychological injuries that could be compensated for as non-material damages
| Medical Problem | Severity Level | Possible Payment | More Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychiatric harm | Moderate | £5,500 – £17,900 | All moderate mental issues that are the result of exposure to mildly traumatic events fall under this category of psychological injury. The victim’s symptoms would limit both their functional level and the quality of their lives in some ways. Following a period of treatment, it is very likely that the victim will recover completely. |
| Psychiatric harm | Less severe | £1,440 – £5,500 | The category of psychological damage described here includes all less severe mental issues, the claimant will probably have trouble with sleeping and daily activities. |
| Psychiatric harm | Moderate – severe | £17,900 – £51,460 | Mental health problems resulting from shock or a traumatic event fall into this category of psychological damages. The victim’s symptoms would limit both their functional level and the quality of their lives in some ways. After undergoing treatment, it is likely that the victim will continue to suffer from symptoms for the foreseeable. |
| Psychiatric harm | Severe | £51,460 – £108,620 | This category of mental damage encompasses all severe mental issues that have been caused by repeated exposure to extremely traumatic events. As a result of these symptoms, the victim’s functionality and quality of life would be severely restricted. It is very likely that the victim will continue to experience some level of symptoms even after a long period of treatment. |
Another option is to use a tool such as an online personal injury claims calculator to get a general idea of the amount of compensation you might claim. For a much more accurate estimate of the compensation you might win, we can arrange for a solicitor to value your claim for you. Please call us to get this organised.
Claim For A Luton Borough Council Data Breach On A No Win No Fee Basis
Have you heard the phrase No Win No Fee before? Do you realise that you might be able to make a claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor for a data breach? This means you do not have to pay your solicitor an up-front fee to start working on your case. Furthermore, if the claim is not successful, your lawyer will not ask to be paid any fee at all.
If your lawyer does reach a successful resolution to your claim, they will expect to receive a success fee. How much you have to pay is limited. The fee can be collected out of the compensation payment that the lawyer will have been sent for you. For more information about making a claim in this way, please reach out to our team. They can advise your further, and help you to get your claim started as soon as possible.
Start Your Local Government Data Breach Claim
Hopefully, this guide has provided you with information on what you could do following a Luton Borough Council data breach. If you need any more questions answering we offer a simple three-step process.
- Call and speak to an advisor, who will answer any questions that you have.
- The advisor will evaluate your claim and let you know whether a claim is viable or not.
- An expert data breach lawyer will begin processing your claim for you.
Contact Us
Use the contact details below to get in touch with us and learn how we can help to get your claim underway today.
Telephone: 0800 073 8804
Or you can contact us using the contact form
Useful Information
All of these other online guides are published on this site, and maybe worth looking at.
Firstly We Have, Claiming Against A Housing Association Because Of A Data Breach
Then, A Guide About, Explaining Lawsuits For Data Breached By Lawyers
Finally, A Guide About, Claiming For Data Breach Related To Child Sexual Abuse
All of these websites have some information that might relate to your claim.
An Explanation Of The Data Protection Act
To conclude, GDPR Info From The European Commission Information
Other Useful Compensation Guides
- GP Data Breach Compensation Claims
- Malaysia Airlines Data Breach
- Mansfield District Council Data Breach
- Middlesborough Council Data Breach
- Middlesex University Data Breach
- Morrisons Data Breach Compensation Claims
- Morrisons Pharmacy Data Breach
- Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council Data Breach
- Newman University Data Breach
- NHS Surrey Data Breach
- North Lincolnshire Council Data Breach
- Northampton Borough Council Data Breach
- Northumbria University Data Breach
- Norwich University Data Breach
- Npower Data Breach Compensation Claims
- Nuffield Health Data Breach
- Nuneaton and Bedworth Council Data Breach
- Queen Margaret University Data Breach
- Ravensbourne University London Data Breach
- Reading Borough Council Data Breach
- NHS Data Breach Compensation Claims
FAQs On Data Breaches By Borough Councils
In this short FAQ section, we are going to answer some of the questions that people commonly have in relation to data breach claims.
Pre-action considerations you should make?
You can use a data breach lawyer for this part if you want to. These are are the consideration to take before taking a case to court.
What evidence do I need?
You could provide proof of loss of money and of any psychological harm you have suffered. You also need proof that the data breach happened because of failures of the part of the data controller.
What do I need to demonstrate to make a claim?
The onus will be on the claimant to prove that their personal information was not protected appropriately.
Who is the defendant in my claim?
The defendant is the party you hold responsible for allowing your data to be breached.
Thank you for reading our guide on steps you could potentially take if a Luton Borough Council data breach occurred.
Guide By Wheeler
Edited By Melissa.
