South Staffs Water Data Breach Compensation | No Win No Fee
Last updated 20th July 2023. If you’ve received a letter or email about the South Staffs Water data breach, a compensation claim is something you may be looking to learn more about. If so, you’ve come to the right place.
Companies like South Staffordshire Water PLC have a legal duty to protect the data they hold on their customers and employees. If that data gets into the wrong hands, it can cause distress, anxiety and financial damage.
If you’d like to enquire about making a compensation claim in relation to the South Staffs Water data breach, we can help.
To get a free assessment of your claim, you can:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Contact us via our secure online form
- Use our live chat feature, bottom corner
South Staffs Water Data Breach – Can I Claim Compensation?
Below, we discuss the eligibility criteria for making a personal data breach claim and the evidence you could obtain to support your case. We also explain how working with our specialist No Win No Fee data breach solicitors could benefit you.
Select A Section
- What Is The South Staffs Water Data Breach?
- Who Could Claim For A Personal Data Breach?
- What Evidence Of A Data Breach Could Support Your Case?
- Potential Compensation Payouts For A Data Breach
- Connect With Specialist No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors
- Learn More About The South Staffs Water Data Breach And Compensation Claims
What Is The South Staffs Water Data Breach?
South Staffordshire Water PLC (also known as South Staffs Water) experienced a significant data breach that took place on the 16th of August 2022.
Customers’ banking details and other types of personal data may have been accessed by hackers and potentially leaked on the dark web.
This includes information such as names and addresses of account holders, as well as their sort codes and account numbers.
South Staffordshire PLC, the parent company of South Staffs Water, has said they have informed the customers involved, but at the time of writing, their investigation is ongoing.
Contact our team of advisors for advice if you have been informed that your personal data was involved in the South Staffs Water data breach. A compensation claim could be possible.
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-stoke-staffordshire-63809829
What To Do If Impacted By The South Staffs Water Data Breach
If you’re a customer of South Staffs Water and want to know if you’ve been impacted by the data breach, then here are some tips on what to do next:
- Get in touch with South Staffs Water to see if you’ve been impacted. Their contact number is 0800 389 1011. You can also complete the form on their contact page to submit an enquiry. You can also find lots of helpful information and support on their website, such as frequently asked questions.
- In the response, you should be informed what data has been impacted and what steps have been taken to secure it.
- South Staffordshire Water PLC should get back to you within a reasonable amount of time. However, if you do not hear from them within 3 months of your initial email, then you can make a complaint to the ICO.
- You do not need to wait for the ICO to respond to you to make a data breach claim. However, it helps to have some form of correspondence from South Staffs Water confirming that your personal information was exposed.
As well as the above, you should also speak with your bank and ask for their advice. Keep a close eye on your credit rating and look out for any suspicious calls, texts or emails—they could be phishing attempts to try and extract more information from you.
If you need any help or guidance on what to do if you suspect you’ve been impacted or for advice on the South Staffs Water data breach and compensation claims, don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Who Could Claim For A Personal Data Breach?
There are two main pieces of legislation in place to protect the use and storage of physical and digital personal data:
- The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA)
To do this, they outline the rules data controllers and processors must adhere to when handling personal data. Data controllers have the overall power concerning the means and purposes of processing personal data. They can employ data processors to follow their instructions and process data on their behalf.
Below we will lay out the criteria of eligibility that must be met to bring forward a personal data breach claim:
- A data controller or processor failed to comply with data protection laws, leading to a data breach.
- This breach involved your personal data.
- As a result, you have suffered from psychological harm and/or financial losses.
One cause of a personal data breach is human error. For example, an email containing personal information is sent to the wrong email address. Additionally, a data breach could happen due to deliberate action, such as criminal activity. The breach must have been caused by a data controller or processor failing to adhere to data protection laws to lead to a claim.
Do Data Breach Claim Time Limits Vary?
Generally, you have six years to initiate a personal data breach claim. It is advisable that you contact our team at Legal Expert to learn more about whether your personal data breach claim is within the relevant time limits. They can also offer insight into whether your case meets the eligibility criteria to bring forward a claim.
What Evidence Of A Data Breach Could Support Your Case?
Following a personal data breach that puts the rights and freedoms of data subjects at risk, the data controller must report the incident to the ICO within 72 hours. Also, they must notify the data subject without undue delay. After being notified of a breach involving your personal data, or if you suspect a breach has occurred, there are steps you can take next:
- First, contact the organisation that was responsible for your personal data when the breach occurred. You could use this correspondence as evidence to support your claim.
- Then, if the organisation does not respond or their response is unsatisfactory, you can report the incident to the ICO. They cannot award compensation but may investigate the data breach. Should they do this, and the findings are in your favour, you could use them as evidence to strengthen your claim.
If the South Staffs Water data breach compromised your personal data, please get in touch with a member of our team.
Potential Compensation Payouts For A Data Breach
For a successful personal data breach claim, you may receive compensation for the material and non-material damage you have experienced.
Firstly, non-material damage is the psychological harm you sustained as a result of the personal data breach. To value non-material damage, data breach solicitors can use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to assist them. This is a document that contains various different injuries accompanied by guideline compensation brackets. Therefore, we have used the JCG to create the table below as a guide.
Guideline Compensation Table
| Type of Mental Harm | Severity | Details | Guideline Compensation Brackets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological Damage | (a) Severe | In cases of this severity, the person has marked problems with their ability to manage with work, daily life and relationships. The prognosis is very poor | £54,830 to £115,730 |
| Psychological Damage | (b) Moderately Severe | In cases of this severity, the person will have significant problems with their ability to manage with work, daily life and relationships. However, their prognosis is much more optimistic than in the severe bracket. | £19,070 to £54,830 |
| Psychological Damage | (c) Moderate | Whilst cases within this bracket will involve similar problems coping with work, daily life and relationships, the person will have made a marked improvement by trial and have a good prognosis. | £5,860 to £19,070 |
| Psychological Damage | (d) Less Severe | Cases in this bracket will be valued depending on the length of the period of disability and the amount that sleep and daily life was impacted. | £1,540 to £5,860 |
| PTSD | (a) Severe | Every area of the injured person’s life will be badly affected. It will involve permanent impacts preventing the person from operating anywhere near the level they did pre-trauma. | £59,860 to £100,670 |
| PTSD | (b) Moderately Severe | Cases within this bracket will be similar to the above. However, there will be a better prognosis for some level of recovery with the help of a professional. | £23,150 to £59,860 |
| PTSD | (c) Moderate | The person will largely recover and any persisting problems will not grossly disable them. | £8,180 to £23,150 |
| PTSD | (d) Less Severe | Within 1 – 2 years the person will make a virtually full recovery. Persisting beyond this period, will only be minor symptoms. | £3,950 to £8,180 |
Please note, these figures do not represent guaranteed amounts that you would receive if you can prove that you were impacted by the South Staffs Water data breach. Compensation awards are unique to every case. To find out more, please get in touch.
How Material Damage Could Also Compensate You
Also, you could receive an award for material damage, which is the financial losses you suffered as a result of the personal data breach. This can include:
- Money stolen from your bank account
- Damage to your credit score
- Loss of earnings
It is essential for you to provide evidence of these losses. To do this, you could provide payslips, bank records and a copy of your credit history.
If you would like to enquire whether you may be eligible to receive data breach compensation, please speak to a member of our team.
Can I Make A South Staffs Water Data Breach Claim
Connect With Specialist No Win No Fee Data Breach Solicitors?
Our team of advisors have access to our specialist No Win No Fee data breach solicitors. A No Win No Fee solicitor may offer to represent you under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This would generally mean the following:
- Firstly, no upfront or ongoing fees for the services provided by your solicitor.
- Secondly, no payments for your solicitor’s services should your claim be unsuccessful.
- However, if your claim succeeds, your solicitor can take a small percentage of the compensation. The legislation outlining the terms of a CFA caps this success fee.
Get In Touch With Our Team
Please contact our advisors for a free consultation. If a member of our team were to find that you may be eligible to pursue personal data breach compensation, they could place you in contact with one of our specialist No Win No Fee solicitors.
To get in touch:
- Call us on 0800 073 8804
- Claim online via our form
- Use our live chat feature below
Learn More About The South Staffs Water Data Breach And Compensation Claims
Please explore more of the guides on our website for further information regarding personal data breach claims:
- Failure To Use Blind Carbon Copy (BCC) On Email Data Breach Claim
- My Personal Data Has Been Lost After A Breach, What Are My Rights?
- Lost And Stolen Devices Data Breach Claims
- Another example came from the Lonzon & Zurich data breach which suffered a ransomware attack.
- A similar incident to the South Staffordshire Water data breach occurred in February 2024 with Southern Water. Find out about data breach compensation claims for that incident here.
Also, take a look at the external links below:
- Data breaches: guidance for individuals and families – National Cyber Security Centre
- Statutory Sick Pay (SSP) – GOV.UK
- Get urgent help for mental health – NHS
To learn more about the South Staffs Water data breach, compensation claims, and what to do if impacted, please get in touch.
