Do I have a claim?

Under new European legislation that came into force on 25 May 2018 – the GDPR Act – misuse of or carelessness with your personal data by organisations now means that you may be entitled to compensation. You don't have to demonstrate that you have suffered a direct financial loss as a result of that misuse or carelessness. And this doesn't have to be a new case since the new legislation came into force – cases that happened long before the GDPR Act came into force may also be covered by it. This means that you might be entitled to compensation for your personal data having been misused over the past few years.

What is the GDPR act and how does it apply to me?

The GDPR is a data privacy regulation designed to align data privacy laws across Europe and to protect and empower all EU citizens regarding their data privacy. This regulation is directly binding and .and creates one single set of data protection law across all 28 European member states. There is a plethora of marketing campaigns referencing GDPR and compliance – and as such the compliance industry is in a state of flux. The GDPR must be complied with by an organisation, entity, company or business that processes personal data.

Personal data can be defined as any information, whether on its own or if combined, identifies a specific individual, whether it relates to his or her private, professional or public life. This may be anything from a name, home address, photo, email address, bank details, social media posts, websites, medical information, or an IP address.

What successful claims have there been?

As yet, this is new territory and work is only just starting to come through. But there are two very large cases currently going through the British courts involving the internet search giant Google and the well-known supermarket Morrisons.

Google

Google is accused of illegally collecting personal data from iPhone users in 2011 and 2012. The allegations are that the tech giant bypassed the default privacy settings on Apple iPhones to track the online activity of people using the Safari browser. It is claimed that the data collected in this way was used by Google in its DoubleClick advertising engine, allowing advertisers to target messages according to an individual’s personal browsing history. Although Google says the case has no merit, it has been in breach of the UK Data Protection Act by taking and utilising personal data without the users' knowledge or permission. Google has already paid substantial sums in the US over what has become known as the “Safari security bypass”. This class action against a tech firm is the first of its kind in Great Britain. Legal experts have estimated compensation of £750 per user, and with 4.4 million people in the UK affected, the compensation bill could be well over £3bn.

Morrisons

A Morrisons employee misused data containing the financial information of over 100,000 colleagues by sending it to the press and putting it on the internet. The information included names, addresses, bank accounts and salary details. He was sent to prison for eight years in 2015 but Morrisons were held liable by the High Court. In October 2018, they appealed, and the Court of Appeal agreed with the High Court and upheld the decision.

Although the supermarket has one last chance to appeal by going to the Supreme Court, unless the appeal succeeds, all the 100,000 people affected

– whether current or former employees

– will be able to claim compensation for upset, distress and inconvenience under Article 82 of the GDPR. This is the first class action in the UK specifically in relation to a data breach and could be worth £500m.

What is my claim worth?

As yet, this is new territory and there are no legal precedents. Under Article 82 of the GDPR there is no need to prove financial loss for compensation to be awarded . Of course, where there has been a direct financial loss the matter will be clearer. Our legal experts will assess the likely value of your particular claim when you register with us, and advise on a course of action. What do you get out of it? One of the biggest issues with potential claims is awareness – people simply don't know they are entitled to compensation. We earn our money by promoting awareness, placing advertising and publicity on behalf of the legal experts who help you get compensation when your data is misused. We also takes a small percentage of each claim, but only when the claim is successful and compensation is awarded.

What's the process?

It takes just a few minutes to register with us – you can do this here . You supply your name, address, telephone numbers and email and details of your claim. All information is held in the strictest confidence and is only held insofar as is needed to process your claim all the way through to the end. One of our legal experts will then get in touch to discuss your claim.

How much does it cost?

We will only agree to take cases on if our legal experts believe them to be valid. Every case is different, and our experts will only advise to proceed if there is a solid case worth pursuing on your behalf.

What is the ICO?

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) was set up in 2016 to uphold information rights in the public interest, promoting openness by public bodies and data privacy for individuals. It has the power to fine companies up to €20 million or 4% of global turnover for misusing personal data, whichever is the greater. It does not take on individual compensation cases – and that's where we come in.