Compensation for data breach

Laynie61

Hi everyone 
I have a small private pension from a company who have just informed me by letter that there has been a data breach with all my personal information. It has caused my mental health to deteriorate and I want to know if I could claim compensation 

Marcon

Laynie61 said:

Hi everyone 
I have a small private pension from a company who have just informed me by letter that there has been a data breach with all my personal information. It has caused my mental health to deteriorate and I want to know if I could claim compensation 

Depends how serious the breach was, what information was accessed, whether the company was negligent and (crucially) that you can demonstrate a link between this news and a serious deterioration in your mental health - which seems unlikely if you've only just received the news. Being 'very upset/anxious' is a normal reaction.

Ask them what steps they are taking to protect your position (eg free access to Experian or similar).

bompey

Marcon is right.

What do you mean by all your personal information?

They should only be holding what they need, so only some of Name, address, email, telephone numbers, bank account details, credit card details, cvv codes, passwords, mothers maiden name, salary? 

Which of the disclosed information is not already publicly available on LinkedIn or other social media?
Have any off your investments been compromised or lost? If it’s a pension no one should be able to access it until you are pensionable age.
And lastly why has your mental health deteriorated? 

Change your password and check with a credit agency but you should be fine.

dunstonh

 It has caused my mental health to deteriorate and I want to know if I could claim compensation 

Is that a genuine thing or the excuse you are going to use to try and squeeze money out of them?
i.e. has it resulted in you needing to consult your GP or a support group or has it just made you frustrated and a little anxious?

A loss of data doesn't mean that you will suffer financially.   Some data is public domain anyway.   So, what matters is the type of data that was released.  And secondly, how it has affected you financially or could affect you financially.

If it affects you medically, then that could come into play as well, but mental health, whilst a very important consideration, is not the same thing as being anxious or frustrated because of this.    

dealyboy

Laynie61 said:

Hi everyone 
I have a small private pension from a company who have just informed me by letter that there has been a data breach with all my personal information. It has caused my mental health to deteriorate and I want to know if I could claim compensation 

Hello @Laynie61 ... and welcome to the forum.

I understand the comments of others but I am also with you, only you will know the impact of such news. We are all in different states and sensitivities at different times.

Of course you can write and complain, but if it were me I would write and thank them for letting me know. I would let them know I was troubled by the loss of personal information and ask for some reassurance. I would not raise the subject of compensation but if they understand they have caused you some anguish then I would hope they would think something should be done to alleviate it.

p00hsticks

I suspect that you maybe referring to the Capita Data Breach, whcih has been discussed in a previous thread here. 
Capita - Hacked — MoneySavingExpert Forum

If so, the data believed to have been taken is your name, address, NI number and possibly bank details and pension scheme reference.

The breach is still being investigated, but, as discussed in that thread,  Capita are currently offering, via the various pension schemes, a years free subscription to Experians Identity Plus service to alert you to any suspicious activity with people attempting to use your details.  Further compensation is only likely if Capita are found to have been negligent. 

SouthCoastBoy

Often class actions are made by lawyers to get compensation for individuals that have been affected, there maybe a class action in this case. I had my details compromised for which there is a current class action but I have not bothered to join it. My wife has been affected by a capita data issue and has been notified by letter, in it they mention ni data may have been compromised, I have not bothered to check if there is an active class action, but wouldn't be surprised if there was.

OldBeanz

Just been told data has been compromised by Zellis. It would appear that while given access to Experian, you are expected to suck it up.