This guide explores when you could claim for a student accommodation data breach. Have you experienced financial loss and/or psychological harm following personal data breach? If so, and the breach occurred due to wrongful conduct, you might be eligible to seek data breach compensation.
Wrongful conduct refers to a data controller or data processor failing to adhere to data protection laws; the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). A data controller sets the means and purpose for processing personal data and may often process it themselves. A data processor acts on the controller’s instruction and will process the personal data on their behalf if this task is outsourced to them. Both need to adhere to the DPA and UK GDPR to protect your personal data. Failure to do so could mean a data breach occurs.
Throughout this guide, we provide further guidance on what a personal data breach is, how one could occur, and the impact it could have.
Additionally, we discuss the eligibility criteria for data breach claims, the evidence you could use to support your case, and how compensation is calculated to address the impact of your personal data being compromised.
Finally, we discuss how it could benefit you to work with a No Win No Fee data breach solicitor from our panel and how they could assist you.
Please feel free to get in touch with a helpful advisor at any point as you read this guide. They can answer any questions about data breach compensation claims that you might have. To reach out, you can:
- Call on 020 8050 3051
- Fill out the ‘Contact Us‘ form.
- Speak to an advisor about your potential claim via the live chat feature below.
Jump To A Section
- When Are You Eligible To Claim For A Student Accommodation Data Breach?
- How To Claim For A Student Accommodation Data Breach
- How Could A Data Breach Be Caused By Wrongful Conduct?
- Potential Compensation From A Student Data Breach
- Claim For A Student Accommodation Data Breach On A No Win No Fee Basis
- Further Information On Claiming Data Breach Compensation
When Are You Eligible To Claim For A Student Accommodation Data Breach?
Before looking at the eligibility criteria for claiming data breach compensation, it’s important to understand what a personal data breach is and the impact it could potentially have. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent body responsible for upholding information rights and freedoms in the UK. They describe a personal data breach as a security incident that impacts the availability, integrity, and confidentiality of personal data.
Personal data is any information that can be used to identify you. This can include your name, email address, postal address, phone number, and credit or debit card details. There is also special category data which is more sensitive and therefore requires extra protection. Examples of this can include data concerning your health and data revealing your ethnic and racial origin.
As mentioned earlier, data controllers and processors have a responsibility to protect your personal data as per the UK GDPR and DPA. If there is a failure to do so, leading to your personal data being affected, you could be impacted in different ways.
However, there is a set of eligibility criteria that need to be met to start a personal data breach claim and pursue compensation. These are:
- A data controller or processor did not uphold their obligations and adhere to data protection laws.
- Due to their wrongful conduct, your personal data was compromised in a breach.
- As a result of the personal data breach, you experienced monetary damage and/or mental harm.
Call our team to discuss your specific case and find out whether you’re eligible to make a claim for a student accommodation data breach.
How To Claim For A Student Accommodation Data Breach
As mentioned, to be eligible to claim for a student accommodation data breach you need to prove wrongful conduct led to a breach of your personal data and you experienced mental damage and/or financial loss as a result. As such, you could benefit from gathering evidence to show this occurred.
Examples of the evidence you could collect when claiming compensation include:
- Correspondence about the breach. This could include a letter of notification from the data controller. They must inform you of a personal data breach that has put your rights and freedoms at risk without undue delay. Additionally, it could include copies of emails you have sent to the organisation about the breach.
- ICO report. You could report the breach to the ICO if you haven’t had a response from the organisation. They may choose to investigate your concerns and the findings of this investigation can be used to support your case.
- Proof of the mental impact the breach caused. For example, you could get copies of specialist reports from a psychotherapist or your GP that show you have suffered psychologically.
- Evidence of your financial losses. This could include bank statements, credit reports, and payslips to show any lost income from having to take time off work to recover from the mental impact of the breach.
A data breach solicitor on our panel could support you in collecting evidence to substantiate your case. To find out if you are eligible to access their expert services when seeking data breach compensation, speak to an advisor on the contact number above.
How Could A Data Breach Be Caused By Wrongful Conduct?
Before and whilst living in student accommodation, different types of your personal data may be processed. For example, your name, email address, phone number, and debit card details so that rent payment can be taken each month. Additionally, you may have been required to hand in your passport as proof that you have the right to reside, which contains sensitive personal data including your racial or ethnic origin. Data concerning your health, such as a disability, may also be stored.
Examples of how this information could be affected in a student accommodation data breach include:
- Due to human error, admin staff working in the student accommodation may have sent an email with information about your payment details to the wrong email address. As a result, you have money stolen from your bank account.
- The data controller may have failed to ensure there were adequate cybersecurity systems in place making them more susceptible to a hack. As a result, your personal data is stolen in a ransomware attack and you suffer distress.
- Data concerning your health is sent in a letter to the wrong address, as a result, you suffer anxiety and stress and need to take time off work causing you a loss of income.
Please note not all data breaches will form the basis of a valid claim. So, to discuss whether you could be eligible to seek compensation for a data breach and what steps you need to take to do so, call our team on the number above.
Potential Compensation From A Student Data Breach
A payout awarded in a successful student data breach claim can comprise compensation for two types of damage. Firstly, you could receive compensation for non-material damage which refers to the psychological impact the personal data breach has had. For example, you may have suffered stress, anxiety, or distress due to a data breach, or in more severe cases, post-traumatic stress disorder.
The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a publication that offers guideline award brackets for different types of psychological injuries. This document is often used alongside any medical reports to help calculate the value of non-material damage.
Guideline Award Brackets
The table below consists of figures from the JCG, except for the first entry. Please use the figures as a guide only because data breach settlements are calculated on a case-by-case basis.
| Type of Psychological Harm | Severity Level | Award Bracket Guidelines | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Very Severe Mental Impact With Significant Monetary Expenses | Very Severe | Up to £150,000+ | A compensation payout could be awarded to address the very severe psychological impacts and the substantial financial losses incurred, such as lost income. |
| General Psychiatric Damage | (a) Severe | £54,830 to £115,730 | Marked problems across multiple areas of life and a very poor prognosis. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £19,070 to £54,830 | A more positive prognosis than in severe cases but significant problems still affect different areas of life. | |
| (c) Moderate | £5,860 to £19,070 | A significant level of improvement takes place and the prognosis is good. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £1,540 to £5,860 | The exact award level relies upon the duration of the disability and the level of impact on the person. | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) | (a) Severe | £59,860 to £100,670 | Permanent issues that stop the person from working or functioning on any level as they did prior to the trauma. All aspects of their life are badly affected. |
| (b) Moderately Severe | £23,150 to £59,860 | A better prognosis is indicated after some professional counselling has taken place. However, there may still be a significant disability seen in the foreseeable future. | |
| (c) Moderate | £8,180 to £23,150 | A significant recovery with any ongoing issues not being majorly disabling. | |
| (d) Less Severe | £3,950 to £8,180 | Virtually a full recovery seen within 24 months and only minor symptoms persist beyond this period. |
Claiming For Material Damage
Additionally, in a claim for a student accommodation data breach, you could be awarded compensation for the financial losses incurred as a result. This is referred to as material damage and can include:
- Money that was stolen from your bank account.
- Fraudulent credit card purchases that have been carried out in your name.
- Lost income incurred due to time taken off work to recover from the mental impact of the breach.
You will need to prove these losses with documented proof like bank statements and credit score reports.
For further guidance on how much compensation you could receive following a successful student data breach claim, call an advisor on the number above.
Claim For A Student Accommodation Data Breach On A No Win No Fee Basis
Our panel of expert data breach solicitors can provide their helpful services to eligible claimants in a No Win No Fee capacity by offering a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This typically means the following:
- You won’t need to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for their services.
- If your claim fails, no fee will be taken for the work they completed.
- Following a successful outcome, your solicitor will take a percentage of your compensation as their success fee. This is legally capped, however, meaning you can keep the majority of your awarded payout.
To learn if a solicitor from our panel could represent you on this basis, get in touch with an advisor. They can assess whether you have valid grounds to claim compensation and connect you with an expert solicitor if you do. For more information, you can:
- Call on 020 8050 3051
- Contact us online.
- Speak to an advisor through the live chat feature.
Further Information On Claiming Data Breach Compensation
For more of our guides relating to different data breach claims:
- This guide discusses if you can claim for a medical records data breach and the steps you can take to secure a settlement.
- Guidance on how to claim for a data protection breach in which your information was compromised.
- Learn how to claim following a bank statement data breach and how compensation is calculated.
Some external resources:
- Read more about data protection from GOV.UK.
- Guidance for individuals and families from the National Cyber Security Centre.
- Information on data security incident trends from the ICO.
We hope this guide has helped you understand if you can claim for a student accommodation data breach. However, please don’t hesitate to contact an advisor on the details provided above if you have any other questions.