Credit Card Data Breach – Essential Claims Guide

By Danielle Newton. Last Updated 14th November 2024. This guide will help if you’ve been affected by a credit card data breach. Because card providers use a lot of personal data to manage your account, generally, they’ll need to abide by the rules of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA).

Any personal data that organisations use must be protected as much as can be reasonably expected. This includes your name, address, telephone number, credit card number and banking details. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the non-departmental public body that answers to the UK Government. They were set up to police data protection rights of individuals also known as data subjects. In this article, we’ll look at when you could be compensated for a credit card data breach. We’ll also explain what level of compensation might be paid.

Our panel of solicitors can help with data breach claims in the same way they can help with personal injury cases, for a back injury at work claim or a claim following a slip, trip or fall. If you’re interested in taking action, our advisors will offer free legal advice during an initial consultation. Where your case is accepted by a data breach solicitor from our panel, they’ll work for you on a No Win No Fee basis.

To learn more about what to do if you’re the victim of a data breach, please read on. Alternatively, please call on 0800 408 7825 if you’d like to take action today.A pile of credit cards.

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Credit Card Data Breach Claims Explained

Credit providers need to use a lot of personal data about a data subject. This makes them a data controller. They may collect and use personal information during the application process, to manage your account or for debt collection purposes. Much of the information they’ll hold about you will be covered by the UK GDPR.

Credit card companies have very strong security systems in place. These are designed to prevent unauthorised access to customer records and to stop money from being stolen. However, many data breaches aren’t caused by hackers or cybercriminals as you’d imagine. Many are caused by human error. We’ll look at this more shortly.

Where data breaches do occur that affects the rights of a data subject, the ICO could conduct an investigation. This will be used to identify the cause of the breach and any systematic failings. It could result in a large fine or enforcement action being taken against the company responsible. However, even if the breach has caused you to suffer, the ICO can’t supply compensation. That’s why we’ve written this guide on how to claim for a credit card data breach yourself.

What is a Personal Data Breach?

You might be wondering ‘What is a personal data breach?’ Firstly, a data breach is defined as a security incident threatening the integrity, availability or confidentiality of personal data.

This data would either directly or indirectly lead to the identification of its subject.

A breach may occur due to a cyber incident, such as a cyber-attack, or a non-cyber incident, such as due to human error.

Examples of personal data include:

  • Name.
  • Date of birth.
  • Identification numbers, such as a national insurance number.
  • Personal mail address.
  • Home address.

If you would like to discuss further examples of personal data or find out if you could start a claim, get in touch with one of our advisors.

What Are Credit Card Data Breaches?

So, before we consider how credit card data breaches can occur, let’s look at what they are. The UK GDPR defines a personal data breach as a security incident that results in:

  • Accidental or unlawful disclosure, access, loss, alteration or destruction of personal data.

Just because a breach has occurred, though, you won’t automatically be compensated. When claiming data breach compensation, you’ll need evidence that:

  • Your data has been involved in a data breach involving your credit card company.
  • The company’s actions or failure to act allowed the incident to occur.
  • As a result of the incident, you’ve been harmed financially or psychologically.

While some data breach claims have a 6-year time limit, others have just a single year to be started. If you’d like to check how long you’ve got left to begin your claim, please use live chat or give us a call.

How Could Credit Card Information Be Leaked?

Let’s look now at how a data controller could be involved in a data breach. We can’t list every example but here are a few potential scenarios:

  • If your credit card statements are sent to the wrong postal address.
  • Where information about you is sent to the wrong email address.
  • If personal information about you is disclosed to an unauthorised party.
  • Where your personal data is used without a lawful basis.
  • Where the credit card company’s IT systems are hacked and personal data is stolen due to poor security measures.

Again, each of these incidents alone does not entitle you to claim compensation. So call our team today and have your case looked at for free. If our advisors can see that you have good grounds for wanting to claim data breach compensation they can offer to connect you to a No Win No Fee data breach solicitor.

Where breaches are identified that affect your rights, your credit card company will need to tell you about it. We’d suggest that you keep a copy of any letter or email in a safe place. This is the sort of evidence you could use to prove that the incident took place when claiming compensation.

What Damages Can Data Breach Victims Get Compensated For?

In a credit card data breach claim, there are two types of damage that you can seek compensation for. They are:

  • Material damage. This refers to the monetary loss caused by the breach. For example, if you had to take time off work to deal with a data breach and the stress it caused, you may be able to seek compensation for lost earnings.
  • Non-material damage. This is the mental harm resulting from a breach of personal information. Different psychological injuries, ranging from anxiety and stress to Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), can be accounted for.

Your claim can be for both, though you are also able to claim if you were only affected in one of those two ways.

Credit card data breach compensation is calculated in different ways. A payment for material damage will likely be worked out based on your evidence, so keep your credit card statements and any other relevant documents.

Psychological injury compensation could be valued with the help of a psychologist’s report. Those deciding on a figure can also use a document called the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), which has illustrative compensation ranges for different forms of mental harm.

Check out the table below for a look at some of those figures. The top line is not a JCG figure, but the rest are. You can call our advisors now for a more personal assessment of what you could seek compensation for.

Type of ClaimCategoryCompensation Guideline
Material and Non-Material DamagePsychological Harm Plus Monetary LossUp to £200,000+
Mental Harm (Psychiatric Damage)Severe£66,920 to £141,240
Moderately Severe£23,270 to £66,920
Moderate£7,150 to £23,270
Less Severe£1,880 to £7,150
PTSDSevere£73,050 to £122,850
Moderately Severe£28,250 to £73,050
Moderate£9,980 to £28,250
Less Severe£4,820 to £9,980

Claim For A Credit Card Data Breach With A No Win No Fee Solicitor

Many claimants are worried about losing money on solicitor’s fees if they decide they want a solicitor to help them pursue their case. That is why it may be a good choice for you to opt for solicitors who work on a No Win No Fee basis. Knowing you won’t pay solicitors’ fees if your claim fails will make everything a little less stressful.

If your case is taken on, your solicitor will forward you a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) to sign. This contract will mean your solicitor will work without being paid upfront. If your case is won, you’ll pay the ‘success fee’ that’s listed within the CFA. This is a percentage of any compensation that’s paid.

So that you cannot be overcharged, success fees are legally capped at 25% when using a CFA. To see if you’re able to fund a solicitor’s service with a CFA call our team today.

Find Out If You Could Claim For A Credit Card Data Breach

You’ve almost completed this article on credit card data breach claims. If you are thinking about taking action and would like us to help, why not:

  • Call us for free advice on 0800 408 7825.
  • Contact us to ask for a call from a specialist advisor.
  • Use our live chat feature to discuss your options online.

Remember, you’ve got nothing to lose by calling because we offer free legal advice regardless of what you choose to do.

Additional References

Thanks for reading this article about a credit card data breach. Please contact us with any further questions.