By Lewis Aaliyah. Last Updated 1st December 2022. In this guide you will learn everything you need to know about using a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor and why a No Win No Fee service might benefit you. We will also look at what a No Win No Fee data protection claim looks like and how you could successfully get the data breach compensation you might be owed.

You could be owed compensation following a data breach. Therefore, it might be in your best interest to seek legal representation. Solicitors offer a good chance of making a successful claim due to their experience and knowledge. A No Win No Fee agreement is a way to fund legal representation without accruing hidden costs or paying upfront solicitor fees. You’ll only pay your solicitor if your claim is successful.

Under the Data Protection Act 2018, you are given the right to data protection and privacy. This legislation sits alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and sets out the ways that organisations and individuals should act when processing or controlling personal data. 

Ahead of starting this guide on using a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor, you may already have questions for our team. You can call for free on 020 3870 4868 or use our claim online form now. Alternatively, you can use the live chat function to speak to an advisor.

Select A Section

1. What Claims Could A No Win No Fee Data Protection Solicitor Handle?
2. How Common Are Data Breaches?
3. What Data Breaches Could You Claim For?
4. How Much Do Solicitors Take On A No Win No Fee Basis?
5. What Could You Claim With A No Win No Fee Data Protection Solicitor?
6. Should I Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

What Claims Could A No Win No Fee Data Protection Solicitor Handle?

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is the independent body that oversees data protection and privacy for organisations and individuals in the UK. They define a data breach as a security incident where someone unlawfully or accidentally accesses, loses, discloses, destroys or changes personal data. 

In order to make a valid data breach claim with a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor, you need to be able to prove that the defendant’s wrongful conduct led to the breach. Furthermore, this data breach caused you psychological harm or financial loss. For example, perhaps an employer did not update their cyber security or take the action they should have to prevent a data breach from occurring. 

Our advisors can verify if you have a valid claim completely free of charge and with no obligation to use our No Win No Fee service afterwards. They can also connect you to a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor.

How Common Are Data Breaches?

The government’s Cyber Security Breaches Survey for 2022 found that 39% of UK businesses identified a cyber attack in the last year. One in five identified attack types such as malware or ransomware attacks, while 31% estimated they were attacked at least once a week. The average cost of cyber attacks on businesses was £4,200. However, for medium and large businesses, the figure increased to £19,400.

If a business fails to acknowledge the threat of cyber attacks and does not do enough to protect you from being the victim of a cyber attack, you could have grounds for a valid claim if you then suffer due to a data breach. Call the number above for more information.

What Data Breaches Could You Claim For?

There are several ways that a data breach could occur. A common cause of a data breach is human error. In this section, we’ll take a look at human error caused data breaches that a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor could help you claim for.

Lack Of Awareness: Phishing

Phishing occurs when cyber attackers try to trick individuals into downloading malware or directing them to a scam website. This type of attack can happen via email, text message, on social media or by phone. The National Cyber Security Centre advises organisations to take a multi-level approach to combat phishing attacks. For example, they can train staff to spot phishing emails and implement anti-spoofing controls to prevent work email addresses from being a resource for attackers. You could claim for a phishing data breach if an organisation has not done enough to prevent phishing attacks from happening. 

Poor Administrative Processes

Poor administrative processes may include the poor use of passwords. Organisations should make strong passwords mandatory, for example, passwords that feature a mixture of numbers, special characters and letters. Another way to mitigate password-related attacks is to hold training sessions solely on password practices. If an organisation fails to properly train and teach staff about the dangers of password-related risks, they could be liable for a data breach that occurs as a result. Therefore, it may be possible to claim against the organisation. 

Misdelivery Of Data

A misdelivery of data may occur if someone accidentally sends something to the wrong recipient. An example of this is sending an email containing personal data to the wrong email address, where an unauthorised person accesses it. Organisations could encrypt emails containing sensitive information to avoid the wrong person seeing the data. Furthermore, pop-up boxes remind users to double-check what they are sending and who they are sending the email to. 

Speak to an advisor for a free no-obligation consultation regarding your claim. Furthermore, they could connect you to a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor from our panel.

How Much Do Solicitors Take On A No Win No Fee Basis?

Article 5 of the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 states that the success fee of a No Win No Fee agreement is capped at 25% of the damages awarded for the pain, suffering and loss of amenity and the damages for past pecuniary loss in proceedings at first instance.

However, we are potentially able to offer you a reduced fee of just 15%. When you call us, ask us about our panel’s reduced success fee rate and find out whether this offer is available to you.

What Could You Claim With A No Win No Fee Data Protection Solicitor?

Previously, it was only possible for you to claim for psychological harm (non-material damage)  if you had suffered financial losses (material damage). However, following a ruling from the Court of Appeal in Vidal-Hall and others v Google Inc (2015), you can now claim for non-material damages without suffering any material damages. You can claim for both damages or either. 

Solicitors are known to use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to value injuries, including a personal injury that may involve psychiatric or psychological harm. The document illustrates compensation bracket amounts based on past court cases. Using figures from the 16th edition of the JCG, released in 2022, we have put together a table to help you estimate what you could be owed.

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Injury	Compensation Range	Notes
Severe Psychiatric Damage	£54,830 to £115,730	The prognosis will not be good and there may be an impact on relationships in your personal life.
Moderately Severe Psychiatric Damage	£19,070 to £54,830	The extent to which you are able to cope with life and work will affect the award within this bracket.
Moderate Psychiatric Damage	£5,860 to £19,070	The prognosis is much better than in the above brackets.
Less Severe Psychiatric Damage	£1,540 to £5,860	Daily activities may be affected as well as your sleeping patterns.
Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£59,860 to £100,670	You might be unable to work at all due to the severity of your PTSD.
Moderately Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£23,150 to £59,860	Significant disability may persist for the foreseeable future.
Moderate Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£8,180 to £23,150	A recovery will have been made and you will not be too affected by any continuing symptoms.
Less Severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder	£3,950 to £8,180	A recovery is likely to have been made within a year or two and any continuing symptoms are minor.

Our advisors are on hand 24/7 to offer free legal advice if you have any questions.

Click Here To Learn More About Claiming Data Breach Compensation

Should I Use A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

You may be wondering, ‘should I use a No Win No Fee solicitor to help me secure data breach compensation?’.

Hiring a No Win No Fee solicitor could mean:

• You will discuss any charges before agreeing to work with your solicitor so there will be no hidden costs.
• You will not have to pay your solicitor if you do not receive compensation
• If you hire a data protection solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis and your claim succeeds, you will pay them a legally capped success fee.

If you would like to work with UK GDPR solicitors on a No Win No Fee basis, get in touch via the following ways:

• • Call our 24/7 advice line on 020 3870 4868
  • Complete our claim online form and we’ll call you
  • Use our free online chat for a quick response

Related No Win No Fee Claims

We are coming to the end of our guide on using a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor. Additionally, we thought you might find the following resources useful.

Claiming compensation – The ICO advises you on how to take your case to court.

Post-traumatic stress disorder – NHS guidance on treating PTSD symptoms.

Government Cyber Security Strategy – What the government is doing to build cyber resilience. 

For further reading, here are some more of our data breach guides.

Stolen Paperwork – Get compensation for a stolen paperwork data breach.

Failure to Redact – How to make a failure to redact data breach claim.

Army Data Breach – What to do if you were involved in an army data breach.

• Citizens Advice Breach Of UK GDPR – Could I Claim?
• What Could You Claim For A Breach Of Disciplinary Data?
• Can I Sue My Employer For Disclosing Personal Information In The UK?

We hope you now understand the role of a No Win No Fee data protection solicitor. If you would like to connect with one, speak to our team today.

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