Can I Claim If Someone Is Sharing My Personal Information Without My Consent In The UK?
We expect those who handle our personal information to do everything they can to protect it. If this data is breached, such as being disclosed without your consent, it can cause significant psychological harm as well as financial impacts. Therefore, you may be wondering about data breach claims for sharing personal information without consent in the UK.
At UK Law, our highly experienced panel of solicitors can assist you in claiming data breach compensation after your personal data was shared without permission. They can also provide their expert services on a No Win No Fee basis. You can contact our advisors to be connected with one of them. Our advisors can also help answer any questions you may have and offer you free advice.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Can I Claim If Someone Is Sharing My Personal Information Without My Consent?
- What Types Of Personal Information Might Someone Disclose?
- How Might A Breach Of Personal Data Occur?
- What Compensation Could I Get For My Personal Information Being Shared?
- How Can I Prove My Personal Information Is Being Shared?
- No Win No Fee Claims For Sharing Personal Information Without Consent With UK Law
- Learn More
Can I Claim If Someone Is Sharing My Personal Information Without My Consent?
Yes, you could claim if someone is sharing your personal information without your consent, and this has caused you to suffer psychological and/or financial harm.
Organisations that handle and process your personal data must comply with data protection laws, such as the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA) and the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR), to ensure your personal data is kept safe. This includes obtaining your consent before sharing any of your personal data.
However, there may be certain instances where they can share your data without your consent, provided that they have a lawful basis for doing so, such as:
- It is necessary to process a contract with you
- They have a legal obligation to do so to comply with the law
- It is necessary to protect someone’s life
- The processing is necessary to perform a task for public interests or your official functions
- For the legitimate interests of yourself or a third party
If, however, an organisation does not have a lawful basis for sharing your data, this is considered a data breach. If this has caused you to suffer financial losses and/or mental harm (such as anxiety or depression), you could be eligible to claim compensation.
Is There A Time Limit To Claiming For A Personal Data Breach?
Yes, there is a time limit of up to 6 years when claiming for a personal data breach.
To learn more about claims for sharing personal information without consent in the UK, you can contact our advisors. They can also assess the eligibility of your case.
What Types Of Personal Information Might Someone Disclose?
There are several types of personal information someone might disclose, including your name and your home address. Personal data is any information that can identify you directly, or in combination with other information. It could also include your:
- National insurance number.
- Your email address – the exception to this is if the email is used communally or by multiple people.
- Banking details
- Telephone number
Special Category Data
Special category data, a type of personal data, requires more protection than other personal data due to its sensitivity. Some examples of special category data include:
- Data about your ethnic or racial origin.
- Data about your political opinions.
- Data about your religious or political affiliations.
- Data regarding biometric identification.
- Data about your health.
- Data about your sexuality or sex life.
Please get in touchif your personal data was breached to see if you may be eligible to claim compensation.
How Might A Breach Of Personal Data Occur?
A breach of personal data could happen in many ways, such as a person accidentally sharing your data with someone else via email or a cyberattack on software where your data is stored. Some additional examples include:
- A GP receptionist verbally discloses your test results over the phone to a third party without your consent. This causes you to suffer from extreme anxiety over someone knowing your health condition.
- Social services sent a letter containing your personal data to your old address, despite you informing them to post it to a new address. This creates the fear that your ex-partner, who lives at the old address, now knows where you live and other information about you, prompting you to relocate as well.
- You consent to HR sharing certain aspects of your personal data as part of a new hire training programme at work, such as your job role and salary. However, they also include information about your specific disciplinary actions, which you did not consent to, as they would identify you to the new hires. This causes you mental harm, and you need to find a new job.
- Your bank fails to update its cybersecurity measures, allowing hackers to steal your personal data.
Talk to our advisors to learn more about what to do if someone is sharing your personal information without your consent in the UK, or if you’re unsure whether you may have a valid claim.
What Compensation Could I Get For My Personal Information Being Shared?
Per the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG), you could potentially get between £66,920 to £141,240 for severe psychiatric damage where the prognosis is poor. The JCG is a document with guideline compensation brackets for a variety of injuries. Legal professionals may refer to this document when valuing your compensation for your non-material damage (the psychological harm you have suffered).
In the table below, we have used some of JCG’s figures on psychiatric harm. Please note that they are only guidelines, and the top entry has not come from the JCG.
| INJURY | SEVERITY | JCG COMPENSATION |
|---|---|---|
| Severe Psychological Damage and Financial Losses | Severe psychological harm with financial losses for lost earnings, therapy fees and relocation costs | Up to £250,000+ |
| Psychiatric Damage | Severe - with a very poor prognosis | £66,920 to £141,240 |
| Moderately Severe - significant issues with a more optimistic prognosis than severe cases. | £23,270 to £66,920 | |
| Moderate - a good prognosis with marked improvements. | £7,150 to £23,270 | |
| Less Severe - length of disability will be taken into consideration. | £1,880 to £7,150 | |
| Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder | Severe - permanent effects with all aspects of life badly impacted. | £73,050 to £122,850 |
| Moderately Severe - room for some recovery with professional help. | £28,250 to £73,050 | |
| Moderate - a large recovery has been made. | £9,980 to £28,250 | |
| Less Severe - a virtually full recovery within 1 to 2 years. | £4,820 to £9,980 |
Can I Claim Back Financial Losses That Have Been Incurred?
Yes, you can claim back financial losses incurred due to a personal data breach, otherwise referred to as your material damage. Examples of material damage you could claim compensation for include:
- Lost earnings if you needed to take time off work due to any psychiatric harm you suffered
- Therapy fees
- Prescription fees for any mental health conditions you were diagnosed with due to the data breach
- Relocation costs and installing home security if you fear for your safety
Contact our advisors today to receive a free estimation of the compensation you could receive for your claim.
We are here to help you
Here at UKlaw our expert advisors are on hand 24 hours a day 7 days a week to assess your compensation claim. Should you require free legal advice we can connect you to a specialist solicitor.
How Can I Prove My Personal Information Is Being Shared?
You can prove your personal information is being shared in several ways, including your payslips to prove financial harm and your medical records to show any psychological harm. Read more about evidence for data breach claims here.
To prove psychological harm:
- A letter from a psychiatrist confirming any diagnoses.
- Your medical records.
To prove financial harm:
- Payslips.
- Bank statements showing any financial losses.
- Invoices.
To prove that the data breach happened:
- The notification letter or email stating that the breach occurred.
- Any correspondence you have with the organisation responsible for the breach.
- The results of your findings from an Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) investigation. The ICO is the independent authority that upholds data protection laws. You must make this report within 3 months of meaningful communication with the organisation responsible for the breach. If you wait any longer, the ICO may refuse to investigate.
If you’re not sure how to prove that your personal data was breached, our advisors can offer guidance.
No Win No Fee Claims For Sharing Personal Information Without Consent With UK Law
Our panel of expert data breach solicitors have helped hundreds of clients win compensation all on a No Win No Fee basis, and you could be next. The No Win No Fee solicitors on our panel specifically work under a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). This means:
- There is nothing to pay for your solicitor’s services prior to the claim starting, as it’s ongoing, or if it fails
- Your solicitor will take a success fee if your claim succeeds. This is a legally limited percentage taken from your compensation.
Our panel of solicitors can help in many ways with claims, such as:
- Explaining the meaning of legal terms
- Issuing all necessary communications.
- Speaking to all involved parties.
- Advising you on and helping you to gather evidence.
- Updating you on your claim so you don’t have to worry about its progress.
Contact Our Advisors
If you have any questions about claiming due to someone sharing your personal information without consent in the UK, you can contact our advisors:
- Call via 020 3870 4868.
- Get started via our claim online form.
- Talk to an advisor via live chat.
Learn More
We’ve included some links below to a handful more of our guides regarding data breaches.
- See our guide on joint bank account data breach claims.
- Read about counsellor data breach claims
- Find out more about probation officer data breach claims
External resources:
- Find help for your mental health via NHS.UK.
- Discover more about the definition of personal data via the ICO.
- Cybersecurity advice from the National Cyber Security Centre
Thank you for reading our guide on data breach claims for sharing personal information without consent in the UK. Contact our team today to see if you can begin the personal data breach claims process with our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors.
