Social Services Sent Letter To The Wrong Address – How To Claim Compensation

Have social services sent a letter to the wrong address? Did that letter contain personal or sensitive information? If you have suffered harm as a result of a social services data breach, this guide could help you understand whether you’re eligible to claim compensation.

social-services-sent-letter-to-wrong-address

How to claim after social services sent a letter to the wrong address guide

Letters from social service agencies could contain sensitive and personal information and details about the addressees. In this guide, we will look at how legislation such as the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 work to protect your personal data, alongside how the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) works to enforce this legislation.

We will also explain what steps you can take following a personal data breach, how much compensation you could receive, and how our panel of data breach solicitors could help you start your claim.

If you have suffered harm as a result of a personal data breach, contact our advisors today by:

  • Calling 020 3870 4868
  • Using the live chat feature
  • Sending your query by filling out our contact form online

Select A Section

  1. What Is A Social Services Personal Data Breach?
  2. How Often Are Letters Sent To The Wrong Person?
  3. What Personal Information Could A Social Services Letter Sent To The Wrong Address Contain?
  4. How Could Social Services Have Sent A Letter To The Wrong Address?
  5. What Could I Claim If Social Services Sent A Letter To The Wrong Address?
  6. Get Help Making A Claim

What Is A Social Services Personal Data Breach?

The definition of a personal data breach is when personal information has been accessed, altered, destroyed, lost, or disclosed by an unauthorised party. For example, this could include information such as your:

Sensitive data is a type of personal data that requires extra protection under data protection legislation. Sensitive data can include data that relates to your:

  • Religion
  • Health
  • Nationality or ethnicity
  • Sexuality

Due to the nature of social services, many letters they compose and send could contain personal and sensitive information.

Social services can be classed as data controllers. This means that they control how and why your data is collected and used, and it also means that they are bound by data protection legislation to safeguard your personal information.

If they fail to do so, and you suffer harm because social services sent a letter to the wrong person, contact our advisors. They can tell you who can claim after a UK GDPR breach, and how you could proceed.

How Often Are Letters Sent To The Wrong Person?

The ICO is the independent body responsible for enforcing data protection law in the UK. They provide organisations with guidance on data protection law and can take enforcement action. They also collate statistics together which provide an insight into data security incident trends.

According to these trends, in Q4 of 2021/22, there were 217 reported incidents of personal data being faxed or posted to the wrong recipient. Furthermore, there were 360 reported data security incidents in the Education and Childcare sector overall. This included both cyber and non-cyber security incidents.

If social services have sent a letter to the wrong address that caused you harm due to your personal data being compromised, you may be able to make a claim for compensation. Contact our advisors today to learn more.

What Personal Information Could A Social Services Letter Sent To The Wrong Address Contain?

Social services must use the personal information of service users in order to properly carry out their duties. Personal data can include any information that could be used to identify you, and as such, a letter from social services sent to the wrong address may contain:

  • Your address
  • Information surrounding your religion or ethnicity
  • Your phone number
  • Your full name
  • Information surrounding your health
  • Information relating to court dates, or ongoing court cases

As data controllers, social services must ensure that they safeguard your personal data in compliance with data protection legislation. However, they may fail to do so. This is known as positive wrongful conduct.

If your personal data has been compromised due to positive wrongful conduct on the part of social services, and you have suffered harm as a result, you may be able to claim. Contact our advisors today to learn more.

How Could Social Services Have Sent A Letter To The Wrong Address?

If social services have sent a letter to the wrong address, you might be wondering if you can make a claim. However, not all cases of a letter going to the wrong place will result in a successful personal data breach claim. This is because the breach must have occurred as a result of wrongful conduct on the part of social services and caused you financial damage or psychological harm.

Some examples of how social services could have sent a letter to the wrong address include:

  • Out-of-date records: Accuracy is one of the seven key principles of the UK GDPR. An example of this could be if you inform social services of your new address, but they fail to amend their records, this could lead to a personal data breach.
  • Human error: Social services may have your correct address on file, but your letter may have been sent to the wrong address as a result of human error. For example, an employee may print the wrong address onto the envelope accidentally.

Get in touch with our team of advisors today to find out if you have a valid personal data breach claim.

What Could I Claim If Social Services Sent A Letter To The Wrong Address?

There are two potential heads of claim to pursue in a personal data breach claim:

  • Material damages: Material damages include any financial losses you may suffer as a result of the breach. For example, if a breach includes your banking details, this could lead to unlawful access to your bank account. In turn, this could result in unlawful withdrawals, as well as damage to your credit score.
  • Non-material damages: Non-material damages relate to the psychological effects of a personal data breach. For example, if social services have sent a letter to the wrong address, this could lead to significant stress and anxiety.

The ruling of the Court of Appeal Vidal-Hall and Others V Google [2015] now allows you to claim for non-material damages without claiming for material damages at the same time.

Non-Material Damages Compensation Amounts

Data breach compensation payouts for non-material damages can vary depending on several factors, such as the severity of the harm you sustained.

However, we have created a compensation table based on figures from the 2022 edition of the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). The JCG provides guideline compensation amounts that legal professionals such as lawyers, solicitors, and judges can use to value this head of claim.

Edit
Psychological Injuries Compensation brackets Description
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Severe £59,860 to £100,670 There are permanent effects that prevent the person from working and functioning at te same level as before the trauma.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Moderately Severe £23,150 to £59,860 Effects are likely to cause significant disability but there will be some recovery after professional help.
Post -Traumatic Stress Disorder: Moderate £8,180 to £23,150 The person will have mostly recovered and any continuing effects aren’t as disabling as more severe cases.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Less Severe £3,950 to £8,180 A mostly full recovery will been achieved within a year or two.
Psychiatric Damage: Severe £54,830 to £115,730 Significant problems coping with different aspects of day-to-day life.
Psychiatric Damage: Moderately Severe £19,070 to £54,830 Significant issues similar to more severe cases but with a better prognosis.
Psychiatric Damage: Moderate £5,860 to £19,070 Any issues coping with day-to-day life will show a significant improvement.
Psychiatric Damage: Less Severe £1,540 to £5,860 Consideration given to the length of time that the disability and the extent to which daily activities are affected.

Previously, the JCG has been used for personal injury, medical negligence, and fatal accident claims. However, non-material damages may now be awarded in accordance with entries for psychological injuries in the JCG. This is as per the following the Gulati & Others v MGN Limited [2015] case.

Because the JCG can only provide guideline amounts, the actual amount you could receive may vary to what’s listed in the table. For a free estimation of what your claim could be worth, get in touch with our team today.

Get Help Making A Claim

For more information on whether you can make a personal data breach claim, get in touch. An advisor can advise on whether you’re eligible and can offer further clarification on anything of which you’re still unsure. Also, if your claim is valid, they may be able to put you in contact with a solicitor from our panel.

Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) are a form of No Win No Fee arrangement. Under a CFA, you do not need to pay any upfront or ongoing fees for your solicitors services. Should your claim succeed, your solicitor will take a small success fee from your compensation. However, if your claim does not succeed, you will not pay this fee.

To find out how a solicitor from our panel could help you, get in touch with our team today by:

  • Calling 020 3870 4868
  • Using the live chat feature
  • Sending your query by filling out our contact form online

Data Breach Claims Against Government Bodies

For more helpful articles related to personal data breach claims, we recommend:

Alternatively, for more information:

If you have suffered harm because social services sent a letter to the wrong address, contact us today.