Hayes Connor Solicitors

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2 Hayes Connor Solicitors A jargon-free guide to: making a data breach group action claim with Hayes Connor Solicitors Why have we created this document? Making a data breach claim shouldn t be difficult. But, all too often, the legal requirements and language used can put people off. Legally, much of the documentation involved has to use specific words and phrasing. But, we know that this legalspeak can be confusing. So, to keep things simple, we ve created this handy, jargonfree guide. Designed to give you peace of mind and using plain English to explain what everything means, we hope to make the process as transparent and painless as possible. What is a group action? If you have suffered due to an organisation breaching any part of the Data Protection Act, you have a right to claim compensation. However, in many cases, where a breach occurs, you won t be the only person making a claim. A group action claim is where a group of people sometimes even thousands of people have been affected by the same issue. Group action cases are also known as class actions or multi-party actions. With a group action claim, this group of people (the Claimants) collectively bring their cases to court against a Defendant. These victims then fight together to achieve compensation. Where circumstances are very similar, group actions can be a powerful tool and can have a bigger impact than a single claim. They are also a cost-effective way of challenging large organisations. Getting started Once you have decided to join a Hayes Connor Group action, getting started is easy. In fact, we can have you up and running in just four steps. 1. Register your interest using our quick online form. If you prefer, you can call us on and we ll do this for you. Once you have registered, this creates a record in our systems. But it does not mean that you have given us your permission to take on your case. 2. Once a record is created, our expert legal team will give you a call to explain the next steps. We keep this initial conversation brief and will not bully or push you into proceeding. We just make sure that you understand what you need to do if you want to join our group action. This call is completely free of charge. Where the responsibility for the breach is uncertain or unknown, we ll secure your place as part of the group action while we wait for the outcome of any investigations by the regulators (e.g. The Information Commissioner s Office and/or Financial Conduct Authority). At this stage, there is no obligation to proceed and no costs.

3 3. If you want to take things to the next step, we ll send you out some initial documentation to complete. This includes our Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) and Form of Authority (more on these to follow). It s only once you have signed and returned these to us that we ll make a start on your data breach compensation claim. 4. Next, we will send you a copy of our Impact Form (data breach questionnaire). This lets you tell us as much about your case as possible. We ask you to complete this to the best of your ability. Our process is fully compliant with the latest data protection guidance and we never put your details at risk Documentation To join a group action, you ll need to sign and return the following paperwork: A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) This is also known as a No-Win, No-Fee agreement. A CFA is a written agreement between you and your solicitor. It is designed to give you peace of mind and states that you won t have to pay a penny if your claim is unsuccessful. As well as the legal document which we are obligated to send, we ll also supply a jargon-free guide to CFAs. So you know exactly what you are agreeing to. This guide explains the maximum you might have to pay us if you win. This is usually 25% of any compensation you receive, but in group action cases we are often able to claim this fee from your opponent. If this is possible you won t have to pay any solicitor s fees - win or lose. We will also provide information on After the Event (ATE) insurance. This is insurance which we take out on your behalf to protect you from having to pay the other side s costs and expenses if you lose your case. As your case progresses, we ll provide more details on this. However, you won t have to cover the cost of this insurance as long as you are truthful and honest and do not mislead us in any way. You should sign and return the CFA to us. Form of Authority This form tells us that you are happy for us to make a compensation claim on your behalf. Again, this form sets out that you are not liable for any costs if your case is unsuccessful (as long as you do not mislead us). You should sign and return the Form of Authority to us. ID Checks The law requires solicitors to obtain satisfactory evidence of the identity of their clients to meet with Money Laundering Regulations. ID fraud has severe consequences, so it is vital that we are confident that our clients are who they say they are. At Hayes Connor Solicitors we ask for proof of ID to help us meet our obligations. If someone claiming to be a solicitor skips this important step, you should beware. We also ask for your National Insurance number. This allows us to register your claim with the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) which is part of the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP).

4 Every claim for compensation for injuries has to be registered with the CRU because, if your case is successful, the defendant will need to refund the benefits you received as a direct result of the incident. For example, in a data breach case, you might receive disability benefits should you suffer from a mental health condition that can be directly linked to the breach. We might also ask for your bank details. This is so we can directly transfer the compensation to you if your case is successful. Impact Form In our data breach questionnaire, we give you the opportunity to tell us what happened in your own words. The type of questions we ask include: When the data breach took place When you found out about the data breach What information was stolen/put at risk If you have reported the data breach (e.g. to the ICO, the police etc.) If you have you received any documentation admitting the breach (and if so, when) Whether the organisation that put your data at risk has given you a reference number If you have suffered any distress as a result of the data breach. And if so have you spoken to your GP about this Whether you have any pre-existing vulnerability to distress or psychological trauma Whether you have suffered any financial loss as a result of the breach. And if so, what these losses involve Whether anyone else has been affected by the breach. And if so, who and how. We need this information to ensure we make the strongest possible claim on your behalf. It is not unusual that on reviewing your impact form we uncover information that allows us to increase the value of your claim significantly. What might seem irrelevant to you, could make a huge difference in the eyes of the law. Only once you have signed and returned the necessary information to us, will we make a start on your case. Progressing the group action Once the relevant investigations into the data breach are finished, we can then determine whether a group action is possible. If we can launch a group action, we will obtain advice from a specialist in cyber security to formulate the claim. We also work with expert barristers to ensure our group action cases have the best possible chance of success. At this stage, we also make sure we have the necessary insurance in place to protect you against costs. Once we know a group action can proceed, we will also complete our initial investigations and confirm that all our information is correct. We will also calculate how much compensation we think each claimant is entitled to.

5 Letter of Claim The next step in our data breach claim process is to contact the offending party and let them know that we will be making a case against them. This is called a Letter Before Claim (LBC). The LBC lets the defendant know that we plan to start proceedings against them, and that we are very serious about getting you the compensation you deserve. In this letter, we set out how long they have to respond. This is usually no more than 28 days. Reaching a settlement In our experience, most organisations take a LBC very seriously. The costs of contesting a claim often far exceed the costs of settlement, so there is usually a willingness to pay a reduced amount rather than face more substantial costs and bad publicity. There are also benefits of an early settlement for you. This includes getting a guaranteed compensation payment quickly rather than running the risk of walking away with nothing. If we can come to an agreement, you can expect to receive your compensation within 28 days. Going to court In our LBC, we make it clear that if we do not get a response by the deadline set out in the letter, we will start court proceedings on your behalf. Typically the defendant has 90 days from the LBC to carry out its investigations, and we have 90 to 120 days to consider litigation if we do not get the response we want. If the other party does not agree to our terms, and we fail to reach an agreement, we will write to them to tell them that we intend to take the matter to court. If your case does go to court, you will need evidence to back up your claim, and we will work on establishing this for you. The court process can take anywhere between three and nine months. Where the company has already admitted to a crime, or to breaching private data, or has already been found culpable, the chances of success are solid. How much does joining a Hayes Connor group action cost? If you win If your claim is successful, by law, you will have to pay the following: All our basic costs (the charges we make for advice and representation) Our expenses and disbursements (money we pay out on your behalf) The premium for any After the Event ( ATE ) insurance we take out on your behalf However, as part of our service to you, we seek payment for all these costs from the offending party. And, to cover all eventualities, if you win your case but the court does not order the offending party to pay your fees, we have taken out insurance to cover these costs. So there are absolutely no hidden fees.

6 If you win your case, you might also have to pay us a success fee. This fee is taken from the compensation awarded to you. The amount of the success fee depends on when your case is settled, but with Hayes Connor Solicitors you never have to pay more than 25% of your compensation. However, if enough people come forward to make a claim, we might be able to waive this fee (by getting the other party to pay it instead of you). That would mean that there are no solicitor s fees win or lose. We always make sure you are fully informed about any potential costs before we proceed. If you lose Absolutely nothing as long as you do not mislead us and follow our advice. Things to be aware of If you do decide to join a group action data breach case with Hayes Connor Solicitors, there are some things you should be aware of. For example: You have the right to cancel your agreement within 14 days. If you cancel within the 14-day time limit, you will pay nothing If you cancel the agreement after this date, regardless of whether you win or lose, you might have to pay our basic charges, disbursements and expenses. Furthermore, if you eventually win your case, we will also be entitled to a success fee Hayes Connor Solicitors has the right to cancel the agreement if you breach our terms, reject our advice, or if the chances of a successful win (or settlement) fall below 50%. If we do decide to end an agreement because there is a limited chance of success, you won t have to pay us anything If you lose your claim, you won t have to pay our basic charges provided that you have complied with our Terms and Conditions. Breaking our T&Cs would include things like misleading your solicitor or failing to co-operate with us If you are not truthful and honest, or if you mislead us in any way, you could be liable for all our basic charges, fees and expenses. Any questions? If you have any questions about this guide, or about joining a group action, please don t hesitate to contact us on You will also find lots of handy resources and FAQs on our website. Explaining No Win, No Fee. About Group Actions Data Breach FAQs