Making a data security claim for the Virgin Media breach

Although data protection breaches hit the news with an alarming frequency, many people may not know what they can do when a third-party breaches their right to data privacy. Under UK law, anyone who is affected by an organisation’s failure to protect their personal data could be eligible to make a data security claim.

The news stories do not often detail the distress and loss experienced behind closed doors by those who have fallen victim to data breaches like the Virgin Media leak. As specialists in data breach claims, we have witnessed this suffering first-hand, which motivates us to help data breach victims achieve the justice that they deserve.

One of our latest group actions is this one where we are helping victims of the Virgin Media data breach to access compensation. Sign up to join the action here if you were affected and want to hold Virgin Media accountable for their actions.

Virgin Media data breach

In March 2020, the news of the Virgin Media data breach broke, and it revealed that as many as 900,000 people had been affected by the exposure of their private information. Stored in their marketing database, the personal information included email addresses, home addresses and phone numbers, and belonged to those targeted by Virgin Media marketing communication as well as established customers.

It was revealed that the failure to secure the database, due to its incorrect configuration by a member of staff, led to an ongoing exposure. This meant that the personal data was accessible to unauthorised outsiders for ten-month period, and the data was reportedly accessed on a least one occasion.

Can I make a data security claim?

Anyone notified by Virgin Media of their involvement in the data breach could make a data security claim in our group action.

The GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) can entitle victims of data breaches to claim damages for the effects of data breaches, as all organisations are required to protect the personal information that they hold. As such, Virgin Media can be held accountable for their data security error under the law, if they are found liable.

Under the GDPR, data breach victims can claim for distress suffered as part of General Damages, as well as any financial losses or expenses incurred as part of Special Damages. In most cases, distress can make up the majority of the compensation pay-out, so there is nothing to stop you from making a data security claim for distress alone if you have not suffered any financial losses or expenses.

Claim compensation in the Virgin Media data breach

We are here to help any victims of the Virgin Media data breach to claim compensation for the harm that they have suffered. However unintentional Virgin Media’s error may have been, it was sustained for long enough to potentially cause serious damage to the victims, who were left vulnerable to scams and fraud attempts.

In our view, all those affected are entitled make a data security claim for damages.

We have launched a group action to enable our customers to form a collective force against Virgin Media. With our extensive experience in data breach claims and group action lawsuits, we are well equipped to take on thousands of claimants, each of whom could win thousands of pounds in compensation. We are able to take claims forward on a No Win, No Fee basis, so sign-up today to join the fight for justice.

The content of this post/page was considered accurate at the time of the original posting and/or at the time of any posted revision. The content of this page may, therefore, be out of date. The information contained within this page does not constitute legal advice. Any reliance you place on the information contained within this page is done so at your own risk.