Monzo Bank Data Breach – When Could You Claim Compensation?

This guide explores what steps you could take should a Monzo Bank data breach ever occur. With the recent introduction of updated data protection laws, data subjects have a lot more say over the processing of their personal data. In this guide, we examine the two key pieces of data protection legislation that protect the personal data of UK residents. We also look at the roles of data controllers and processors and define what is meant by identifiable data. 

Monzo bank data protection breach

Monzo Bank Data Breach – When Could You Claim Compensation?

Following this, we look at what steps an organisation could take following a data breach. We also look at what you could do should you suspect your personal data has been compromised. A personal data breach can cause significant harm, both financially and psychologically, and you may be wondering if you could make a claim.

To conclude, we examine how one of our solicitors could begin your personal data breach claim. Our advisors can provide free legal advice and more information surrounding personal data breach claims when you call today:

Select A Section

  1. What Could A Monzo Bank Data Breach Be?
  2. Ways In Which Banks Could Suffer Data Breaches
  3. Does A Bank Owe You Compensation If It Suffered A Data Breach?
  4. Could I Claim Should A Monzo Bank Data Breach Occur?
  5. What Could Claims For A Bank Data Breach Be Worth?
  6. Can I Work With No Win No Fee Solicitors If A Monzo Bank Data Breach Happened?

What Could A Monzo Bank Data Breach Be?

A personal data breach is defined as a security incident. A breach occurs when your personal data is accessed or disclosed without authorisation, altered, or destroyed or lost. This could happen accidentally, such as through human error or unlawfully, such as through hacking or theft. 

There are two main pieces of data protection legislation that work to protect the personal data of UK residents. These are the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (DPA). Under this legislation, data controllers and processors are held accountable should a breach occur due to their failure to adhere to data protection laws. 

The data controller determines the purpose of your data’s use. The data controller is typically an organisation, such as a bank. A data processor may process data on behalf of a controller. 

To form a valid claim, your case must meet certain data breach compensation eligibility criteria. We’ll examine the criteria further in this guide. 

Should a Monzo Bank data breach occur, you can contact our advisors they can provide information on what steps you could take next.

Ways In Which Banks Could Suffer Data Breaches

A bank could suffer a personal data breach for various reasons, but not all of these will form a valid claim. For example, if your bank has the appropriate cybersecurity policies in place but suffers a ransomware attack, you may not be able to make a claim. This is because the breach did not occur as a result of the bank’s failings.

Banking staff with access to personal data should be given training in data protection compliance. For example, a data breach may occur if devices containing personal data are stolen from an unsecured location, or if files are lost.

Banks should also provide cybersecurity training. This could make staff more vigilant when it comes to online scams, and may prevent employees from interacting with phishing scams. 

Should a Monzo Bank data breach occur, which subsequently has meant your personal data has been breached, you can call our data breach advisory team for free advice on what your next steps could be. 

Financial Data Breach Statistics

The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) is an independent body set up to help protect data security. As part of their role, they monitor security incident trends. Below we have included a graph that illustrates reported non-cybersecurity incidents in the fourth financial quarter 2021/22 in the finance, insurance and credit sectors. 

Monzo Bank Data Protection Breach Q4 financial year 2021/22 reported incidents in finance, insurance and credit.

Q4 financial year 2021/22 reported incidents in finance, insurance and credit.

Does A Bank Owe You Compensation If It Suffered A Data Breach?

As we mentioned earlier, you cannot claim for all cases of a data breach. There are specific criteria. This includes:

  • Proving the organisation did not comply with data protection legislation. This failure resulted in a personal data breach. 
  • The breach compromised your personal data.
  • You experienced suffering. This could be a financial loss or psychological harm such as distress. 

Any data that can be used to identify you is protected personal data. Sensitive personal data is given additional protections. This is called special category data. 

Personal data includes:

  • Name 
  • Address
  • Email address
  • Credit card information
  • Bank account number and sort code

Special category data includes:

  • Biometric data
  • Race and ethnicity
  • Trade union membership
  • Health data

If a Monzo Bank data breach were to occur, and this meant your personal data had been breached, our advisors can provide advice on what action you could potentially take next.

Could I Claim Should A Monzo Bank Data Breach Occur?

If a personal data breach could infringe on your rights, the organisation must alert you without undue delay. If the organisation does not tell you, you can ask them directly. 

Should they fail to respond, or the response is inadequate, you can then take your complaint to the ICO. Communications between yourself and the organisation or ICO, if the ICO confirms a breach, could support a data breach claim.

Gathering evidence of harm you suffer as a result of the breach can help strengthen your claim. This could be in the form of bank statements that show financial damage or medical reports that show evidence of psychological.

However, it is important to remember that not all victims of data breaches will be entitled to make a claim. As we previously stated, in order to hold a valid personal data breach claim, it must be established that the data controller or processor failed in their legal obligation to take the right steps to keep your personal data safe. Your personal data must have been involved in the breach, and you will need to have suffered harm.

What Could Claims For A Bank Data Breach Be Worth?

Data breach compensation could be made up of two heads. Material damage recovers financial losses that you suffer as a result of the breach. Non-material damage could compensate for a psychological injury due to a data breach, such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

In the past, you could not claim non-material damage without also claiming for financial loss. This changed with the Vidal-Hall and Others v. Google Inc. (2015) Court of Appeal ruling. You can now receive compensation for your mental harm without claiming for financial harm.

When assigning value to non-material damage, legal professionals often use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document contains a list of injuries, including emotional injuries, alongside compensation brackets. We’ve included examples of the figures provided for psychiatric injuries in the 16th edition, published in April 2022. 

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Mental Health Condition Severity Potential Compensation Notes
Psychological Harm Severe (a) £54,830 to £115,730 An inability to cope with life and relationships occurs due to the condition. It has a very poor prognosis.
Psychological Harm Moderately severe (b) £19,070 to £54,830 Significant problems coping with life and relationships occur. The prognosis, however, is more optimistic than in more severe mental harm.
Psychological Harm Moderate (c) £5,860 to £19,070 Problems occurred coping with life and in relationships. However, improvement of symptoms occur and there is a good prognosis.
Psychological Harm Less severe (d) £1,540 to £5,860 There’s a period of disability which infringes upon daily life and sleep.
PTSD Severe (a) £59,860 to £100,670 Permanently and impacting all areas of life, the claimant cannot function at the same level they did before the trauma occurred.
PTSD Moderately severe (b) £23,150 to £59,860 Some recovery could happen with the assistance of a professional. However, the claimant is going to experience a significant disability and it will last into the foreseeable future.
PTSD Moderate (c) £8,180 to £23,150 A recovery largely occurs, but some symptoms that do not cause a large disability persist.
PTSD Less severe (d) £3,950 to £8,180 A virtual full recovery occurs. However, some symptoms may continue past 1-2 years.

Contact our team today for a free estimate of the value of your claim.

Can I Work With No Win No Fee Solicitors If A Monzo Bank Data Breach Happened?

As stated previously, you could hire a specialist solicitor for a data breach claim. A No Win No Fee data breach solicitor could provide their services using a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). 

Under a CFA, your solicitor will not charge an upfront solicitors fee. They will take a success fee out of the awards of successful claims. Legal caps apply. If your claim isn’t successful, however, you will not be charged a success fee. 

Contact our advisors to understand what steps you could possibly take should a Monzo Bank data breach ever occur and it has potentially breached your data and caused you harm. They’re available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with free legal advice. 

To speak to a member of our data breach team:

 Read More About Data Breach Claims 

More helpful resources:

Additional data breach guides:

Guide by DB. Edited by CH.