Carphone Warehouse data breach advice

The Carphone Warehouse data breach of 5^th August 2015 was a significant event with some 2.4 million customers affected by a cyberattack.

We are taking cases forward for this breach and have been since news of the incident broke back in 2015. It’s not the first incident of its kind, but as we approach the three-year anniversary, there are some important warnings we must issue for those who have yet to start their legal case.

Here’s some vital advice about whether you can make a claim for compensation with us on a No Win, No Fee basis, as well as warnings about deadlines involved. As a leading consumer action and data breach compensation law firm, our experience speaks for itself when it comes to this complex and niche area of law.

About the Carphone Warehouse data breach

The Carphone Warehouse data breach stemmed from a cyberattack which led to the exposure of data for around 2.4 million customers. It was discovered on 5^th August 2015 and affected their e2save.com, Mobiles.co.uk and OneStopPhoneShop.com websites.

Names, addresses, birth dates and some bank details were involved in the event. As many as 90,000 of those affected may have also had encrypted credit card information accessed as well, which put people at an immediate risk of fraud.

In 2018, the UK’s data watchdog, the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), fined the retailer £400,000.00 for the breach. This was based on the rules that were in force prior to the GDPR which is why the fine may seem relatively small when compared to the intentions to fine issued to BA and Marriott of £183m and £99m respectively.

Making a claim for compensation

If you have been notified that you are a victim of the Carphone Warehouse data breach, you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation with us on a No Win, No Fee basis.

The fine issued in 2018 of £400,000.00 was never designed to be used as compensation. For victims to be able to access their own justice for what has happened, a separate legal case can be made. Victims can be entitled to claim for the distress caused by the loss of control of their personal information. If money has been stolen as a result of fraud that’s linked to the breach event, this may also be included.

Our lawyers are fighting for justice in over 35 different group and multi-party cases, and we have been appointed to Steering Committee for huge and ground-breaking actions in the UK. This includes our most recent appointment in the British Airways action; the first GDPR Group Litigation Order (GLO) in England and Wales.

Deadlines to claim

If you have been affected by the Carphone Warehouse data breach, you still have time to pursue a claim as of the date of this article (April 2020). However, if you have suffered serious distress that may be recognised as a personal injury, you may only have three years in which to settle your case or issue court proceedings for this element of a case.

This means that your deadline to claim could be imminent.

Importantly, the laws for limitation dates can be different depending on individual factors. As such, you must always seek proper legal advice to be able to determine the accurate limitation dates for your case. With the general three-year rule meaning some may be facing deadlines expiring this year, you should speak to our team ASAP for free, no-obligation advice if you haven’t already started a  case with us.

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