Capita PLC Data Breach

[OliverJames]

Hi Beagles,

I am looking for some advice following my data being stolen during the recent hack of Capita's systems.

In March/April '23 Capita lost a load of data when they were hacked. I received a letter confirming that my details were taken and that I am, now at risk. The following data was taken;
- Name
- DoB
- Address & Postcode
- National Insurance number
- Salary
- Employment history
- Pension scheme & membership information

There are a few law firms putting a class action lawsuit in against Capita, but before joining the crowds jumping onto the class action I wanted to explore the potential of taking my own case to them directly, appointing my own solicitor (when I find one that specialises in this) and seeing what comes of that?

Does anyone have any experience in this field and have any advice? It may just be that joining the class action is the right thing to do, but you don't know what you don't know!

Thanks in advance!

OJ

[theberenger]

There are legal experts on the forum who are far better placed to answer your query, but a few initial thoughts come to my mind:

- There's no such thing as a 'class action' in the UK, the correct term being 'collective action', so on that basis can we confirm you are in the UK, this being a UK-focussed forum.
- My understanding is you can't just launch a collective action, you and the other litigants wishing to join the action would need to engage a solicitor in the first instance to seek a group litigation order from the court, only after which could the collective action be brought.
- I would have thought a potentially major advantage of joining a collective action would be your reduced exposure to costs at all stages of the action, both in bringing the action to begin with, and any fallout should things not go your way.

I think for me, and possibly for most people, cost would be the biggest issue I would look to understand before making any decision. Once you leave the Small Claims track, costs can very quickly become pretty startling.

[ULA]

Generally it happens in this type of situation, where there are potentially multiple claimants, that a law firm or in some instances a few law firms will market and sign up clients to bring a "group action" (term used in the UK) claim against, in this case Capita. I am aware that Barings Law is one such law firm who have started a legal claim and there may be other law firms intending on bringing further claims.

Whatever you decide to do, make sure you look carefully at the terms you sign up to.

In a group action it is generally done on the basis of a no win, no fee arrangement. However, you need to ask about what insurance is in place in the event that the claim fails as if this happens then potentially the group of claimants would be liable for the costs of the winning party and this could be quite a hefty sum of money.

There may be solicitors you could engage on an individual basis and in which case they are likely to charge an hourly rate. It will also depend on whether your individual claim would be for less than £10k, if so and you won you would not be able to recover your legal fees. In this instance you would need to consider the cost for the solicitor to act versus what your claim is worth otherwise you could be out of pocket. On the flip side of this if the claim was more than £10k and you won they you may be able to claim back your legal fees but if you lost you would be liable for the other sides legal bill.

Just some initial thoughts for you to consider.