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Hello, this is Jim and welcome to JustAnswer. I will be the lawyer working with you today.Sorry to hear of the issue. I will set out my written answer shortly.
I would not recommend you accept £600.
If your data was abused in this was then this is in breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR).
GDPR protects data subjects and if you do not consent, anyone who hands out your data can be held in breach of GDPR. What this means is that the Information Commissioner's Office (the "ICO") can fine companies heavily if they find there has been a breach. The fines are either up to £17m or 4% of company turnover, whichever is greater. As such, I would recommend that you inform the ICO on 0303(###) ###-#### Or you can email them: *****@******.***They will take your details and if they feel there has been a data breach will contact the company and possibly fine them. A lot of companies do not realise the extent of the fines and it is envisaged a lot of businesses will go bust in the event of a breach, not just because of the fines but because the aggrieved party can also claim compensation.
If the ICO tells you there has been a GDPR breach then it makes it much easier to claim compensation (under Article 77 of GDPR) - the amount of which varies and depends on the severity of the breach and the impact it has had upon the aggrieved party. As a rough guide you would be looking at anything between £1,000 and £10,000 (the latter being for a serious breach which has adversely affected you). You should consider claiming the upper level of that sum as it sounds like the data breach has caused a problem with depression and so forth. You should also consider asking a personal injury lawyer if they can make a claim for the psychological injury, which is separate to damages for the data breach.
I hope this helps and answers the question - my goal is to ensure you are happy with the answer and have the information you need. If you have any follow up questions then please let me know. I will reply as soon as I can to help with any further queries.
Many thanks,Jim
Please let me know if the answer helped or if you need me to cover anything else?. I am happy to clarify the answer or if you have any follow up questions. If so, I’d be grateful if you would let me know. I am free most days, including weekends, so feel free to ask me anything you are unsure of.
Best wishes,
Jim