Kingsley Hayes, Managing Director, Hayes Connor Solicitors
Widnes based Hayes Connor Solicitors [1] has issued a claim for damages of up to £5 million against ticketing giant Ticketmaster in the regional division of the High Court in Liverpool following its data breach reported on 23rd June 2018.
The claim is the first to be issued out of the High Court Business and Property Division in Liverpool set up in 2018 to deal with high value litigation claims with the Ticketmaster multi-party litigation involving more than 650 individuals.
This is the first high profile action to be launched on behalf of multiple claimants in the UK post GDPR implementation.
Kingsley Hayes [2], managing director at data breach and cyber security specialist Hayes Connor Solicitors, said: “We have taken the decision to escalate the claim to the High Court following unsuccessful negotiations with Ticketmaster which maintains that it is not liable for the data breach and the subsequent damages suffered by its customers.
“It reported that the personal and financial data of around 40,000 UK customers had been stolen via malicious malware on third party software. Ticketmaster failed to action the breach until two months after it was alerted to the fact by digital bank Monzo.
“More than two thirds of our clients have suffered multiple fraudulent transactions since the serious data breach with the remainder still at risk of having their money stolen or their details used for fraudulent activity in the future.
“In excess of a third of our clients have suffered significant stress and heightened anxiety as a result with multiple attempts made to hack into their emails for example. Some have had to seek medical attention and have taken time off work following the breach of their personal data. While the Ticketmaster data breach hit the headlines some time ago, the effect on victims is significant and ongoing.
“Stolen personal information, particularly in instances where a significant number of individuals are involved, is often used in batches so some victims may yet to experience any fraudulent activity, however, may still be at risk. Individuals who were alerted to the data breach by Ticketmaster can still join our action to claim compensation but must act to do so in the next few weeks.”
Hayes Connor Solicitors is the first UK law firm to proceed with a multi-party litigation against US based Ticketmaster following its data breach to date.