AX data breach- legal advice and compensation claims

If you are a customer of AX, you may have recently been contacted regarding the data breach that affected the company’s files. It is understood that the AX data breach occurred earlier this year in January, after an unauthorised third party managed to access private information held by the company.

AX, formerly known as Accident Exchange, provides vehicle hire services to those who have been involved in road traffic accidents. It may be that some of AX’s customers are involved in ongoing insurance or personal injury claims arising from their accidents, so it could be highly distressing for such victims to hear that information relating to these incidents might have been exposed.

Your personal information should never fall into the hands of an unauthorised third party but, unfortunately, some data controllers still fail to protect personal information from theft or loss. If you have been the victim of an incident like this, you may be eligible to start a compensation claim, so contact our team for advice if you think you have a case.

The AX data breach – what happened?

The circumstances of the AX data breach remain somewhat unclear. It seems that the incident occurred in January, with those affected only being contacted more recently. AX has not described the incident as a cyberattack, but they have told customers that an unauthorised third party had accessed files containing personal information.

The details of the exposed data were not clear in their first email to affected customers, but it has since been found that the following information may have been affected can include:

• Personal data like names and customer reference numbers;
• Contact details such as addresses, telephone numbers and email addresses;
• Vehicle information including insurer details, vehicle makes and models, and vehicle registration numbers;
• Accident and repair data.

AX asserted that affected customers are unlikely to fall victim to identity theft or fraud, but the company did remind those affected that AX itself would never contact them to ask if they wanted to start a claim for personal injury. This warning suggests that victims of the AX data breach could receive scam calls or messages from fraudsters, and this would not surprise us at all. It is precisely the kind of thing that scammers would do.

Potential data breach compensation claims

It is always worrying for victims to learn that their information has been exposed, and the case is no different for those affected by the AX data breach. Although it is difficult to undo the damage a breach has caused, it may be possible to seek justice via a compensation claim.

Data breach claims can allow victims to recover damages for any distress they have suffered in the wake of the incident, and for any financial losses that may have resulted from fraud, as it can be common for criminals to use exposed personal information to target their victims. If AX is deemed to be liable, they may owe you a significant compensation pay-out.

Make your claim today

We have already been taking on cases for clients affected by the AX data breach, and we may be able to help you too. The numbers are unclear, but many AX customers could have been affected by this incident, so it is our job to enable as many victims as possible to access the justice they deserve. If we take on multiple affected claimants, we will be able to present a united front against AX.

To enquire about a potential claim, simply contact our team today for free, no-obligation advice.