Waltham Forest Council data breach caused by “printing error”

A Waltham Forest Council data breach incident that stemmed from a “printing error” shows just how easy it is for personal information to be exposed.

We say this a lot, but a huge majority of the cases we take forward are for council data breach compensation claims. They can be incredibly common, and when you account for the vast wealth of personal and sensitive information that local authorities hold, leaks and breaches can be severe.

In this incident, it’s understood that a simple “printing error” was to blame for the leak of personal information to potentially thousands of people.

About the Waltham Forest Council data breach

The Waltham Forest Council data breach incident involved pensioners who received P60 information with the data for another person on the reverse side of the P60 pension form they’d been sent.

It appears that a “printing error” is to blame. A further form was sent shortly after the incorrect one with an accompanying letter explaining the situation.

This reportedly said:

“Due to an error with our printing partners a small number of these were printed with information on the reverse relating to another customer. We sincerely apologise for this error.”

P60 documents can contain personal and sensitive information, including financial information that many people would usually want to keep private.

How many people are affected?

It’s understood that a batch of pensioners’ statements were affected, and the number of affected people could be over 3,000.

A spokesperson for the council commenting on the data breach incident said:

“We were made aware on Thursday May 23 of an error by our printing partners affecting one batch of our pensioners’ statements. We immediately investigated and isolated the issue, and have implemented additional sign off procedures to prevent this happening again.”

What can you do if you were affected by the Waltham Forest Council data breach?

If you have been affected by the Waltham Forest Council data breach incident, you may be able to make a claim for compensation.

If your personal information has been exposed because it has been sent to someone else as a result of the printing error, you could be eligible to launch a legal case.

We can represent victims claiming for council data breach compensation on a No Win, No Fee basis. Many of the thousands of people who have come to us for help have been impacted by a local authority incident as they can be common.

Our initial advice is available on a free and no-obligation basis, and you can contact the office up until 10pm on most weekdays, and 9am to 5pm on most weekends.

Home Office data breach advice

Claiming compensation for a data breach: a quick guide