M&S facing 'unprecedented' hack attack class action

A Scottish law firm claims it is planning to launch an “unprecedented” class action lawsuit against Marks & Spencer following the ongoing cyber-attack which the retailer has already admitted has resulted in the loss of customers’ personal data.

Thompsons Solicitors – which has offices across numerous locations north of the border, including Glasgow, Edinburg and Dundee – is urging those affected to sign up, insisting they could be entitled to compensation for the increased risk of fraud as well as financial losses, distress, anxiety, and time spent resolving issues or securing accounts.

Speaking to ITV News, senior partner Patrick Mcguire, said: “The clients who have joined our class action have done so because their valuable confidential personal details were stolen.

“It was the responsibility of M&S to protect that information and they failed completely to do so. They have breached data regulations and caused distress to our clients a significant number of whom have already been the victims of attempted scams.”

Even so, there is hardly a mad rush to sign up; Thompsons Solicitors said that around 350 people have joined the class action so far.

Although M&S has refused to detail how many customers have been affected by the data breach, last month it emailed its entire customer base of 9.4 million people to warn them about the situation.

In a statement, M&S said: “We communicated to our customers as soon as we could and told them that the data taken does not include any useable card or payment details, or account passwords. M&S does not hold full card details on its systems.”

According to the retailer’s latest update on the situation – released two weeks ago – it is facing a £300m loss as a result of the attack, equivalent to 30% of profits, with disruption to its operations set to drag on until July. Meanwhile, this week it has launched its new summer ad campaign, with not a single mention of its online stores, as the website has yet to be fixed.