u/Mae192192

I own a small niche brand that I’ve built and poured my soul into over the past 5 years. A newer competitor in the exact same niche has been repeatedly copying my designs, TikTok content, messaging, and overall USP for over a year now.

At first I ignored it, but it’s becoming really frustrating and honestly draining creatively. We’re direct competitors in a small niche, so I don’t even understand why she’s trying to mirror my brand instead of differentiating herself.

I’ve been documenting everything with timestamps and side-by-side comparisons. Part of me wants to send a polite private message asking her to stop, but I also don’t want drama or for it to backfire publicly on my brand.

Has anyone dealt with this before? Did you confront them or just ignore it?

I’m looking for advice on whether anyone has successfully claimed compensation from a concierge service or landlord for a GDPR/data protection breach.

I’m a tenant in a flat. I met a man and we got into a relationship. After he lost his home, he moved into my flat as a lodger and agreed to pay a monthly rent. After a couple of months, he stopped paying and his behaviour became violent. Eventually, I had enough, changed the locks, and put his belongings outside.

That night, when he couldn’t get back into the flat and found his things outside, he went to the concierge building (which has a 24/7 concierge). He told the concierge on duty that he had been a tenant and that he had been illegally locked out.

During that interaction, the concierge disclosed personal information about me without my permission, including details about my tenancy, my residency situation, and the identity of my landlord and managing housing company, which I had never shared with him. The concierge on duty also said she would be willing to give a statement to the police in support of his unlawful eviction claim, without knowing anything about him or the full situation at the time. She later did not provide a statement, although she had initially said she would.

I have proof of what was said because my ex-partner included details of that conversation in his own claim against me (for unlawful eviction), including the name of the concierge on duty and what was disclosed to him that night. I can also submit a SAR, although I’m not sure what may or may not still be retained.

Following this, he contacted my landlord using that information. My landlord has now served me with a Section 8 eviction notice for having an unauthorised lodger and a Section 21 notice (before May 1st).

This situation has caused significant emotional distress (I have medical fit notes and prescriptions to support this), and I am now facing eviction proceedings and at risk of losing my home.

I want to understand whether anyone has successfully claimed compensation in similar circumstances, and what the best process is in England. Whether the complaint should go through the concierge company, the landlord, or both, and whether GDPR/data protection claims like this are realistically successful and how much compensation it's fair for me to ask?

I don't have a budget for a sollicitor unfortunately.