Can't create a Developer Program account because my phone number was associated with my former employer

Question

I have spent hours trying to create a Developer Program account to get access to Power BI, Power Automate and Power Apps. This is crucial for a job application. I originally started to create an account well over 48 hours ago. I was able to find out that my phone number was still attached to my former employees account. They thankfully removed my phone number. I was told by Microsoft that I would have to wait 24-48 hours to apply again with my phone number. I have tried so many times but I still keep getting the same error.

"We can't continue with the signup process right now due to an internal server error. Please try again later.

MS-CorrelationId: 00000000-.......

Code: 50001"

I can't get through to any phone number to talk to someone. Is there anyone at all that can help me with this?

Thank you