Cannot access my account

Question

I cannot access my account. It says that this account does not exist, no matter which device I use.

If I try to create a new account with the same email, it says that that email has been taken and is in use.

From what I have been able to research on the internet, it seems my account has been deleted by microsoft. With no warning, no notification, and no recourse possbility. Permanently. I cannot even go through the account recovery process since it doesn't recognize that my account ever existed.

And there is no person to talk to or chat with. How can I recover my account as well as the information in it?

Answer 1

According to the process, however, of creating a new alias, there is a step that says:

After you've added the email address, you'll be asked to verify that you're the account owner, select Verify next to the new alias. A message is sent to the account for verification. <<

Not sure where you got that information, but I have never been asked to verify if I was the account owner when creating an alias address (at least not that I remember) - makes no sense since you have to be logged into the account in order to create an alias as described in

Add or remove an email alias in Outlook.com https://support.office.com/en-us/article/add-or-remove-an-email-alias-in-outlook-com-459b1989-356d-40fa-a689-8f285b13f1f2

Regardless, doesn't change that once an email address has been deleted, no matter who has done that, the email address is permanently gone with no chance of reversal.

Answer 2

Ok, I read your reply carefully, and the only possibility, then, for my account getting cancelled was #2 above, that my account got hacked, and the hacker removed my email from the account.

According to the process, however, of creating a new alias, there is a step that says:

• After you've added the email address, you'll be asked to verify that you're the account owner, select Verify next to the new alias. A message is sent to the account for verification.

I have never received such a notification. So how could my account have been changed?

Answer 3

If you have been actively accessing your account up to this point, then it means your email address was removed from the account as per the original description.

Is this really true that there is nothing that can be done? <<

Unfortunately, the answer is: Yes

I would think that at least some kind of apology or explanation is warranted. <<

No one in the forum can speak on behalf of Microsoft since as mentioned, we don't work for Microsoft.

And what about the financial arrangements linked to my account? Ie have they cancelled the pre-authorized payments that will be taken from my credit card??? <<

Have to tell you right up front that you are going to like this part of the answer even less then my original reply.

The only suggestion that anyone can make is that you try and contact the situation in hopes that MS will cancel the recurring charges and move any purchases to another account. You definitely will not be able to recover the original email address. However, be forewarned that this can become a real challenge going by feedback from other users who found themselves n the same situation. I could lie to you and tell you that this can easily be done but it would not serve you well.

https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/contactus/

Can only provide the best information available based on what you have described as frustrting as the answer may be. Cannot provide a solution that does not exist.

*** - please note that we can only provide publicly published Microsoft Contact information. No one in the forum has any special Microsoft contact links

Answer 4

Hi Karl,

Thanks for the reply.

As a user and customer, this situation is really really annoying. I receive no explanation, no warning, and also have no ability to communicate with a real person about my account, for which I was paying a monthly fee, with information and data stored on the internet, which is now irretrievable.

From a customer satisfaction viewpoint, they rate an absolute zero.

Is this really true that there is nothing that can be done? If so, why do they not at least communicate this formally? I would think that at least some kind of apology or explanation is warranted. And what about the financial arrangements linked to my account? Ie have they cancelled the pre-authorized paymetns that will be taken from my credit card???

Also, note that I have been actively using my account, so there is no chance that this was due to an inactive account after warning that they would deactivate it...

Thanks for the reply, this frustration is not directed at you, just at the stupidity of the situation.

Answer 5

Hello SamL F

Hi, I'm Karl and will be happy to help you today.

First, Just so there is no misunderstanding, this is a public user-to-user support forum. We're users just like you helping other users. We do not work for Microsoft and have no access to any user account so there is nothing we can do or check from within the forum.

Once you encounter the error that the "account does not exist" that means that the email address (account) has been permanently deleted and cannot be recovered by anyone - it is permanently gone. There are no exceptions to this Microsoft policy.

No one in the forum can tell you why the account has been deleted but the most common reasons are

#1 - The account has not been accessed within the last 2 years and has been automatically deleted due to inactivity as per hte Microsoft Account Activity policy

Microsoft account activity policy https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/topic/microsoft-account-activity-policy-7c0a9fa7-0982-b7c6-fd72-df852b63699f

or as summarized in

Check if your Microsoft account is closed https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/check-if-your-microsoft-account-is-closed-5ce9281c-99eb-423b-9b5c-2b69a7701dc2

#2 - Your account was hacked and the hacker added their email address to your account, made it the <primary alias> and removed your email address from the account

or

#3 - You or someone who has access to the account removed the email address from the account.

In terms of items #2 or #3, it does not matter who removed the email address from the account. The action of removing an alias email address from an account is both immediate and permanent. The email address can never be recovered. This is described at the bottom of the following Microsoft article under

<"I want to move or transfer my alias to another account to merge or consolidate accounts">

Change the email address or phone number for your Microsoft account https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/account-billing/change-the-email-address-or-phone-number-for-your-microsoft-account-761a662d-8032-88f4-03f3-c9ba8ba0e00b

In terms of trying to create a new account using the same email address, if you try to create a new account using a deleted email address, you would encounter an error message that the email address is already in use. That is technically correct since every email address is maintained in a database so that it can be checked. What is misleading about that message is that it does not indicate that it involves a deleted email address which causes confusion