How do I deal with some of the worst customer service I've ever experienced?

Question

I recently created a business subscription using an email address that I had a personal account with a number of years ago. I have been in contact with the personal support three times in the last two days and have spent three hours trying to resolve this issue (with the last two agents cutting me off mid conversation).

I CANNOT access Business Support, or Business Services, because I am being told I have a Personal Account. If I contact Personal Customer Services, they claim to not have access to Business Support and direct me to a Business Support portal, that as incorrectly registered Personal customer, I cannot access!

The standard Microsoft Support response for this issue, when I make it known to them that I cannot access Business Support with my incorrectly labeled Personal Account appears to be to cut me off mid conversation. Likewise, when I ask for a refund for my subscription and my Personal Account to be deleted, so that I can open the Business Account again, they cut me off.

Repeatedly I've been directed to their helpline, which hung up on me (seems to be a common issue). MS EMEA headquarters is a mile from where I am sitting, I'm tempted to go down to their office tomorrow, as at least that way I can talk to a human (even if it's only a Security Guard).

This customer service is so bad, it almost makes Apple look good. In the meantime I'm cancelling the direct debit at my Bank and contacting the Consumer Protection Agency in Ireland for a refund of the rest of my money.

Regards

Answer 1

Hi Brendan,  

I’m sorry to hear about the experience you’ve had so far. I understand how frustrating it must be to purchase a Microsoft 365 Business subscription and then be unable to reach the correct support channel, especially after spending so much time trying to resolve this. 

As a first step, I would suggest checking the inbox, junk/spam folder, and any Microsoft purchase or setup emails sent to your personal email address.  

• Look for any message related to Microsoft 365 Business, your organization setup, admin account, tenant creation, order confirmation, subscription activation, or any sign-in details containing an onmicrosoft.com domain, such as yourcompany.onmicrosoft.com or ******@yourcompany.onmicrosoft.com. 
• If you are able to find the business account sign-in details, you can try signing in to the Microsoft 365 admin center 
• Once signed in, you should be able to manage the business tenant, assign licenses, review the subscription, and access the available support options. 

However, if you cannot find the business account information, or if you are unable to sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center, the next essential step is to involve the Microsoft Data Protection team, as they are the only team authorized to help recover an admin account in these circumstances.  

You may try the following options: 

1/ Contact Microsoft support by phone 

• Depending on your region, you may be able to contact Microsoft 365 Business Support by using the phone number listed on the Contact Microsoft customer support page. 
• 

When reaching out to the Data Protection team, please be prepared to provide any requested information, such as: 

• Tenant name/domain 
• Affected administrator account 
• Microsoft 365 subscription details 
• Proof of tenant/domain ownership, if required 
• Billing or subscription-related verification information 
• Any organizational documents requested by the recovery team 

Please note that forum moderators do not have access to user account settings and cannot assist with logging in, resetting passwords, or changing access rights. While we do not have access to internal systems or administrative tools required to resolve account-specific or backend-related issues but we’ll continue doing our best to support you within the scope of our responsibilities.    

2/ Create a new trial tenant to submit a support ticket 

If you cannot reach a live agent, one possible workaround is to create a new trial Microsoft 365 Business tenant using a different/new email address. This may allow you to access the Microsoft 365 admin center from the new tenant and submit a support ticket requesting help with your original subscription. 

To create a new trial tenant, please follow these steps: 

• Visit Microsoft 365 Business Plans and Pricing. 
• Follow the guided setup process to create a new account for a new tenant. 
• After the new tenant is created, please sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center using the email address you used to register for the new trial tenant. 
• In the Microsoft 365 admin center, click Help & support at the bottom-right corner. 
• Briefly describe your issue, then choose Contact support. 
• You may be offered chat, phone, or email support depending on your region and support availability. 

For detailed guidance, you can refer to this article: Get support - Microsoft 365 admin | Microsoft Learn 

In your ticket description, please clearly explain that you created the trial tenant only because you cannot access or locate the sign-in details for your original Microsoft 365 Business subscription. You may use or adapt the message below: 

"Hello, I created this trial tenant only so I could contact Microsoft 365 Business Support regarding my original Microsoft 365 Business subscription. 

I recently purchased a Microsoft 365 Business subscription using an email address that was previously associated with a personal Microsoft account. I cannot find the correct business account sign-in information, or I am unable to sign in to the business tenant associated with the subscription. 

Because of this, I cannot access the Microsoft 365 admin center or reach Business Support from the original account. Personal Support has advised that they cannot assist with business subscriptions. 

Please escalate this case to the Data Protection team. I can provide the required verification information, including order details, invoice number, billing information, proof of purchase, and any other documentation needed to verify ownership of the subscription." 

 

Please remember to cancel the trial subscription after your issue is resolved, as this will help you avoid any accidental billing. You may prefer the following resource for detailed instructions: Cancel your Microsoft business subscription in the Microsoft 365 admin center | Microsoft Learn 

 

I’m sorry again for the inconvenience this has caused. I hope this helps you reach the correct support team and get the subscription access or refund issue resolved as soon as possible. 

Should you have any further questions or need additional assistance, please feel free to share them in the comments below. I’ll be happy to help as much as I can. 

If you find my post helpful, kindly consider marking it as 'Yes'. Doing so can assist others in the community who may have similar questions in finding solutions more quickly.  

Thank you for your kindness and contributions to the forum.  

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