Legacy blueyonder email access revoked?

[old_by_user]

Hi, I was a long-term virgin media user, but over 2 years ago moved house to an area where virgin media can not provide service

I was still using a blueyonder.co.uk email address but as of yesterday afternoon I have been unable to receive emails (Error 0x800CCC92, server responded with -ERR [AUTH] Authentication failed.)

My password and email client settings have not changed recently

Is there anything that can be done to restore access?

If the account has been deleted entirely, it would have been very helpful to have had some advanced notice of that so I could migrate away from.

[Graham_A]

@old_by_user  It may have been locked rather than deleted at the moment.  Try changing the password via the Forgotten password link: 

virgin-media-reset-username-and-password 

In terms of notice you would have been notified at the time you ceased to be a VM broadband account holder that any associated email addresses would be closed 90 days after leaving.  Sometimes the email account carries on the a lot longer before eventually being shut.

[old_by_user]

Thanks for the response Graham, unfortunately the reset password link rejects the email address when I enter with "Please ensure you provide the email address you use to sign in to My Virgin Media.", which makes me suspect the address may no longer exist.

If anyone at virgin is able to confirm or deny this (I can provide the email address in question via PM) then it would put my mind at ease, as one other alternative is that the account has been hijacked and the password updated without my knowledge, which is obviously a much bigger risk for me as I have various online accounts that may use this email address (e.g for resetting passwords or other security checks).

[Graham_A]

@old_by_user  Ok, I will escalate this to VM so that it goes into their priory queue.  They should respond here later today or tomorrow.  They may not be able to do anything other than check the email account status.

Whilst waiting check what response you get when using this link to check the email status https://verifalia.com/validate-email

It should show whether the mailbox exists or not.

[Gareth_L]

Hello old_by_user

Thanks for bringing this to our attention. 

I can have a look at this for you, 

May not be able to get you access but let me try at least.

If you don't mind, I will need to send you a private message to pass security. 
If you can check the purple envelope top right of your screen that would be great. 
Regards     
Gareth_L
 

[old_by_user]

Thanks Graham, much appreciated.

verifalia.com does indicate the mailbox is deliverable and valid.

Validation summary

Classification:

Deliverable

Status:

Valid email, with no high-risk factors detected: safe to send mail.

Status code:

Success

[Graham_A]

@old_by_user  I'll leave you in the capable hands of @Gareth_L 

[Gareth_L]

Hi Christopher. 

I have located the email from here and it is locked. 

It's an easy fix to get it unlocked though. 

Just needs some persuasion from another department. 

With it being 7pm on a Friday, there might be a little delay in getting this resolved. 

Probably looking at Monday.

I will keep you updated though. 

In the meantime can you please try resetting the password every now and again

Gareth_L

[Graham_A]

@old_by_user  Worth adding that, should the IT team manage to unlock the account, you should take this as a temporary reprieve.  If it gets locked again it won't be unlocked a second time.

[old_by_user]

Thanks both Graham and Gareth - that at least puts my mind at ease that nothing nefarious is going on.

Look forward to getting the mailbox unlocked, and have already started moving online accounts to use a new email address so I can slowly retire the trusty old blueyonder email after all these years 🙂