Orphaned Account - Oct 2021

[John_B2021]

Hi,

I signed up for a virgin email account when they started and seem to remember it was marketed at the time as an "e-mail address for life" ...and have been using my ....@virgin.net e-mail address ever since, quite happily. I even worked for Virgin for a while.

Then last week .. cut off ... no warning, no offer to upgrade, nothing ... just stopped.

It might have been polite to at least notify me?

No I'm not a VM customer and searching online suspect that it might be tagged as an "orphaned account"

Anyway of getting this back? Sign up for something?

[jem101 · Accepted solution]

There's no 'might' about it, it has been logged as an orphaned account ie one not associated with a live VM broadband subscription. Such accounts are prone to deletion at any time, indeed yours really should have been deleted some years ago.

I will escalate this to the forum team to contact you and see if anything can be done on a temporary basis, but the chances are not good.

[Gareth_L]

Hi John_B2021

Thanks for your post 

I can have a look at getting you back access to this email account 

I cannot promise it is possible or for how long, but let me check anyway 

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

[John_B2021]

Thanks Jem, you assistance much appreciated.

All sorts in there legal, medical etc etc and just at a moment when I needed it all 😕

[Gareth_L]

Hi John_B2021

Thanks for those details 

Sadly the virgin.net email address is now closed and impossible to get back active again 

If you were to join bac up and get services with us again 

That would still not be possible 

Sorry about this 

Gareth_L

[John_B2021]

So just to check my understanding ... 

If sign up for a Virgin Media package it would be possible to continue and have access to THAT e-mail account?

Or ... that I could have ANOTHER e-mail account? i.e. not have access to the e-mails etc in the previous one?

If so could I at least have the same e-mail address?

[John_B2021]

sorry I've just spotted the "NOT" in you previous answer

[John_B2021]

.... same question then:

... If I sign up for a VM package could I have the same e-mail address back again?

[jem101]

@John_B2021 

I'm afraid neither, if your old mailbox and emails have been deleted then they are gone for good. If you were to sign up for a VM broadband account then you could get a new @virginmedia.com address (the old legacy virgin.net, ntlworld.com and blueyounder.com can't have new addresses created), but VM have a policy of never allowing old email addresses to be recycled, so even though your 'current' address wouldn't be in use any anyone else, it would be permanently marked as being unavailable.

[John_B2021]

Thanks for the thorough answer Jem, which I appreciate

Do Virgin Media give no consideration at all to the devastation this can cause to people's lives? As I mentioned I have both ongoing medical and legal issues all of which rely on that line of communication? ... both of which VM has chopped off without any prior warning.

Would it not be polite and ethical to at least consult and warn users before making this kind of change?