@fox12345, indeed this is a recurring issue down to VM not always following their own procedures and guidelines and deleting old email accounts within the timescales they set. As you have seen, these accounts can linger on for years and years and give a real false sense of security and permanency. But they are always living on borrowed time and at some point they will get deleted!
With regard to any pre warning, in VM’s defence here, the terms and conditions were laid out in the original agreement (yes I know, nobody reads them or takes much notice,) but still… also if a person isn’t a paying customer, then it could be argued that VM have no right to contact them and really shouldn’t have any details for them, including an email address (blame GDPR for that one), legally VM could be on dodgy grounds if they WERE to pre warn people beforehand.
Anyhow, I’m glad to see that access has been restored, but please, please, assume that it could go at any point again, and that might be tomorrow, next week, next month, next year - it is impossible to say, but what has been established is that once it goes for a second time, that really is it.