Yahoo will not let me have my own name 

Resolved: April 6, 2006: The issue below was resolved.  'ervandarnell' was released without comment or notification, approximately 150 days after it was deleted.

Mar 2006

I deleted yahoo account 'ervandarnell' in hopes of adding that name as a profile name under my main account.  Upon deletion, it said it could not reuse that name for 90 days.  I tried to reuse it at 90 days and again at 100 days.  

I'm sorry, that login name is already in use. Please select another Yahoo! Member Directory Create New Profile

Then I wrote them with the account name, (ultimately) password, and backup password.  They refused to delete the account on the theory that I did not have the date-of-birth right for that account. Having the password did not matter.  The account was deleted so I could not look at it to see what DOB was actually used there (nor did I have any idea that would be a password when I originally created the account).  Yahoo accused me of trying to snoop in someone else's data.  All I ever asked them to do was to finish deleting the account according to their own stated policy.   Apparently, I can never get my own name as an account name now.  The email exchange was:


Date: Sat, 04 Mar 2006 11:08:37 -0800
From: Yahoo! Member Directory <profiles-help@cc.yahoo-inc.com>
Hello,
 
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Member Directory.
 
Please provide the following information:
 
-Date of birth
-Alternate email address
-Zip code
 
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
John
 
Yahoo! Customer Care
33923795
 
New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - better than ever!

Original Message Follows:
-------------------------

Mail-Id: 1141409867-8928
Name: Ervan Darnell

Subject: How do I edit my profile?

Type your feedback here:
 I'm account/ervan_darnell on Yahoo. I
would also like to get 'ervandarnell'
(my real name), and drop the '_'
version.  I used to have 'ervandarnell'
as a Yahoo ID, under a different
account.  I tried to consolidate it with
the account account, but Yahoo reports
'ervandarnell' is taken.  It is not!  It
was mine and I released it.  No one else
is using it.  I did this months ago and
have checked every few weeks ever since
and it still isn't available.  What do I
need to do to get 'ervandarnell' back?
When does that time out on reuse expire?

DOB [correct values sent to Yahoo]

alternate email [xxxxx]

Zip [xxxxx]


Date: Sun, 05 Mar 2006 08:15:48 -0800
To: Ervan Darnell <currentemailaddr@kelvinist.com>
Subject: Re: Feedback - How do I edit my profile?  (KMM58234679V74786L0KM)
From: Yahoo! Member Directory <profiles-help@cc.yahoo-inc.com>
Hello,
 
Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
The verification information you have provided us does not match the information on file for that account, so we will not be able to assist you with that Yahoo! ID.
 
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
Linda

!#@$%$!@#$

A) My info

You didn't tell me you wanted the information I used _when_ I created that account (ervandarnell@yahoo.com). I gave you the information which is valid now (and for account@yahoo.com). Since I cannot access ervandarnell@yahoo.com account any more, since I deleted it, I don't know exactly when I created it either. Here is a history of the information you are after

DOB  [correct values sent to Yahoo]

Previous addresses

[ 10- years worth of previous snail mail and email addresses ]

B) Availability date.

When I deleted ervandarnell@yahoo.com the website said that it would be unavailable for a period of time and then become available again. Just tell me when it becomes available again so I can grab it then, or at least remind me of that time period. When I deleted it, I scheduled the day on my calendar that it would become available, and that didn't happen. At least let me know the real period that applies here. This should apply even if you cannot verify the data above.

C) Common sense.

"Ervan Darnell" is my name, and it's a very unique name. I'm obviously not grabbing an ID of someone with the same name. Doesn't it seem reasonable that I want my own name and no one else does (since it's unique)? I could email you a copy of my driver's license for instance. Were someone using my name as a Yahoo ID, I can understand your not releasing it. But that's not the case here. The account in question is _deleted_. This is just a discussion about when to make it available again, not reassigning it. Who exactly are you protecting?

----Ervan Darnell


Date: Mon, 06 Mar 2006 08:10:54 -0800
To: Ervan Darnell <currentemailaddr@kelvinist.com>
Subject: Re: Feedback - How do I edit my profile?  (KMM58302502V61446L0KM)
From: Yahoo! Member Directory <profiles-help@cc.yahoo-inc.com>
Hello Ervan,
 
Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
I apologize for the inconvenience, however the verification information does not match, therefore, we are unable to assist you with this account.
 
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
Linda

Linda,

Thanks for replying, but I'm disappointed that I received only a boiler plate response and nothing about the particulars that I wrote.

I want to come at this another way. The password on the old account ervandarnell@yahoo.com was [password] and the backup question was Pet "[pet]" or maybe "[Pet]" Verify this and that should show it's my account. So, I'm only trying, at the end of the day, to transfer my own Yahoo profile from one Yahoo account to another, both of which are mine.

Second, I cannot understand how the verification information does not match. We're down to a typo or something equally silly. Are you telling me all of the choices below are wrong or that since there is more than one you cannot look for the right one? After more digging, I believe I created this account in fall 2002. At the time my work email was either ervan@[old company].com or ervan@[another old company].com (both were valid for the same entity as a small company got bought out). Generally, I would have used ervan@[current domain].com or edarnell@[current domain].com, both of which I listed below. My ISP provided email at the time was edarnell1@home.com (amusingly, AT&T did the same thing to me you have captured my real name from some early registration and refused to let it go for my own use). I also switched ISPs near that time and my new ISP email would have been ervan@[isp].com, edarnell@[isp].com, ervan@[ispalternate].com, or edarnell@[ispalternate].com (isp & ispalternate are the same company).

At least tell me what the expiration time is on deleted accounts, so I can renew my own account. This seems like public information and there shouldn't be any objection to letting me know this.

----Ervan Darnell


Date: Tue, 07 Mar 2006 08:15:42 -0800
To: Ervan Darnell <currentemailaddr@kelvinist.com>
Subject: Re: Feedback - How do I edit my profile?  (KMM58359467V12603L0KM)
From: Yahoo! Member Directory <profiles-help@cc.yahoo-inc.com>
Hello,
 
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Member Directory.
 
Because you are not able to verify the registration information on the account you are questioning, we have to assume it is someone else's account.
 
State and Federal laws strictly limit the information that online service providers like Yahoo! may disclose about subscribers.  If you are seeking to obtain the account information we may have regarding a specific subscriber, we will need a subpoena or a court order.
 
If you have obtained a subpoena or a court order for the release of information, please direct it to:
 
   Yahoo! Custodian of Records
   701 First Avenue
   Sunnyvale, CA 94089
 
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
Linda

Linda,

I sent you the password and backup verification question and answer for ervandarnell@yahoo.com. I'm sure those are correct. Did you check them or did you just reject my last email because you rejected my first?

Did you read the list of alternate email addresses that I might have used when creating the account? Look at what you are asking me to do you are asking me to look at information in a deleted account. I've had lots of email addresses and I do not know which one I used when I created the account (as a backup email address). Since I deleted the account, now I cannot log in to look at it to see what that was. I do have the password, which I already gave you, but I cannot myself use it at this point (since the account is deleted). I already sent you my DOB & zip as well, both of which I'm sure are correct.

I resent the implication that I am seeking someone else's information. I have not asked for any information about the account. I'm only asking that you actually finish deleting it, as you promised you would do when I deleted it months ago. Really, this is your breach and not mine for not following your own stated policy of making IDs available again within 90 days (I originally deleted the account on 11/20). Had I known you would have taken my name away from me permanently for deleting an account (in the interest of transferring the profile), I never would have deleted it.

Sincerely,

----Ervan Darnell


Date: Wed, 08 Mar 2006 08:41:47 -0800
To: Ervan Darnell <currentemailaddr@kelvinist.com>
Subject: Re: Feedback - How do I edit my profile?  (KMM58453394V99812L0KM)
From: Yahoo! Member Directory <profiles-help@cc.yahoo-inc.com>
Hello,
 
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Member Directory.
 
The DOB, which is the one piece of information that is not editable, was incorrect. I apologize, but we are not able to assist you with this account without the proper verification information.

 

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
Linda

Linda,

Okay, if the DOB is wrong then we are down to a typo in the original sign-up, or possibly I used a fake DOB in a public profile. I don't understand why my having the password is not adequate here. Had the account not yet been deleted, my having the password would be adequate as I could just look up the DOB in the profile. But the fact that I deleted the account now means my knowing the password is irrelevant? Further, nothing ever said when I signed up that the DOB would be used as a password. Thus, I never wrote down a 'special' one. Had I known that the DOB was to be used as a password (and not just for computing my age in a public profile), I would have paid it more attention. You have left me in a catch-22, not letting me use the password that I was allowed to set and removing from my visibility the DOB that was never mentioned as a password. As the DOB is not subject to duplicate entry in the first place and sanity checking on login like the password itself is, it hardly seems fair to insist that the DOB now be a password.

How about if I physically prove to you that I am who I say I am with a driver's license? That would prove that 6/16/62 is indeed the DOB for Ervan Darnell, who I am, and which is exactly the name on the account for which I have the password. Seems like that should prove it. I work just around the corner from your HQ and could stop by.

---Ervan Darnell


Date: Thu, 09 Mar 2006 23:35:33 -0800
To: Ervan Darnell <currentemailaddr@kelvinist.com>
Subject: Re: Feedback - How do I edit my profile?  (KMM58683963V76119L0KM)
From: Yahoo! Account Services <my-login-support@yahoo-inc.com>
Hello,
 
Thank you for writing to Yahoo! Account Services.
 
Once a Yahoo! ID is removed, it may be recycled for re-use.  There is no guarantee that this will happen.  You are welcome to sign up for a new account with a variation of the original name.

Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
Rebecca

Rebecca,

But there is a guarantee! Yahoo made me one (90 days) when I deleted the account. Had I known that deleting the account didn't actually delete the account, I wouldn't have done so (because my objective was to transfer the profile name). Had I known that you would regard my DOB as a password *only* after I no longer had access to the profile information, I would have been much more careful about checking it first. Look at the catch 22 you have created you asked for a DOB once years ago with no indication it was a password, or no confirmation of it, and then you don't let me use my password or backup security question to get to it.

How is that having the password for the account is not sufficient here? It's very bizarre that you tell me I cannot identify the account when I have the password and backup security question answer.

My own, quite unique, name is now apparently lost to me forever, apparently, as an ID because you didn't do what you said you would do (delete the account), won't accept the password for the account, offered no way to simply transfer the profile name in the first place (from account 'ervandarnell' to account 'account'). And all of this protects no one. Even if someone else were using my name as an account name, they deleted it, and obviously don't want it. I'm not asking for any information about the account, I'm just trying to reuse a deleted profile name!!

---Ervan Darnell


Date: Sun, 12 Mar 2006 07:16:47 -0800
To: Ervan Darnell <currentemailaddr@kelvinist.com>
Subject: Re: Feedback - How do I edit my profile?  (KMM58875519V76532L0KM)
From: Yahoo! Member Directory <profiles-help@yahoo-inc.com>
Hello,
 
Thank you for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused you. At this time we cannot offer you an estimate as to when this user name may be released.
 
Thank you again for contacting Yahoo! Customer Care.
 
Regards,
 
Linda