Wednesday 3 May 2017

Reaching Out to Yahoo Customer Care

Real-time


It pays to have a sense of humour because believe me, I've just had the starring role in a month long comedy! I call it a comedy because if I hadn't laughed about it, I could have got quite angry and then really upset about the situation. It also very nearly sent me to the looney bin.

For the last month I've been locked out of my Flickr Photo Sharing account which for me is serious stuff. I've had my account with Flickr for 10 plus years, it's where I store over 23,000 of my photos. Of course I have hard copies of all my photos but my Flickr Albums are where I store the best of them and a lot of work has gone into uploading them- each photo requires a lot of information to go with it. Many photos have links to their relevant blog post and they provide a good amount of my blog traffic. People worldwide also follow my uploads, and I've worked hard at building and keeping a solid viewing base up-to-date, with over 3.5million views to date. It also provides me with quick access to find a particular photo I might need for various reasons. I seriously could have cried when I realised I couldn't get into my account. 

Flickr is owned by Yahoo and when our New Zealand ISP, Xtra.co.nz, cut their links with Yahoo at the end of March, they also broke the link I had with my Flickr account because my primary Flickr email address was an Xtra one. Several times over the last few years I have tried to update my primary address to a more suitable one but because Xtra had a deal with Yahoo that supplied a few extra benefits to its Flickr customers, I couldn't change the email address. 

Once Xtra made it known that they were cutting all ties with Yahoo, they emailed their customers and suggested changing the primary address. I couldn't. It was locked. As it had been for the last 7 or so years. The 31st March deadline came and went so I then had to phone the Xtra helpline along with hundreds of others, going by the wait time to the call centre. I then had several long calls over several days listening to random on-hold music, talking to various operators and then following several sets of different instructions (all to no avail), that included setting up numerous Yahoo email accounts to try and get it to change. Finally I was passed onto a superior who promised to call back and never did. When I followed that up I got the answer that they couldn't help any more because they didn't have anything to do with Yahoo any longer. I could have told them that at the beginning.

So then it was onto Yahoo. Have you ever tried to get a hold of an actual person at the end of the line (email line) at Yahoo? Believe me they make you jump through a hundred hoops before you can get anything like a contact email address. It's like a maze, they list 101 questions that have a range of multi-choice answers, any one of them might be the answer to your problem but you have to read them all just in case one of them is the correct. Too bad if none are, you've just spent a couple of hours checking them all out and then another hour going around in circles making sure you haven't missed one. 

You're also offered support from a community forum- not Yahoo employees helping you, but generous Flickr users who answer queries as best they can until a Yahoo employee finds the time to check a thread and offer an answer, if they can. They couldn't. I had posts in a couple of threads in the forum that I had to keep rechecking each morning in case something was offered overnight. Each morning all there were, were more frustrated customers with totally different issues posting on the wrong thread.

Finally I managed to get an email address for 'Yahoo Customer Care' "Great!" I thought. 

That was when the fun really began.

If you haven't already fallen asleep then read on, but be warned, it's long and painful (and you might like to get yourself a drink while you have a moment). I'm doing this blog just because I want to document how bloody ridiculous the system is sometimes. If I was a less persistent person I could have quite easily chucked it in. If I didn't have a whole heap of spare time to waste, then I also would have given up. If I'd not had a steady connection to the internet for the last month (as dictated by where we travel while living on the road), I'd have been out of luck or had to wait at least another month to solve the problem. 

It was very hard to stay focused with so many newly created email addresses and random passwords on the go, along with dozens of saved screenshots of instructions and failed access attempts which I might have needed and some of which I attached to reply emails. And then to make matters worse I had to wait 24hours between each email contact because of the different time zone. Dates in the emails below may be confusing because of how the States write their dates with the month first.

So with an email address in my hot little hand I had first to send off a report letting them know what my problem was. I was then allocated a case number- I don't have a copy of the initial report but this is the response I got from there...

Take it away Yahoo...

From: Yahoo! 
Sent: 4/5/2017 4:22 PM 
To: flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz
Subject: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account

This is an automated response confirming your recent request for assistance.

Your Case Number is: 2xxxx533

Please don’t reply to this email, as this email address is used for outgoing email, only.


If you submitted a support request, a Yahoo Customer Care representative will respond within one business day.

If you submitted an abuse report, thank you! A Yahoo Customer Care representative will investigate your report and take appropriate action. We’ll only contact you if further information is needed.
Sincerely,
Yahoo Customer Care



On Friday, 7 April 2017 6:41 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:
Hello Shellie,

Thank you for contacting Flickr.
I would like to apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced while attempting to access your Flickr account.
I'll do what I can to help you out, but I need to verify you as the account owner first. Just reply with the following information as it appears on the account:

  • What are some names of some private albums listed on your Flickr account?
  • What are the names of some third party apps associated with your Flickr account (excluding Facebook and Instagram)?
If you aren't sure of what appears on the account, please provide us with a list of possible answers.
Once we receive this, we will move forward with our verification procedures. We appreciate your patience and look forward to hearing from you again.

Thank you again for contacting Flickr.

Regards,

Elliot

Yahoo Customer Care


From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/6/2017 1:29 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account (Case: 2xxxx533) []
 

Hi Elliot

Thanks for your response, obviously this'll take a bit of time in answering each other because of the time zone difference.

The answers to your queries are-
My Private Albums are- xx, xx, xx and xx
And a couple of the apps associated with the account are xx & xx

I hope this is enough information for us to move forward; it was hard to recall these items when I don't have access and especially when I don't use them or view them very often.

Thanks again, I'll hear from you soon.
Shellie



On Saturday, 8 April 2017 4:23 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thank you for getting back to us.


Unfortunately, we weren't able to match some of the information you provided with the information currently listed on your account.
For your security, we have to completely verify your account to provide you with login help. Please submit new answers. Try to remember the information as it was entered when you originally established your account or when you last updated your information:
  • What are the names of some third party apps associated with your Flickr account (excluding Facebook and Instagram)?
  • Name at least 5 folders you have created for your mail account.
  • Name at least 5 contacts in your mail contact list.
If you have already provided some of this information and we ask for it again, it means we could not match what you gave us to the information on the account.

We look forward to your reply.

Regards,

Nicholle

Yahoo Customer Care


On Saturday, 8 April 2017 7:30 AM, Shellie Evans wrote:


Hi Nicholle

It was a shock to open your email this morning to see nothing (or some things) didn't match. The problem is I don't use apps through Flickr very often, the only other one I can think of is xx. I've had the Flickr account for a very long time (2007) and use it only through my laptop and to view photos occasionally through my mobile phone. I'm hoping the private albums names I gave you are OK. 

Again, I only have a few private Flickr albums, the majority are public. Once I've set up a private album I very rarely revisit it after I've sent the link to the people that would like to see the photos. I'm getting worried now, because I have no idea of any other information for my Flickr account.
I know in my 'about' information on Flickr I have a link to two of my blogs; Two Go Tiki Touring and My Mate Moko. And my website is listed as http://tikitouringnz.blogspot.co.nz

And now I'm hoping the answers to the second two new questions you have asked are correct, it's a little confusing, I'm assuming you mean my Yahoo mail account now, not the Flickr account.

Five folders from my Yahoo mail account- xx, xx, xx, xx, xx
Five contacts from my mail contact list- xx, xx, xx, xx, xx

I'm getting desperate, I'm hoping this information is correct. I'm also hoping I don't have to wait another 24hours to find out.

Please give this your urgent attention, it'll be much appreciated.

Regards
Shellie


From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/8/2017 7:34 PM
To:
Subject: Fw: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account (Case: 2xxxx533) 
 

Hi there, I'm wondering if anyone will be getting back to me soon regarding the following problem and correspondence. I haven't heard anything for over 24 hours and I'm getting desperate to get back into my Flickr account. 

Because of the time difference between New Zealand and where ever this email ends up I'm having to wait extra time on top of the normal time frame between responses. 

And as if to rub salt into the wound, this morning I woke to an email from Yahoo asking me to fill in a customer survey form, all I was thinking was it's a reply to my issue! Sadly no.

Please can somebody help as soon as possible. Please.

Regards
Shellie

On Tuesday, 11 April 2017 12:31 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:


Hi Shellie, 

Thanks for spending the time to reach out to us again. 

So far we've been unable to match some of the answers that you provided with the verification information currently listed on the account.

Your account security is serious business and we take precautions to protect your personal info. That's why we'll only issue a new password, delete an account, or make changes if we've verified you as the owner of this account. This means we'll need you to provide the security information listed on your account at the time of registration or last update.
We adhere to these guidelines in order to protect the privacy and security of your account and those of the entire Yahoo network.
Please resubmit your answers to the following:
  • What are the names of some third party apps associated with your Flickr account (excluding Facebook and Instagram)?
  • Name at least 5 folders you have created for your mail account.
  • Name at least 5 contacts in your mail contact list.
We're looking forward to your response! 

Thanks, 

Courtney 

Yahoo Customer Care

On Tuesday, 11 April 2017 1:39 AM, Shellie Evans wrote:


Hi Courtney

This is getting beyond a joke, can someone please, please respond as soon as possible. I've just waited over 48 hours for an answer and I still can't access my Flickr account. I'm now sitting typing this response at 1:30 am in the morning so I don't have to wait another 24 hours for another response.

I have answered all the questions, to the best of my ability- I can't come up with any other answers, please don't ask me to answer the same questions again. I can't get into my account to check for the answers, the ones I have given you are the only answers I have and can remember. 

There must be another way or some other questions that you can ask me to confirm that this is my account. I asked if it was the yahoo account you were wanting the mail contact and folder information from- you haven't confirmed either way. 

Please I implore you, I need to be able to access my Flickr account, how else can I get in there.

Urgently waiting for a response that will help me.
Shellie


From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/10/2017 11:48 PM
To:
Subject: Fw: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account (Case: 2xxxx533) 

Hi again Courtney

I suddenly had a brainwave and I'm hoping this might be the answer (please read the previous email I sent you last night so you know where I'm coming from) This is a second response to your previous email (all shown below).



I'm thinking the security questions relate to the xxxx@xtra.co.nz mail account and not my own personal yahoo.co.nz email account. So here are the answers, although I can't give you five contact emails, I only have two in the address book- I don't use this email account as I've already mentioned.



The 5 folders are- xx, xx, xx, xx, xx.

The 5 addresses are- there are only 2 as I've said;

xx.com & xx@aol.com


Hopefully this will mean something, I really, really need some help here. I need to access my Flickr account urgently, I've been working on this problem for 6 days now, surely if someone was trying to 'steal' my account they wouldn't be putting in all this time and effort and trying to cope with the stress of it all as well.

Very soon I'm going to stuff up all the emails addresses and passwords associated with the account as I try to find a way into my Flickr account by changing emails and passwords too often here during the day while I wait for a response from Yahoo.

Please, please give me another alternative if these responses to not match. PLEASE.

Regards
Shellie

On Tuesday, 11 April 2017 11:27 PM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie, 

Thank you for being so patient with us and providing the information we needed! We should have you all fixed up! 

Great news - I can help you regain access to your flyingkiwigirl Flickr account! Before signing in, you’ll need to attach a Yahoo ID to your account. This ID cannot be associated with any other Flickr account.
Follow these steps to complete the process:
  1. Sign out of any Yahoo or Flickr accounts you're currently signed into.
  2. Go to the Flickr sign in page: http://www.flickr.com/signin/flickr/
  3. Sign in with this temporary info:
    • Email - xx@xtra.co.nz
    • Password (case sensitive) - xxxxxx
  4. Click GET IN THERE.
  5. Click Get started.
  6. Click either Use an existing Yahoo ID or Create a new one.
  7. Follow the on-screen prompts to change your Flickr login ID.
Once you’ve done this, you’ll be able to use the Yahoo ID you chose or just created to log in to Flickr from now on.
You can find some extra information about this (and other Yahoo products) through Yahoo Help Central.

If you have any other issues, definitely let me know!

Thanks, 

Courtney

Yahoo Customer Care

From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/11/2017 8:19 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account (Case: 24208533) []
 
Hi Courtney, guess who? :(

Thanks for your overnight response, I was so excited, it looked like finally I had made it and it was going to be a matter of minutes before I could get back into my Flickr account. Sadly, it was not to be.

I carefully worked my way through the instructions but unfortunately they didn't work. I am now getting very confused as I have too many Yahoo email addresses and I keep going around in circles trying to match one of them to the Flickr account.

The sequence of trying to log in this morning went like this;
I logged out of all my Yahoo accounts (I don't know how relevant this is, and it's possibly the reason why it didn't work in the end but my husband had logged into my Yahoo account on his computer yesterday when he was trying to help me and had failed to log out- could he be the problem?)

After putting the xxxx email and your supplied password in,  I clicked Get In There & then the Get Started prompts which were fine, then we entered an existing Yahoo ID and waited for the on-screen prompts (that you say would appear) to change Flickr login ID.....no prompts appeared just the home page of Yahoo (with all the news and activities etc). 

We clicked the Flickr button up the top of the page but that didn't help either. We re-did the instructions several times using an existing email and even created another new yahoo email hoping that would work, nope, nothing would let us into Flickr. I'm at my wits end again!

I tell you, between my husband and I, we are fairly computer literate but this has us beat! I can't imagine the stress this would be for someone who is not very familiar with computers. It just seems Yahoo have us jumping through hoops and still we can't get anywhere, please, please help me get into my Flickr account. I can't keep doing this day in, day out, I have clients waiting for answers from me on some photo details of which I can't view. 

Can't you just delete all my passwords and give me a direct path into Flickr where I can then reinstate email addresses and passwords.

Once again, I'll await your reply in anticipation.

Regards
Shellie

NB- the attached file was one of the responses I got- I clicked the merge here prompt but it still wouldn't recognise any of my yahoo email addresses.


On Thursday, 13 April 2017 4:59 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thank you for getting back to us.
 

I apologize for the ongoing trouble. I can reproduce the issue you've described, so I've passed this along to our engineers for triaging. I can't give you an estimated time for when they'll finish, but I encourage you to periodically check your account to see if it's been fixed. 
If they need any more info from you, my team will contact you directly. 

Please feel free to reach out to us again if you have any questions in the meantime. 

Regards,

Nicholle

Yahoo Customer Care

From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/13/2017 6:36 AM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account (Case: 2xxxx533)
 
Hi Nicolle

It's been over 17 hours since your last email (and 8 days since the original query) and I still can't get into my Flickr account, and I've not heard any news from your 'team'. I'm sorry but this is not good enough. I have no idea if things are moving along or not, surely some sort of follow up response that keeps me posted on the progress isn't too much to ask. I've tried to get back in, as suggested, quite a number of times during this time and still have no luck.

Please, at least keep me up to date with developments, we're now coming up to the long Easter weekend, does this mean I'm not going to hear anything until next week?

I really need to get into my Flickr account and it seems I'm not getting anywhere with Yahoo Customer Care. 

I don't know what more to do, please help urgently.

Regards yet again
Shellie



On Friday, 14 April 2017 6:58 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thanks for spending the time to reach out to us again.

I'm very sorry for the continued trouble with gaining access to your Flickr account. As Nicholle mentioned, our engineers are currently reviewing this issue and working on a fix. Unfortunately, an exact time frame is not available for us to provide as far as when this will be resolved.

I can assure you we are actively investigating and working towards a resolution.

We certainly appreciate your patience and understanding in the meantime!

If you have any other issues, definitely let me know.

Thanks,

Courtney

Yahoo Customer Care



From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/19/2017 11:55 AM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Cannot sign in to my account (Case: 2xxxx533)

Hi Courtney

I'm back again! I hope everyone at Yahoo Customer Care had a happy Easter break.

I looking forward immensely to having my Flickr account sorted out this week, I really am desperate to get back in there. This is getting ridiculous. Ridiculously funny, so much so that if I wasn't able to laugh about it, I'd be seriously crying.

Over the long weekend I was sent two emails from Flickr to my original primary email address- the one that I can't change after xtra.co.nz pulled the plug on the Yahoo platform. It's like rubbing salt into the wound. When the link was broken it also took away my pro Flickr account which I paid for to xtra.co.nz. I want to now pay Yahoo for a pro account.....once my Flickr account is fixed! You'll remember I can't log in under the xxxx@xtra.co.nz email address anymore even though Flickr keeps asking me to- see attachments.

Please help! And soon, before I have a nervous breakdown.

Best regards
Shellie

Noooooo, you're kidding, right?!!!!!



On Wednesday, 19 April 2017 11:55 AM, Yahoo Acknowledger@cc.yahoo-inc.com> wrote:

Please raise a new case


Hello,

We've closed your case as we believe we've fully addressed it.

If you still need help, you can contact us using the options available at: Yahoo Help Central. Thanks! 

The Yahoo Customer Care Team

P.S. Any reply to this email will go unanswered as this email address is not monitored. But, we're happy to help you further via our website above.


So I set up a new case number, I don't have a copy of the new report I sent them but believe me I nearly lost the plot! So now I have a new case number and here are the responses and replies to that one. They're really reaching out to me this time!

On Saturday, 22 April 2017 5:18 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thanks for reaching out to us again!

I'd like to apologize for the confusion with your previous case you had open with us. Unfortunately, cases will automatically close after a few days of inactivity, which seems to have been the case there.

However, this doesn't mean we've forgotten you! The issue that's preventing you from getting your Flickr account set up with your Yahoo ID is taking us a little bit longer than anticipated to resolve.

I'm so sorry for the wait, but I promise that we are actively working to remedy this situation so that we can get you back into your Flickr account and back in action. We certainly appreciate your continued patience with us while we work on this!

If you have any other questions on anything, please let me know and I will do my best to answer them!

Thanks,

Courtney

Yahoo Customer Care

I begun to wonder if in fact I was talking to a robot at the other end, the replies were all very similar so I hatched a plan...

On Saturday, 22 April 2017 8:40 PM, Shellie Evans wrote:

Hi Courtney

I am very pleased that you remember me even if we now have to correspond via a new case number. I'm not so sure I agree with Yahoo's way of handling case numbers if there is no activity. I mean to say it was Easter and I didn't want to hassle you over the holiday break. Imagine my shock when I emailed Yahoo first thing in the morning after the holiday break only to get an automated response telling me my problem was not only fixed but the case was also closed! It was a very sad morning here in New Zealand.

Anyway that's water under the bridge now, but be assured until my problem has been solved I'll not be letting you out of my sight for longer than 24hrs again! 

So while I'm waiting for a solution, I'd like to send you a daily photo of my beautiful country, New Zealand. It's kind of relevant as these are some of the 23,000 plus photos I have in my Flickr account. You remember? The one I can't access.

Looking forward to our next communication.

Best regards
Shellie
NZ Photo- Lake Benmore, Mt Cook, South Island, NZ




From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/23/2017 1:27 AM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Unable to sign in (Case: 2xxxx402) []
 

Hi Courtney

Just checking in again in the hope that your engineers have the problem nearly solved. Can I get an update as to what is happening please it's been nearly 3 weeks and I'm still waiting for access. Surely this can't be right, Yahoo is a huge company with millions of customers, imagine the furore if you treated all your customers like this. 

Please, you are a business selling product and you can't solve this problem, I'm not sure I can believe this. I hope Yahoo aren't just fobbing me off because they don't have an answer to my problem. Please send me an update, thankyou.

Regards
Shellie
Today's photo is Lake Matheson, West Coast, South Island, NZ



Yay! A real live human at the other end...

On Tuesday, 25 April 2017 2:12 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thank you for getting back to us and I apologize for the ongoing trouble.

We appreciate you sharing the beautiful photos of New Zealand! They are truly breath taking! 

Our team is still working to resolve your login issue.

Although I have yet to be provided with an update, I am confident the issue will be resolved. The team won't forget about you or simply ignore the issue. I assure you that they will continue to work on this until we can bring you a proper resolution.

Thank you for your patience as we work to get this taken care of.

As always, feel free to reach out to us again if you have any questions. 

Regards,

Nicholle

Yahoo Customer Care


From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/25/2017 5:28 AM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Unable to sign in (Case: 2xxxx402)
 

Hi Nicolle

Many thanks for your latest email, it is indeed reassuring to know that I won't be forgotten, I thank you for that.

And I am pleased you're enjoying the photos. At least you won't forget me when finally Yahoo has resolved the problem.

Looking forward to our next correspondence and my fingers are crossed for a happy outcome.

Today's photo is Castle Point Lighthouse, Wairarapa, North Island, New Zealand
Cheers
Shellie



On Thursday, 27 April 2017 6:54 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thank you for getting back to us.  I truly apologize for the delay faced as I understand you would like to have your Flickr account back up and running.

I assure you that our Engineering team is continuing to work to fix this for you. I have personally reached out to our engineers and they recommend that you try to follow these steps again:
  1. Sign out of any Yahoo or Flickr accounts you're currently signed into.
  2. Go to the Flickr sign in page: http://www.flickr.com/signin/flickr/
  3. Sign in with this temporary info:
    • Email - xxxx@xtra.co.nz
    • Password (case sensitive) - xxXxxxXx
  4. Click GET IN THERE.
  5. Click Get started.
  6. Click either Use an existing Yahoo ID or Create a new one.
  7. Follow the on-screen prompts to change your Flickr login ID.

We know it’s frustrating when things don't work and appreciate your patience while we correct the problem. Please let me know if you are still experiencing troubles, and as always if you have any other questions or can provide further information regarding this issue, let us know by replying to this message.
Best,
Shannon
Flickr Support


From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/26/2017 7:46 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Unable to sign in (Case: 2xxxx402) []
 
Hi Shannon

Thanks for your email, I must say there's a lot of reaching out going on- between Yahoo, Flickr & me but sadly(and frustratingly) it's still not happening.

I have followed the instructions several times today (& earlier in the weeks when the same instructions and password were given to me) and it still is not working. See attached screen shots. It won't accept your password, I have tried several times just in case I got a key wrong- they were all case sensitive too (it also didn't work for my old password either when I tried that....just in case).

I still believe there is a link to the error here because of the xtra.co.nz email address. In case you are unaware (I mention it earlier in the emails when my first case number was opened) Xtra.co.nz have stopped using Yahoo as their provider. But then again I know from several forum threads I am following that there's a bug which Yahoo are trying to fix in the delete/verify email action of Flickr so I don't know....

I'm still waiting patiently as there doesn't seem much else I can do.....

Best regards
Shellie

PS- today's photo is Mou Waho Island, Lake Wanaka, South Island, NZ. Famous for being an island within a lake within an island within a lake within an island within the Pacific Ocean.



On Saturday, 29 April 2017 6:55 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thanks for spending the time to reach out to us again. 

I'm so sorry for the continued trouble with regaining access to your account!

Great news! The engineers let me know that they've fixed the issue and everything should be working now.

I've double checked your temporary sign in info, so it should work okay for you if you don't mind trying this process once more for us!

  1. Sign out of any Yahoo or Flickr accounts you're currently signed into.
  2. Go to the Flickr sign in page: http://www.flickr.com/signin/flickr/
  3. Sign in with this temporary info:
    • Email - xxxx@xtra.co.nz
    • Password (case sensitive) - xxXxxxXx
  4. Click GET IN THERE.
  5. Click Get started.
  6. Click either Use an existing Yahoo ID or Create a new one.
  7. Follow the on-screen prompts to change your Flickr login ID.

If you continue to encounter the issue, please reply to this email with as much detail as possible, so we can better understand what's causing the problem. Please include the steps taken that lead to the error, and the exact text of any error messages you receive. We're looking forward to your response!

Thanks,

Courtney

Yahoo Customer Care

From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 4/28/2017 8:32 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Unable to sign in (Case: 2xxxx402) []
 
Hi Courtney

Yee-Haw!!! (that's what the Flickr programme says after you've successfully upload photos) 

Finally we have lift off. Well it feels like that to me anyway, I'm in utopia, I have finally managed to gain access back into my Flickr account. It's been a very long and frustrating process- for you and me both- but I do thank you all- all the hard working customer care staff and bug repair people at Yahoo & Flickr. I also take back all the bad words I silently called you over the last few weeks.
I have now changed my primary email address and will delete the old primary address when I can muster up enough confidence to push the delete key....I'm worried that it will send the account into a spin again because it has the xtra.co.nz attached to it (see attachment), it's the provider that may have caused the problems in the first place when they broke contact with Yahoo.

Could you perhaps not close the case number for a few days, until I've had enough time to log in and out a few times to test the account and then maybe delete that old primary address, just to make sure all is ok. I also need to make the account a pro account, that was also stopped when Xtra broke the link. Would you suggest I do that now too?

Thankyou once again for all your help.

Best regards
Shellie 

Today's photo is a frozen Poolburn Dam in Central Otago, South Island, NZ. Some of you may know it as The Plains of Rohan in JRR Tolkien's Lord of the Rings movie.


On Monday, 1 May 2017 11:21 PM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:

Hi Shellie,

Thank you for getting back to us. I am so happy to hear that you have access to the account and were able to update the email address on file!
We truly appreciate your patience with us while we worked on resolving the issue.
At this time you can go ahead and remove your old primary email address as you were able to successfully add and link the new primary email address. I understand being hesitant as you waited weeks for this to be resolved however, this will not impact your current access to the account.

Please let us know if there is anything further that we can assist you with.

Best,
Shannon
Flickr Support


--------------- Original Message ---------------
From: Shellie Evans [flyingkiwigirl@yahoo.co.nz]
Sent: 5/02/2017 5:10 PM
To:
Subject: Re: Password and sign in : Unable to sign in (Case: 2xxxx402) 

Hi Shannon

Thanks for your email, I've gone ahead and deleted the old primary email and guess what? The world didn't end! So thanks for that. 

I've also re-signed for a pro account and that has been activated so I think I'm good to go. Time to close my case number methinks.

But not before one last photo, hope you have enjoyed seeing a little slice of Paradise. And should I have any need for Yahoo Customer Care in the future, you'll certainly know it's me when I attach more photos!

Thanks again for everyone's help, I look forward to many more years with Flickr.

Best regards
Shellie

Today's photo is of the super reflective Mirror Tarn, located deep within the Oparara Basin on the West Coast of the South Island.



And one final response from Yahoo- you can't help but smile. I think I might add a link to this blog post in the box that's says "Any further comments".

On Wednesday, 3 May 2017 7:25 AM, Yahoo Customer Care wrote:



Now I've got that off my chest I feel so much better. I think I deserve a medal and if you got this far you deserve one too! 

16 comments:

  1. Wow what persistence on your part, but it paid off at the end. Pleased you got access to your photos back. I would be doing a back up copy in one of the other sites - just in case a blooper happens again.

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    1. Thanks, I didn't have much option but to sit it out if I wanted my photos back, although I was ready to chuck it in a couple of times. I'm not sure if I can backup the my whole Flickr account, it's about 20gbs, I'll have to look into that. I do have good external hard drive backups of all my photos but not all the extra information of course.

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  2. And did xtra pay you back the money you paid for the pro account that they cut off? Well effectively cut off when they changed your address.

    I would be horrified if I couldn't get into my photos, but have also started backing them up on facebook in private folders.

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    1. No, because I had the pro account right up to the cut-off and the last payment was to the cut off date, 31st March. We're waiting to see if the monthly charge is still attached to the Spark account this month. They'll get an earful if it is.
      And yes, I can safely say I felt sick to the pit of my stomach for a couple of days when I realised I couldn't access the account. I do have quite a number of hard drives with the backups of all my photos, but I'd hate to lose all the other info.

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  3. Yee-haw :)
    Beautifully handled Shellie! As a fellow Kiwi (and reasonably patient and polite person) I commend you!

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    1. :) Thanks, I did very nearly lose the plot a few times though.

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  4. Wow, I am so impressed with your persistence and patience Shellie. I think I would've given up before the end, but I don't have quite as much at stake as you do :)
    I had a pro account via Xtra as well but had no issues with getting a Yahoo account and signing back in to Flickr. Don't have the pro account now but will wait and see if I miss it before I go forking out to upgrade to pro.

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    1. Thanks Lisa, it was worth the persistence in the end, I couldn't do much else but sit and wait for a solution. Lucky I managed to get the security questions in the end, there were so many on the forums that couldn't remember anything from their setup. They were plain out of luck, no solutions at all and Yahoo weren't getting back to them in the end.
      I'd been paying for my pro account to Spark since we sold the business a long while ago, and gave away that ph account. That was when I first tried to change the primary email, it wouldn't let me. The pro account is going to work out slightly cheaper direct with Flickr too.

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  5. Bravissima, Shelley! Handled with supreme graciousness. Greetings from Santo Domingo!

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    1. Kia Ora Margarita, from New Zealand, the land of the Long White Cloud. Thanks for your kind comments, much appreciated.

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  6. I am in the same boat. I am sure I am getting replies from a computer ( Courtney )
    I am glad I found your blog.

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    1. Good luck boaz, I hope you have luck in getting your access sorted. All I can advise is to keep contacting Yahoo and keep cool, calm and collected in any dealings you have with them (even though feel like swearing at someone).

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  7. I am on Flickr and was trying to help a friend BoazImages who got locked out I tried to help him via Twitter Flickr Help even a tweet to @marissamayer lets hope he gets his 13 year old account back.. Boaz is an American and has shot a lot of events in India with me , I have posted your link at Twitter and Flickr /

    https://www.flickr.com/photos/firozeshakir/33138985495/in/dateposted/

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    1. Hi Firoze, I hope you and your friend boaz manage to have some luck in sorting out his access issues. It's a stressful time I know, but try every avenue you can and keep on at them until you have answers. I know Yahoo is going through some more changes in the next couple of weeks, I hope that doesn't hinder you sorting out the problem. Here's a link to a Yahoo/Flickr help thread that I had some dealings with (it may be where you found my blog link). There's another link in the thread to the new change information- https://www.flickr.com/help/forum/en-us/72157668446997150/page15/
      Good luck!

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  8. Discovered your blog post after an hour of trolling the internet for an answer. I mistakenly logged out of my Flickr account (https://www.flickr.com/photos/thefalsk/) and now I cannot for the life of me figure out what the proper e-mail and password is to get back in. Already accidentally created two new accounts trying to figure it out. And of course today it was official they were bought by Verizon? So. That's gonna make this an even more fun process.

    Your post gives me hope. Loved that you included photos, haha. Onward...

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    1. I feel your pain! Good luck, hope it all works out in the end.

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Thank you for taking the time to leave a message, I love reading them! All comments are personally moderated by me and I will post and answer them as soon as possible, Shellie