Multi Account Woes

[TheSheepLookUp]

I have 2 accounts owned by me. Following the change to disallow login using the number and enforcing email as the username many moons ago, I found it super difficult to manage both accounts since they were linked to the same email address.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered it was now possible to merge both accounts.  Sounded like the correct solution.

Unfortunately the merged account now has the second account used by my wife as the source number of the OTP requests.  It means that I cannot manage the accounts unless I and physically beside her or can text her.  I contact customer support to ask if the account contact details and OTP target could be swapped to my number as the main account holder and payer of the bills.  Customer account rep, after 30 mins of back and forth, tells me that I cannot change this as the other number is the main account on the network!

Is this really the case?  All that is needed to prove I own the whole lot is for me to provide a OTP from each device and hence prove I own both and make the number swap for me!  This makes multi-account ownership a total joke.  Can anyone confirm if this is correct or not?  

[JonathanB]

Hi @TheSheepLookUp,

I'm sorry to hear that the account has merged the opposite way round from how you'd like it to be set up. Was this initially merged by you choosing the option to do so online, or was this done for you by customer services?

I haven't dealt with this exact situation before, but I'll be happy to look into it further to check if there's a solution for this. I'll make some enquiries and get back to you.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[TheSheepLookUp]

Probably merged by me.  However, I should think it pretty trivial to choose which of the two accounts I own is the preferred source of MFA challenges.  There is no way for me to pick which of the two accounts is the one I want to consider the primary account in the system.

I am surely not the only person that has run into this problem as I know many people will pay for multiple accounts for family members 

[TheSheepLookUp]

Additionally, I asked the customer services rep I was speaking to 3 times directly to give me the details for escalation procedures or the avenue to make formal complaint and raise this deficiency.  3 times they completely refused to answer that request or provide details.

A mature company takes negative feedback and makes a positive change to their practices.  In this case the fact that the system can make cause this issue to arise needs to be raised up in order for a fix to occur but that can never happen if I cannot raise a complaint.  Poor, poor customer service.