to panic - locked out of Gmail account

[JuanFanjo]

The charity group I volunteer for has been locked out of its gmail account.
It says " You will not be able to sign in to this account or use it to access any Google products or services.
You do not meet the age requirements for a Google Account. This account will be deleted in 29 days unless the birthday you entered was incorrect and you submit proof that you are 13 years old or older"

This is out of the blue - it has been used for at least eight years and the person who set it up is no longer about ... what do we do?? Help!!!

Just contact them and prove your age like they said.

Have you tried contacting gmail? It seems close to impossible

Have you tried contacting gmail? It seems close to impossible

And so the lesson that "using free services for anything that matters is unwise" is learnt again. If you use a paid-for service, you have some traction when it goes wrong. If you use a free service, you have no traction at all.

I'm guessing you used the charity's foundation date or similar when you signed up for the account, so Google has spotted that you are 'underage'. Have you tried this:
support.google.com/accounts/answer/1333913?hl=en

Thanks - I think we're going to go with the credit card option and hope it's not a scam.

Agree with the free thing - still they reel you in and then you're entwined.