Leaving job, work email registered on everything

[Bleepbleepbleepman]

Any tips??! Please
I’m likely leaving my longstanding job for a new one in the next few weeks
Historically (and stupidly) I’ve registered literally everything I’ve signed up for to my work email and phone number so I have easy access on my laptop and phone.
has anyone been in a similar situation and managed to navigate changing this smoothly?

you are being unreasonable - you’ve got a nightmare ahead sorting this

you are not being unreasonable - there’s a way to sort this

You can use Google to remember your web passwords, then it will work anytime you use chrome on any device. Phone number might be more difficult.

You should had in your work mobile phone. It isn't yours. Someone did this at my place of work , it didn't end well. She was sent many e-mails and letters asking for the return of the phone, she chose to ignore them, long story short, she now has a criminal record for theft and deception. Hand it back, it isn't worth it. Have you not got your own personal phone?

You've got quite a poor imagination then!

@Bleepbleepbleepman I was in your shoes three months ago, 22y of email & phone registrations to sift through manually! Bummer but please don’t panic & it took a while - but I allowed a small amount of time daily & considered it a blessing in disguise as there were many legacy registrations which were no longer needed and I happily left behind.

mobile number - just ask your company for the policy on this. Mine (very large corporate) was happy to issue PAC to allow me to keep the number. Obviously I returned the handset. My phone provider (O2) then added the ‘old’ number to my personal phone through e-SIM so now I’m able to access both (old work and new personal) through one personal mobile phone.

Yeah, don't ever do that again! Work email is not for personal stuff.

Here's what you should do. Get yourself a free personal email address with Gmail or similar.
Make a list of your financial and health accounts first and before you leave get all of them changed over to your personal email. Banks, credit cards, mortgage, HMRC, loans, hire purchase or lease car, plus NHS and your GP practice log in.

Then do utilities: energy, TV, broadband, water, mobile phone, council tax, TV licence etc

Then do insurance: car, breakdown, home, travel.

Then start trawling through your emails for all other personal emails from organisations. Forward 1 from each to your personal email. Include any from the above sections that you don't manage to get to before you leave the job

Also trawl your bank and card statements and PayPal for money you've spent recently. You'll remember spending online, so you can contact those. I'm thinking Next, Shein, M&s etc

And just to repeat, don't do it again 😁

Because if a work related clients-mails her they will then have her personal e-mail address.

How did you get the idea that the OP wants to steal her work phone?

My old boss did this and absolutely everything cane to her work address. What a mess her inbox was! She couldn’t see the issue
with it and then her McAfee needed updated for her home computer and she just couldn’t grasp that she couldn’t just download it on her work pc…no you have to access it on the actual pc you want to protect. It was like talking to a slightly arrogant brick wall.

Presuming your work email includes information unique to you - name or staff ID number (as opposed to a generic mailbox) you might be able to arrange some email ‘rules’ or ‘out of office’ message with the agreement of your IT department.

Otherwise think bank, insurances, pension and other financial institutions, gym or hobby memberships, on-line shopping sites, social media, music, app stores, doctor, dentist, other medical, restaurant or food subscriptions.

Worst case scenario you have to set up a new account with a personal email address.

Someone mentioned setting up multiple email addresses but you don’t need to do that with gmail you can use the + symbol like this.

so say your email is [email protected] you can do this:

joebloggs+[email protected]
joebloggs+[email protected]
[email protected]

etc etc

You can also put a dot anywhere before the @ so…

[email protected]
[email protected]
[email protected]

THIS ONLY WORKS WITH GMAIL don’t know about other providers…

Surely you must have something like password manager on your computer/account, similar to Google? If they're all saved etc? Work your way through that.

Or every time you log in or buy something or whatever let that be the prompt to change your details.

Otherwise, unless you have 2 factor Auth on everything it doesn't actually matter if what is in effect your username is an old email address. You'll still have access to whatever you're logging into.

Worst case scenario you have to set up a new account with a personal email address.

It isn't the worst case scenario @LionelMushroom
It is the only case scenario

Most places disable email addresses when people leave, so anyone sending and email to the OP after she has left will get an undeliverable email notification.

I am astounded at how lax IT securtity is at her workplace. Her email misuse would have been picked up where I work and she would probably have had a verbal or written warning.

I'm also surprised at how many office based employees (home or at a workplace) have work mobiles. We just have phone software in our laptops and headsets if we need to make or receive phone calls. So much cheaper than a mobile. Of course it is different if you are field based or travelling around where you need a mobile.

You'll find the changeover much easier if you do it while you still have access to the works address and phone. Not IMPOSSIBLE after, but a lot easier before!

Search your inbox for everything with the words:
invoice
order
subscribe
and then change your email with each company.

There's a password manager on Google, you can still access this if you change your email on Google and then work your way through the list of sites.

But you still have to change all the email addresses, including on Google.

I had to do that when I changed my broadband provider and associated email. I did it over a period of about 3 months, prioritised financial/pension etc and then did the rest as and when I received emails from them or wanted to access the website. But it sounds like you will potentially have to do this within a month - get started now!
IME you're unlikely to be able to take your work phone number.
Lesson: never tie yourself down to a particular email address/phone number that you are not in full control of

Why on earth have you done this?

Time to change all your passwords and email addresses OP

Bonkers! I'm really amazed that your wlp didn't tell you not to do this - although it ought to be obvious!

We've done it before.. Phone was due to be replaced anyway, they'd had the number 20 years.

OP - don't beat yourself up. I am similar, been a job for 25 years and this stuff was not so important back then. I have transtioned everthing over as I get emails. I get so much junk to work that I am heppy to leave behind 😀Much of mine gets caught by a fire wall so I get a once a day email that I review and update if I want to keep in touch. This will be freeing for you!! Just make sure you change the important stuff - remember car insurance. car tax, HMRC, bank, council tax etc.....

Sorry if duplicating but not read all the replies. Google came up with the following checklist:

🏦 Financial & Legal

• Online banking, credit cards, and savings accounts
• PayPal, Wise, Revolut, Monzo, etc.
• Investment platforms (e.g., Vanguard, Nutmeg, AJ Bell)
• Accounting/tax software (e.g., QuickBooks, Xero, HMRC login, Companies House)
• Insurance providers (home, car, health, pet, travel)
• Pension services or retirement accounts

🛒 Shopping & Subscriptions

• Amazon, eBay, Etsy
• Supermarket accounts (Tesco, Sainsbury’s, etc.)
• Delivery services (DPD, Royal Mail, Evri, etc.)
• Food delivery (Deliveroo, Just Eat, Uber Eats)
• Clothing/retail stores (Zara, H&M, etc.)
• Beauty or lifestyle subscriptions (Birchbox, Glossybox)
• Magazines or newspapers (digital/print)
• Monthly box subscriptions (HelloFresh, Gousto, etc.)

💼 Work & Professional

• LinkedIn
• Job boards (Indeed, CharityJob, Guardian Jobs)
• Freelance platforms (Upwork, Fiverr, PeoplePerHour)
• Payroll/HR portals (Workday, BrightHR, etc.)
• Professional associations or memberships (IoF, CMI, etc.)
• Business registration and banking (Companies House, Stripe, Square)
• Domain registrar and website host (GoDaddy, Squarespace, Wix, etc.)
• Cloud storage (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive)

🧾 Utilities & Services

• Energy providers (Octopus, EDF, British Gas, etc.)
• Broadband and mobile contracts
• Streaming services (Netflix, Spotify, Amazon Prime, Disney+)
• TV licence or council tax accounts
• Transport accounts (Oyster, Trainline, National Rail)

📱 Apps & Devices

• Apple ID / iCloud
• Google account / Gmail
• Microsoft account
• Social media logins tied to phone (Facebook, Instagram, X/Twitter, TikTok, Threads)
• App store subscriptions (Apple, Google Play)
• Smart home accounts (Alexa, Ring, Nest, etc.)

💌 Communications & Tools

• Zoom, Teams, Slack, or other meeting software
• Newsletter subscriptions
• Mailing lists or fundraising networks
• Survey tools (SurveyMonkey, Typeform)
• File-sharing or e-signature tools (DocuSign, Adobe, WeTransfer)

❤️ Health & Lifestyle

• NHS login
• GP surgery, dentist, or optician portals
• Gym memberships or fitness apps (PureGym, Fitbit, Strava, etc.)
• Meditation/wellbeing apps (Headspace, Calm)
• Charitable giving platforms (JustGiving, CAF, etc.)

✈️ Travel & Leisure

• Airline accounts (British Airways, Ryanair, etc.)
• Hotel and booking sites (Booking.com, Airbnb, Expedia)
• Car hire services
• Loyalty or rewards schemes (Nectar, Tesco Clubcard, Avios, etc.)
• Ticketing sites (Eventbrite, Ticketmaster, See Tickets)

💻 Security & Authentication

• Password manager (1Password, LastPass)
• Two-factor authentication apps (Authy, Google Authenticator)
• Backup/recovery emails
• Antivirus or VPN accounts

🧑‍🎓 Learning & Training

• Online course platforms (Coursera, Udemy, FutureLearn)
• University or alumni portals
• Webinar/event sites (Zoom Events, Eventbrite)

Depends how long OP has been there. 15-20 years ago this was normal.

I have colleagues who went through the pain last summer of moving all their personal stuff to personal email. They did it ahead of a short sabbatical when they should not have been looking at their work inbox.

it’s a big job. Be methodical.

sort important stuff like tax. Insurances. Pension. Bank. Car. Mortgage. Key shopping destinations. Friends. Family. Etc

make sure your out of office is set with a personal email address (if that is allowed)

then as emails come in over the next few weeks - either unsubscribe or update contact details.
go back at least 3 months of emails to review ones to unsubscribe from or to move contact details.

Forward yourself any receipts or quotes that you will need.

or (assuming your workplace know already) go to IT and ask their advice. To avoid security stopping your emails you may need to explain you are not stealing your employer’s data but your own personal life. They may advise what others have done.

but start now. You do not want to be in a rush in the last 48h.

best of luck.

Check with your IT team what happens to your work email address when you leave. My employer archives the email address and the associated Google drive space, but then transfers them to their line manager who can access both. Delete any personal emails.

People do it though don’t they, DW is just the same, uses work email and phone for everything from bank to HMRC to Facebook, lost track of how often I’ve asked her to set up a personal email, sometimes you might as well talk to yourself, she’s going to have as much fun as OP sorting it all out one day