Lost contacts from old Outlook account

[Huntergarnett]

Hello, 

I recently lost five years of phone contacts because I changed jobs. Unknown to me, my when I added contacts to my iPhone from 2017 to 2021, the contacts were associated with my work Outlook account. When I left my job and signed out of my Outlook account, I lost all my contacts. 

I’ve reached out to my former employee. They aren’t being very helpful. Their IT support says that Microsoft only keeps data on closed accounts for 30 days. However, my work email address is still receiving emails. 

1) Since my old work email address is receiving emails, does that mean the account is active? 

2) Am I able to obtain my contacts through the Microsoft server through any other means? 

Thank you in advance for any guidance. I lost 1000+ contacts so I’m stressed about how to handle this. 

[#2]

Hi @Huntergarnett,

I am sorry to hear this.

Here is the link to Microsoft's Data Retention for closed and deleted accounts.
Data retention, deletion, and destruction in Microsoft 365 - Microsoft Service Assurance | Microsoft...

However, every company has its policy.  The company may feel your contacts is the property of their organization and not the ex-employee.  

Good luck.