"The email is already taken" when adding a contact
Fix the email is already taken error in Allmoxy: find the contact or individual account that already has the address, reactivate it or change its email.
If you see "The email is already taken" when adding a contact, chances are the contact already exists in your system. Every contact's email must be unique, and the check includes inactive contacts and individual accounts, so the match is often a record you can't see on your default lists. Find it, then either use it, reactivate it, or change its email.
Applies to: every shop. Finding and editing contacts needs Add new user / edit other users profiles; showing deleted contacts needs Administer the entire site.
In this article
Check for an existing contact
- Go to Contacts > Company Contacts. Tick the Disabled contacts filter so inactive people show, and search by the email address.
- If nothing turns up, go to Contacts > Individual Accounts, tick Disabled accounts, and search by the email again.
- Found it? If it's the same person, use that record instead of making a new one. If they're inactive, click Edit, set Status to Active, and tick Allow this person to log in (deactivating a company turns it off for its people). If it's someone else who no longer needs the address, edit that record and change its email, then add your new contact.
Other causes
- A contact deleted from the Contact Updater. Delete there skips the usual checks and leaves the email and username taken. An administrator can tick Deleted contacts on the Company Contacts list to find the record and change its email; otherwise contact support with the address.
- A deleted contact that was undone. Undo after a delete restores the status only, and the email and username keep a changed ending. Open the record and set the email back.
- A deleted individual account keeps its username. The email is freed, but the username stays taken.
- "Username is already in use" works the same way. Usernames must be unique across your site and at least 6 characters; search the same two lists, with disabled records shown, for the username.
Things to know
- Inactive and individual accounts count. The uniqueness check covers every contact and individual account, active or not.
- One email per contact. If two people at a customer share an inbox, only one record can carry it; give the other a different address, or a username without an email.
- Still stuck? Send support the email address, the company you're adding the contact to, and the exact message you see.