Two factor authentication Nightmare

Further Information to support my theory:

I found the email confirming 2FA for account B:

Thank you for enabling two-factor authentication for your Apple ID

Two-factor authentication is an additional layer of security designed to prevent unauthorised access to your account and protect the photos, documents and other data you store with Apple.

From now on, whenever you sign in with your Apple ID on a new device or browser, you will verify your identity by entering your password plus a six-digit verification code sent to your other devices or a trusted phone number. To learn more, read the FAQ.

vs.

The email I received for account A, which does have a valid telephone number (that I set up prior):

Your Apple ID is now protected with two-factor authentication, our most advanced and easy-to-use account security.

Please take a moment to review your account details and confirm that your trusted phone number *** **** ****83 is up to date. This will help ensure you always have access to your account.

A printed recovery key is not required with two-factor authentication. However, if you would like to continue using a recovery key and turn off all other account recovery methods, you can generate a new key from Settings on your iOS device or System Preferences on your Mac.

I did talk to tech and a supervisor, but, tbh, they seemed highly dismissive.

I deem this to be Apple's failure to address this scenario effectively. I can't be the only one who has faced this.

The really frustrating thing is I have ALL other data to back up my claim on the ID. My email address is a private domain address that I own, the card details on that account are still valid and are mirrored on my primary account. I can answer all the security q's, but they tell me they're locked out too due to 2FA and therefore can't validate.

If I didn't agree a 2FA setting with a telephone verification, then this is a massive oversight on their part.

Plus they can't tell me where this unknown number originated, so I can't rule out an account compromise. Even it it was compromised, I would be powerless to have it shutdown.

Today I returned the iPad Pro and Apple Watch 4 I bought a week ago. Not giving this company any more of my money.

Thanks Eric. I've spent 4 hours on the phone to support, but to no avail. They tell me that they can't verify me without the telephone number, but my push back is that whatever number was entered may have been done at the account creation stage many years ago and was never intended to be utilised as a verification method. Indeed, it wasn't until the last remaining trusted device was removed.

I'm saying it may never have been validated as it existed (attached to my account) prior to 2-step and then 2-FA being setup.