Community - Account name no longer 'reserved' while still waiting

[TimCliff]

Several users have been reporting that after applying for an account, they periodically check back to see if their username is still 'reserved'. They are expecting to be notified of their approval, but do not receive an approval email. In the meantime, the account name becomes no longer reserved. This makes them think something went wrong, because there is no communication with regards to what happened. Many of them try to apply for an account again, since they think the first one didn't work.

[TimCliff]

Here is a recent example of this:

Hello, I tried to register my account, I confirmed the email address and submitted my phone number. After over a week and not hearing back, I tried to register my username again. It showed surprisingly that my username was available. I verified my email address successfully but this time, when I entered my phone number, the following message popped up: This number is already linked to an existing account, or to an account still under review. Could you help me, please?