Microsoft goes bonkers with emails

[Boac]

Yet another bizarre 'happening' - M$ have fingers in many pies, one of which is providing email services to various commercial users, plus of course outlook.com, hotmail etc. In the UK, (nearly) all County Councils and Universities email services are run by M$.

They (M$) are 'blacklisting' email servers, including mine which does not appear on any RBL database, which results in the following bounce
(Excuse the cut and paste.......)
"A message that you sent could not be delivered to one or more of its recipients. This is a permanent error. The following address(es) failed:

xx.xxxxx@xxxxx.gov.uk
host westsussex-gov-uk.mail.protection.outlook.com [213.199.154.87]
SMTP error from remote mail server after RCPT TO:<xx.xxxxx@xxxxx.gov.uk>:
550 5.7.1 Service unavailable; Client host [146.185.19.61] blocked using FBLW15; To request removal from this list please forward this message to delist@messaging.microsoft.com"

Great. So you email delist@messaging.microsoft.com and are warned it may take 24 hours to do. Scan the internet and find that the world is awash with complaints about 'FBLW15' AND that there is no way a mail service can access the M$ listings NOR talk to anyone about it AND that it can take 5 days or more to delist you. It is creating a minor havoc in email circles.

This is all because M$ in their wisdom have decided your server is spamming. It isn't. The joke goes on. M$ have a facility to check your email server for problems. You check your server there - 'We cannot detect any problems with your email server'. Emails still bounce. You email the 'delivery service check' address to point out the illogical response - that bounces with a 'FBLW15'.

The M$ world has gone mad. It is time they were reined in.

[Capetonian]

I have in the past had the same problem with my @btinternet.com email addresses. Some tosspot forges headers on spam so it looks as if the spam is coming from an @btinternet.com address and that domain gets reported as spamming and is blocked.

[Boac]

Generally that is merely a 'pain' and not a major problem, since server admins can 'normally' approach the RBL folk and get the server IP delisted. In this case, there can be no contact with the M$ 'data-base' which turns it into an big issue. I know of two UK universities fighting this problem. It is a nightmare.

[Boac]

Some possibly good news. Finally a response to the request to de-list, asking the usual 'extra' questions and even better, a Microsoft 'person' has been tracked down (by nefarious means). This one:-
a) Works in the UK
b) Speaks 'good' English
c) Appears to understand the issue and
d) Has promised to escalate the case

I will update if and when. We have been 'temporarily' forced to use a commercial email relay service to ensure delivery of important emails.

[Boac]

Resolution appears to be at hand - the (rare) human at M$ is supposedly arranging the delisting, but this whole procedure is taking a significant time. Only M$ do not let you know (other than by bouncing your outgoing email) that your email server IP is blocked - you cannot refer to an RBL database to check. Surely this needs changing?

In the mean-time, using 'Sendgrid' has been totally successful - presumably they have multiple servers and can quickly switch as necessary. Recommended at this time.