> On a more general note, on what planet is "you don't get any email for a day and have no recourse, and we won't tell you why, or let you do anything to fix that" an acceptable action?

Serious answer: email is not reliable. There are lots of factors outside your control. Please don't rely on email being available. Unfortunately most providers today are pretty solid most of the time, meaning people put too much trust into their email providers.