How strange!
I don't find it so! After all many ISPs auto keep your mailboxes after you leave and many allow you to sign up for free PAYG dial-up just to get a mailbox.
How did you discover it?
When you apply for BB it asks you to 1st register your personal details incl. username, mobile # and mailbox. As I already had this for years I logged into my existing one and it allowed me to apply from there. When I left, I did not expect it to steal back my long-standing registration and it didn't.
EDIT: I cannot possibly comment on hypothetical Cost Benefit Analyses!
1999: Freeserve 48K Dial-Up => 2005: Wanadoo 1 Meg BB => 2007: Orange 2 Meg BB => 2008: Orange 8 Meg LLU BB => 2010: Orange 16 Meg LLU BB
Edited by XRaySpeX (Fri 21-May-10 22:10:44)