CellC refuses to assist me in getting my old cell number back which is not active

I had a cellc prepaid number which I lost the Sim card for about 3 years ago,I checked recently and was informed that the number has not been recycled and is not in use,I went to the Newmarket mall on the 07/02/2024 tried to do a sim swop and I was told they don't have Sim cards and the 2 ladies there at the shop was not bothered to assist.Then on 10/02/2024 I went to the Alberton City mall Cellc and waited until a que for almost an hour only to be told that they cannot assist me eventhough the number is not active and can be given to me.This cell number is linked to my Gmail account which I forgot the password for and to rest the password it sends an one time pin to my cellc number.Now there is no other way to reset my password,Cellc refuses to assist eventhough I will use the network and recharge etc,seems they don't want new customers.I will never use or support CellC again,pathetic network.