You need to pay so they can help with an issue caused by them.
My account went inactive and stopped receiving emails, after logging back in I'm no longer receiving any emails at all. I have accounts connected to this email that have hundreds worth of purchases. Aol is unable to help unless you pay for premium.
If you’re trying to regain access to a social media account using your AOL account, but aren’t receiving the recovery email, you may be using a recycled AOL email address. Your old AOL account may have been closed due to inactivity, and later that same username became available again for you or any new user to claim as their own. To prevent identity theft, AOL may not allow recovery emails to be sent to recycled email addresses. Reach out to the third-party company for more help.