Problems accessing hotmail/outlook inbox

Today I had to sign in to my hotmail account. I changed my password a while back and must have put the wrong one in. I had the 'verify your account' thing and got a code sent to my second hotmail account. I tried to sign in (same password for a long time so I know that one is correct). It sent me to the 'verify your account' page too. Therefore I had two hotmail accounts I couldn't access. I contacted support and they sent me an automated message to another account. I have just received what I presume is a solution to my problem, so I clicked on it and it took me to a page which said XXXX (my name) is not allowed to access this message. Thankfully somehow in the meantime, I managed to access my second account which has enabled me to reset the password on my first and I am back on line again. I have just been to the forum support on hotmail to ask a question and although signed in, won't let me submit it.

Is there a way of accessing the inbox from the accounts page? I moved my mouse over the task bar but couldn't find a way of doing it and for a while, signing in and out still took me to the accounts page rather than the inbox.

I guess what I really need to know is: Is gmail any better and can I transfer all of my contacts over without typing each name individually?
I really don't want another account as the hotmail one is one I use for work, but if I have to, I will as outlook is so far, a complete pain in the whatsit.