How can I recover Apple Account after iPhone is stolen?

DordiDordle wrote:

iPhone stolen three days ago- person snatched whilst unlocked and immediately reset appleid password and disabled Find My. didn’t notice it was gone for a minute- by then too late

Not possible to do either of these without providing your Password/Passcode.

i put in for recovery of password, gave details and told would get text to reset within 24 hours. I did not. I tried again and still did not, I’m currently waiting to hear by tonight but not holding my breath.

With Account Recovery, you will get an email within 72 hours. That email will tell you the waiting period you have before you would get a Text Message with reset instructions. That Text Message will not come immediately and it could be several days later. If you attempt that process again, the time will start over and cancel your previous request.

How to use account recovery when you can’t reset your Apple Account password - Apple Support

from what I read if phone is used whilst waiting for recovery the recovery is automatically cancelled. So when thief uses my phone it resets my recovery request. Possibly why not getting reset text?

Possible, of course they would never be able to let the phone lock again as they would not have the Passcode to unlock it. You can also remotely erase your device. Activation Lock remains on, you just don't want to remove it from your account.

Erase a device in Find Devices on iCloud.com - Apple Support

they have taken out subscriptions on my appleid

Not possible without FaceID/TouchID or your Passcode.

got new sim and tried to reset password from different phone and it wants passcode for old phone - it has been changed

They can't change your Passcode without entering your current Passcode.

All this may be possible if you responded to a phishing message that claimed to be from Apple and gave the thief your account credentials. In that case you account has been compromised.

If you think your Apple Account has been compromised - Apple Support

You can also contact Apple directly here:

Contact Apple Support - Apple Support

In the future, you can use Stolen Device Protection that further restricts what a thief could possible do by requiring your biometrics for many changes.

About Stolen Device Protection for iPhone - Apple Support

Re: “ … surely there must be a way around this … “

There’s not a way-around it, but for the future the well-established steps to avoid your situation are:

Protect your passcode. Don’t share it and don’t let anyone see you enter it. (Use Face/TouchID to nearly eliminate your need to manually enter it)

Know your Apple Account password.

Setup Trusted Numbers to allow you to receive 2FA codes and regain account access w/ your memorized password.

Setup Recovery Contacts as a backup.

Did you have a recovery contact set up, or do you have another trusted device?