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HubSpot: 'Contact already exists' error

  • 13 October 2021
  • 14 replies
  • 2105 views

Hi All!!

I get messages like these: HubSpot: Contact already exists. Existing ID: 7701
Your task history will have more details about which tasks ran into errors.

Could you please explain how to get the lead added in hubspot even if the contact information already exists?

Thanks for your help!

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Best answer by christina.d 17 January 2023, 21:56

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14 replies

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Hi @Ylanouch 

Try using one of these HubSpot actions instead:

 

 

Userlevel 1

Hi Troy, so I’m using “Find or Create Contact” steps in all my zaps, but lately I started getting these error messages as well. The thing is when I check zap history, there are no errors.

This is very annoying, as the error doesn’t make sense at all, if the step clearly says “Find or Create Contact”, then why it is erroring and saying “contact already exists”?

Any help would be much appreciated!
 

Hi @Ylanouch 

Try using one of these HubSpot actions instead:

 

 

 

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

Hi @DylanB. 

Make sure this is checked on the Find Contact action, then fill out the additional fields.

 

Perhaps post screenshots with how your Zap steps are configured along with the error message being returned.

Userlevel 1

Hey @Troy Tessalone Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.
Here is my zap, my “Find or Create Contact” step and also the error from Zap history. When I check this ID in Hubspot, the contact is there, it has the same email address and name, so the zap should work. The problem is this happens quite often and obviously the contact is not being updated and I really need this to work.
The thing is it only started happening a few weeks ago, and I’m using this zap for quite some time already.
I tried rebuilding this step from scratch, but the problem persists.
I’m also working with a few other clients and they have the same issue.
The only thing I did not try is rebuilding the zap, because, well, I have quite a few zaps with this step, and it would really be a pain.
 

This post has been edited by a moderator to remove personal information. Please remember that this is a public forum and to remove any sensitive information prior to posting. 

Userlevel 1

Hm, looks like only one img was posted, posting others now:
 

 

Userlevel 1

 

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Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@DylanB. 

Try removing these extra fields.

Also, I may suggest opening a ticket with Zapier Support for them to troubleshoot further: https://zapier.com/app/get-help

 

Userlevel 1

Quick note for anyone else having this issue: I reached out to Zapier support, and they said they know of this issue and are working on solving it. They can’t give me the ETA on when the solution will be in place, but at least now I know that it’s a work in progress.
Also, it’s important to me to know that it’s not something I did in the zap, but it’s an internal issue with Zapier and Hubspot.

Userlevel 7
Badge +14

@DylanB. 

Really appreciate you sharing the update for others to be aware of, thanks.

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Yes, thanks so much for keeping the community updated, @DylanB. !

I did want to mention we’ll also post in this thread once there’s a solution in place so feel free to follow along here. 🙂

Userlevel 7
Badge +9

Hi ya’ll - 👋🏽

I wanted to swing by and share some news regarding this bug. Ultimately this was closed and our team determined it’s expected behavior.

There was an the announcement that was shared a few days ago with some excellent recommendations on why the error occurs and how to navigate the various scenarios.:

 Specifically, we have found that the issue was caused by one of two common cases, which are a part of HubSpot's expected behavior: First, the "Find Contact" search joins multiple parameters into an AND query, not an OR query.

This means that when two or more "Search Property" fields are filled in, the action will try to find a contact that matches all of the values listed.

The majority of reports we saw involved trying to find contacts with an email address either in the Contact Information: Email or Contact Information: Additional Emails fields. However, setting both of those fields prompts the action search for contacts which have the email address listed in both fields, which is rare.

That tends to cause the search to fail even if a contact does exist with that email address in one of the two fields, and return a "Contact already exists" error when trying to create a new contact with that same address.

To avoid this issue, we recommend keeping the search as general as possible — for example, having it search for contacts using only the Contact Information: Email search property, as HubSpot requires that each contact has a unique email.

 

The other case we have seen, which is less frequent, is that occasionally there may be two Zaps or processes which attempt to create the contact at the same time.

This causes a condition where one Zap might just barely beat the other to the punch — so while the search returned no results in both cases, only one of the Zaps can create the new contact successfully. If the search is not too specific (like in the case outlined above), it's worth reviewing your other Zaps that create HubSpot contacts.

If you have multiple Zaps with the "Find or Create Contact" action, adding a Delay step before one of them should help avoid the issue in most cases.

As always though please don’t hesitate to reach out here in community or open a ticket with my teammates in support if you have further questions or help navigating this.

We’re here for you and always happy to lend a hand!