You are held in a queuing system and will be dealt with as soon as possible. You are held in a queuing system and will be...well, you get the idea.

The fact is, it's getting clearer by the day that we will be spending a larger chunk of our lives waiting on the phone.

And, it seems, some of the main culprits are phone companies themselves.

Complaints from customers in some parts of the UK have become so plentiful that they are now among the most-moaned-about industries - alongside dodgy car dealers and estate agents.

And a report on British lifestyles by Mintel found that while four in 10 adults now own a mobile phone, they are not loved. Only 12% of the population regarded them as important to their lifestyle, although young women did find them "particularly essential".

The top gripe among mobile customers is the trouble they have actually getting in touch with their network's customer services, telephone regulator Oftel found in its December 1999 report.

And the response from BBC News Online users to Talking Point bears this out.

Steve Bolland wrote that while he was waiting on hold for 15 minutes to report the theft of his daughter's phone, he was told that if the thief was making calls during that time, he would still be liable to pay for them.

To add insult to injury, unless you have dialled a freephone number, you are paying for the call. It's like paying rent for your place in the queue at the post office.

And while Mr Bolland's case might be an unusual one, lower level frustration is commonplace.

The experience of one BBC News Online member of staff is probably no more than typical of most encounters.

"After three days' periodic attempts to get through to my own mobile network, I had still had no success. The number was constantly engaged - I couldn't even get through to be kept on hold," he said.

"So on the fourth day, a concerted attempt was needed. I resolved to keep redialling until I got through, however long it took. And patience paid off, on attempt number 13.

"I was welcomed to customer care, and asked to enter my mobile number. Then I was offered six options. (My actual reason for calling - to cancel my phone altogether - was not one of those options.)

"When I did eventually choose one, there were a further five options. When I'd eventually got through to an operator, I told her I wanted to cancel.

"'Can I ask you why?' she said.
'Erm, I want to go to a different network,' I said.
'Right, I'll pass you through to our cancellation department.'
'Can I keep my phone number?' I ask.
'If you want to keep the number, you'll actually have to stay within [this network].'
'I can't transfer the number?' I say.
'No, you'll not be able to transfer the number over to a different network.'
'Why's that?'
'Not unless you are porting out. I mean you should be able to keep your number for up to six months if you're porting in,' she says. 'You can port that number into a different network.'
'I'm sorry, I don't understand.'
'Right, what is it you're actually trying to port into?'
'What?' I say. 'Do you mean which network do I want to go to?'
'Yes.'
'Well, I want to go to [other network].'
'Erm, I think you should be able to keep your number for that. I'll need to check that for you. Can I put you on hold for a moment?'

"After what seems an age listening to Enya, she came back. She apologised, told me yes, I could keep my number, but said she was unable to connect me to the cancellation department.

"She said she would ask them to ring me within the next three days. I satisfied myself with the irony that even the network itself can't get through to its own departments."

It's clear that with more than 17 million people in the UK now owning mobiles, there is intense demand on customer support departments.

Oftel is trying to encourage the various networks and companies to adopt quality standards it set out last summer, covering the extent of the network, the number of calls successfully made, and levels of customer service.

Their efficiency of customer service is not yet a big selling point for the different networks. But a spokeswoman for Oftel said it could soon become one, rather like supermarkets' "one in front" rule for queues at the checkouts.

"This is why we encourage competition in all areas of the industry," she said.

And if it does become a hot issue for the networks, it will only be fitting. After all, our calls ARE important to them.