Why should anyone have to ask their current supplier for permission to churn? In Australia both mobile and ADSL broadband suppliers churn on request of the customer.

Mobile churn occurs for reasons other than the quality of the deal. My partner and I churned away from our previous suppliers so we could take advantage of same-network call savings. Clearly we're not going to get that deal from disparate carriers!

Also I do not want to spend time on the phone to my current supplier just to have to tell them no! That would make switching carriers almost as difficult as canceling an Amex card...

"Sir, can I ask why you're leaving us."
Your fees are too high
"I'm in a position to offer you a permanent reduction in your interest rate to 12.99%"
Yes, but your fees are still too high
...30 mins later we have canceled the card.

In Australia it takes a total of around 30-45min and they do it while you wait...

Whats the hold up? :-/

When it comes to renewal time (a date I set in my mobile as a reminder) I like my current operator having the chance to counter sell. I use "Can I have my PAC please" to get their best deal... It generally gets you transferred from the muppet who is only going to give you £10 off the new phone to someone with a bit more authority who'll give you that nice shiny new phone for free, and throw in some extra free minutes while he's at it.

Its been while since I've done it, but in Ireland it only takes a few hours. why does it have to be two days?

(at least thats my memory of when i did it a few years ago)

Nicely, in Canada, if you want to exercise your rights on number portability, your old supplier can't try to re-sell you for three months.

It's nice to be able to make up your mind without being whined at on how lovely your (ex) supplier really is.

I went from Vodafone to Orange . Whole thing was painless and I swapped the sims the night before the swapover date and it was all done.

I'm now told if anything goes wrong with the voda network my phone will still be affected . But heyho thats the price for free calls I suppose lol .

waow. You guys have it bad over there. Here in the US its an instant transaction. Well, not "instant", but probably about a 10 minute affair.