I will jump in here and offer some support for Soton, as I have always found them fair, and accomodating when it seems like they could be. If I'm battling trying to find a gap in the R/T to place a call, I can guess they're not going to be interested in a 'zone transit 2000' or above': consequently, when I was in the area on a route planned to avoid their area last weekend, and they seemed quiet, and I asked for an ILS - no problem they said, just make sure you call me to arrange payment.
Maybe 'cos I was born there thay understand me
but I have always found them (along with Gatwick, Farnborough, Exeter, Scottish... (sorry if I didn't mention your unit - you haven't had the pleasure of a lot of my company very often
) particularly helpful) and as B-L points out, these things do have a cost, even if it's not immediately apparrent.
IFR