Not trying to excuse the practice by any means but this could be something that arises due to your somewhat lazier colleagues in southern Europe. Frequently when flying in Spain you will get to the clearance limit with no onward clearance and when you report entering the hold (usually tongue in cheek as you know the guy/gal probably doesn't want you to hold but has either forgotten (no problem) or is too lazy (problem)) you get spoken to as if a complete idiot and get given a heading or something. Again, not saying it's correct but might be a contributory factor to your problem.