Cannot resist. You're right soaring, in your neck of the woods it works fine. In France, Belgium and Denmark in my experience it works fine.
But here the frequent response is "standby, remain clear of controlled airspace'. And if you're patient and they're not too busy after telling them your life story and promising not to get in the way you'll get a transit. It is not always like that, but there are areas which are pretty notorious for this sort of response. Some are genuinely busy, many are not.