I gather that historically at least they almost always send the key. At the end of the day they're a business like any other and a few bad reviews will kill their revenue stream. However if they are known to offer fast replies and support, it's a lot easier to convince people to pay up.
Bad guys ransom-ware business dependent on good reviews from 'paying customers' whilst processing support requests for 'license keys' in a timely manner.
If they send the key. If I was a criminal, I would minimise contact with the victims.