someone else with brake problems

[bluerolo]

Please excuse me if I have done this wrong but I've never been on a forum before let alone posted a new thread!
I have a 2002 1.9 TDI, just before Xmas during the first cold snap my brake pedal went rock hard. Knowing nothing about cars I called out breakdown guys, whilst waiting in the warm car the pedal seemed to return to normal. After testing the car the mechanic reckoned there had been damp in the cylinder which had caused the brakes to stick in the cold. Car has been fine since, however the brake problem returned this weekend. After a fair bit of googling I discovered that there has been a recall regarding the plenum chamber getting blocked and affecting the servo? I contacted main dealer who said there was an outstanding recall on my car for this problem. having checked the car over they said the chamber was dry at the moment?? but I needed a new brake servo as it was very corroded and had water inside. I asked whether they thought the problem could have been caused by a flooded Plenum chamber and they reckoned it was hard to tell. However they did admit that they would not normally expect to see the servo in such bad condition on a car of my age and mileage (54k). They have applied to VW uk on my behalf for a contribution towards the bill as a good will gesture. However they have informed me that as the car is out of warranty and the servicing has not been done by a main dealer I should not hold my breath
As this seems to be a fairly common problem with these cars I was wondering if anyone else has had any success getting VW to cough up? Any tips/ideas on what information I should get from the dealer when I pick the car up tomorrow to strengthen my case? Could the servo have end up in this state due to any other reason apart from the plenum chamber (sorry if this is a dumb question but I really do know nothing about a cars mechanics)?

I would be really grateful for any pointers/advice as so far this is costing £560 and that's before I have to get it through its MOT at the end of the month

[martin1810]

It is highly unlikely that the servo would get corroded and get water inside unless the plenum was full of water in the first place because of blocked drain holes. You still have to rely on VW goodwill because you can't prove it.