Hey do not give up so easy. I took my N900 to carphone warehouse and they did not fix it and said it was water damage. I then continued using it for another 2 months without a usb port. Then I bricked it and needed to reflash but could not do so due to the faulty usb port. I was therefore left with a very expensive brick.

I decided to send it direct to Nokia and today I will have a brand new (or maybe refurbished) N900 in my hands.

So try sending it to Nokia. Don't care what Vodafone say. Very often these companies will always claim water damage as a means to avoid honouring warranty.