Where does it say it's free?! I am not aware of any such official VW statement.
Try a different VW dealer, it is up to them what they charge for this service...
Phoned a *Ford* dealer once for a code for the crappy casette (!) unit in my girlfriend's KA.... One wanted £20 (large main dealer chain), went to a small local Ford garage.... £5 into their coffee jar...
Code is stored at VAG in Wolfsburg... VW dealer (like Ford) needs to request the code online, generally most will only do this for money if you show them some stuff (proof of purchase, VIN or even papers of donor car)....
Send it back to the idiot who sold it without the code if you don't like paying for it (you get the code when you buy the car so the monger lost it)! The code request will contain which dealer and which user has requested the code - would you give a code to someone on the internet?
