no hot water in the shower - british Gas blames the cold weather

[Mercedes]

Sorry long one.

We had tepid (on a good day) water coming out of of our shower. We got a plumber in who couldn't see anything wrong and on the advice of the manufacturer cleaned the valves etc . Still not hot water - she checked the other hot taps and although hot water came through the temp was variable. She said problem with the boiler and the thermostatic valve in the shower required a constant flow at the same temperature.

British gas came and changed the diverter, water heat sensor, turned up the temp of the water from the boiler and that was that. I wasn't there when they came - my relatives were and didn't think to check. When I checked the water is now warm (instead of tepid). My relatives told me that British gas said combination boilers and thermostatic controlled showers don't work well together - well they have in our house for 6 years! he also said that it was the effect of the winter and the boiler couldn't cope with the temperature of the water coming into the house.

What do I do now? Has anyone else experienced the same problems? Or do I wait for spring?

The same happened to me last winter, had the shower on 10 but it still wasn't very hot. I asked an plumber/electrician for his advice and he said it was due to the cold weather and the pipes being so cold. Anyway, it was fine when the weather warmed up again so I do think the cold weather has something to do with it.

Well the water coming into the house is going to be colder, so the boiler has more work to do, but that can't be a standard problem or there would be thousands of us complaining about it. Has the boiler been serviced recently?

It was serviced in October and I was told it was fine. The problem is we are getting hot water from the taps although the temp fluctuates from boiling to hot. My dp also complained about the occasional cold shower before winter really got going so I worry its more than just winter.

If it is winter why aren't loads of us complaining about this?

No, I don't think it's just the weather - you're right, it would be a well known issue. I think you need to get another plumber in, and/or get the boiler checked again.

British gas are notoriously crap, i'd get someone else to look at it, you'd have a small difference due to the weather but not so much you'd notice or we all would!