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- Paul Gibbons was unhappy with the results of his $32,000 kitchen renovation.
- In protest, he parked a tank outside the store responsible. It's now been there for over a month.
- The store responded by banning him from branches across England and issuing a notice to remove the tank.
An unhappy customer parked a decommissioned tank outside a home-improvement store that fitted his kitchen and intends to keep it there until he gets a refund.
Paul Gibbons, 63, spent £25,000, or around $32,000, on a kitchen installation by Wickes in Basingstoke, England, last February.
He told the Basingtonstoke Gazette that the finish was "poor" and that much of the kitchen doesn't fit. He also said that there's mold under the sink and that the drawers and doors don't close.
"I am still left with a kitchen which I can't even use as you should," he told the local news outlet in December.
Gibbons said he demanded a refund, but he decided to act when it wasn't forthcoming.
In protest, according to the Gazette, he parked a 1963 decommissioned Abbot self-propelled gun tank, which he borrowed from a friend, outside the store in late December.
The tank has remained there since December 27, despite Wickes' attempts to have it removed. The chain has also barred Gibbons from all its stores.
The Gazette reported that Gibbons received a notice from Wickes saying the tank would be removed "within 14 days" of January 23.
The home-improvement chain told BI in a statement provided by email that if the tank is not removed by the deadline, it would hire a specialist company to remove it.
Wickes also said that Gibbons had demonstrated "unacceptable and aggressive" behavior to employees.
It said it had reported these incidents to the police and issued him an exclusion notice to prevent him from entering the store's premises, which it said Gibbons has not complied with.
The Hampshire Constabulary confirmed to BI that it had received two reports of harassment on the premises of Wickes, one on December 28 last year and another on January 8 this year.
It said inquiries are ongoing to establish if any criminal offenses had occurred.
But Gibbons, whom BI could not reach, insisted to the Gazette that he had not been aggressive.
In the statement, Wickes also apologized to customers who "have been inconvenienced or concerned by the tank in any way."
It said that it arranged for a local ombudsman to visit the kitchen, who recommended two to three days of remedial work to bring it up to standard, but Gibbons rejected the offer.
He reportedly told the Gazette: "I want my money back and want them to take that kitchen out of my house so I can get a new one."