An angry customer parked a tank-like self-propelled gun outside a store in protest over the ‘poor quality’ $30,000 kitchen they built him

Wickes DIY store

Geography Photos / Getty

Paul Gibbons, 63, paid the British store Wickes $30,000 for a “high-quality” kitchen.But after being left unsatisfied with the job, he drove a tank-like self-propelled gun to the store.”I’m making a stand simply to say that it’s not right,” Gibbons told local news.

A customer who has been in a dispute with the British DIY store Wickes over a kitchen redesign for the last 10 months has taken his battle with the retailer to a more literal level.

Paul Gibbons, 63, parked a tank-like Cold War-era self-propelled gun vehicle outside a branch of the store in the southern English town of Basingstoke this week in protest over kitchen work carried out by Wickes that he says was “poor quality.”

The angry customer had paid £25,000 ($30,000) for a kitchen to be fitted to a high-quality standard within two weeks.

But 10 months later, he claims he still has not got the kitchen of his dreams.

“The finish throughout is so poor, and half of the kitchen doesn’t fit as it should. I agreed to the contract, and what I was told would be two weeks of work, and 10 months later, I am still left with a kitchen which I can’t even use as you should,” Gibbons told the Basingstoke Gazette.

Gibbons says that the drawers and doors do not close, storage falls out of place, and mold grows underneath the sink.

“Wickes refuse to accept that the quality of the kitchen is nowhere near the standard it should be, and it’s an issue I’m not alone in having with Wickes,” he told the Gazette.

In protest at what he sees as a botched job, he parked a green Abbot SPG tank outside the store, explaining, “I’m making a stand simply to say that it’s not right.”

“Warning Incompetent Complacent Kitchen Equipment Supplier,” read an acrostic placard placed on the British Abbot SPG vehicle – spelling out Wickes.

It it is legal to own and drive a deactivated tank in the UK, provided you have a special license from the DVLA driving authority.

In a post on X, another Wickes customer shared an image of the unusual vehicle parked outside the store.

“We are aware of the situation at the Basingstoke store and would like to apologize for any inconvenience that has been caused to shoppers visiting the store today,” a spokesperson for Wickes said, per the Basingstoke Gazette.

The store said that they were in contact with Mr Gibbons to resolve the issue.

Wickes did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider, made outside normal working hours.