A man who parked a tank outside a Wickes store in a bid to get a refund has said his home is now at risk because of a months-long battle with the retail giant. Paul Gibbons, 63, wants his money back after paying £25,000 to have a new kitchen fitted at his home in Kingsclere, near Basingstoke, Hampshire, in February last year.
The work formed part of the self-employed farrier’s plan to move into an outbuilding and rent his house to generate retirement income.
Just days into the work, the former navy engineer said he spotted issues including badly fitting units, mould under a sink and a heavy drawer collapsing onto his dog.
He said his kitchen now has an extractor fan which doesn’t extract and there are problems with the electrics, including an “out of reach” isolator switch for the oven positioned at the back of a cupboard below the ceiling.
Frustrated at Wickes not refunding him, Mr Gibbons parked a decommissioned 1963 Abbott self-propelled gun tank outside the retailer’s branch in Basingstoke.
The military hardware belongs to a friend who lets people borrow it to protest against big companies. It has been sat outside the store since December 27.
Mr Gibbons told Express.co.uk he took out a bridging loan to fund the work which began in March last year. He managed to extend the loan in November, but said the creditors will want their money back by April.
The father of two said he was relying on rent from his property to pay back the loan, but because of the unfinished kitchen and safety risks his property isn’t fit for tenants. He now fears his home could be seized by creditors if he is unable to repay the loan.
Meanwhile, Wickes has issued Mr Gibbons with an exclusion notice which bars him from entering its shop. The firm has accused him of “unacceptable and aggressive behaviour” and says it reported him to the police.
A spokeswoman for Wickes said because the tank remains on the premises the company is operating within its legal rights to issue the owner with a notice under the Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1977. The legislation alerts an owner to items which have been abandoned on private land or property.
She said: “This requires that it is removed from our premises within 14 days, and if it is not we will have it removed by a specialist company.”
The spokeswoman said Wickes arranged a full and independent inspection of Mr Gibbon’s kitchen by the Furniture & Home Improvement Ombudsman.
She said their assessment was two to three days’ worth of remedial work would be needed to bring the kitchen up to a satisfactory standard and that Wickes has contacted Mr Gibbons to progress this.
Mr Gibbons has vowed to “keep fighting”, claiming the tank has not been abandoned and accusing Wickes of failing to meet its obligations under the Sales of Goods Act 2015.
He said: “I’ve nearly lost my house, nearly lost my dog. [The kitchen] is still dangerous. I’m going to try and keep fighting. They say I intimidate staff. That’s rubbish. The tank’s not abandoned. I’ve been at Wickes everyday.
“The impact of this on my health has been huge. You get so depressed. They are obliged to give me what I paid for. I paid them for goods and services they have not provided and there’s nothing I can do about it because I don’t have the money. It’s not right.”
Mr Gibbons went on to allege an electrical works certificate for the kitchen is “either negligent or fraudulent”. He explained how he got an independent inspector in to check the electrics and they identified safety issues, including the out of reach oven isolator switch.
He said: “Wickes is using the law to bully me. It’s not abandoned. The tank gets me attention so people listen to me. I want my money back. I can’t sell or rent my house. I shouldn’t be living in it because it’s dangerous.”
Mr Gibbons said one independent kitchen fitter he had round to assess the repairwork quoted him £5,000 in labour costs alone.
Wickes’s spokeswoman said: “The safety and wellbeing of our team members is our number one priority, and following incidents when Mr Gibbons has demonstrated unacceptable and aggressive behaviour towards members of our team, we reported these incidents to the police and took the decision to issue him with an exclusion notice preventing him from entering our premises. Unfortunately, Mr Gibbons has failed to comply with the exclusion notice.
“As the tank remains on our premises we are operating within our legal rights to issue the owner with a Tort notice. We would like to apologise to customers who have been inconvenienced or concerned by the tank in any way.”
Citizens Advice says if you have had a kitchen installed, or any work done at your home, and there have been problems caused by a trader, you should be able to get it fixed get some money back.
It advises taking up the problem with the trader or company who arranged the work, even if they subcontracted it to another business.
Customers should keep all paperwork and receipts, take photos and notes of any issues and include dates and times.
If a trader has not completed the work with “reasonable care and skill” under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, customers are legally entitled to either ask them to fix the problem or get a refund, according to Citizens Advice.
