The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company Ripoff of defective tire causing damaged wheel Akron Ohio

I recently filed a claim (#000422817) with The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, Akron, Ohio, to replace an aluminum wheel that was destroyed when one of their tires disintegrated at highway speeds. They denied the claim based on their analysis of the shredded tire and the determination that the tire was shredded by driving on it after it became flat. I requested a review of the claim and explained that the tire "blew out" at highway speed and the vehicle was stopped as soon as safely possible. But again they denied the claim as the tire evaluation showed "...no evidence of any defects in workmanshop or materials...". Goodyear should feel fortunate that the only damage was to a wheel and not serious bodily injury or possible death from their tire blowing out.

I only requested compensation to replace a simple wheel of about $100. value. Their denial letter indicates that, "This decision was not an easy one, as we anticipated your disappointment." Apparently denying a valid claim is an easy decision for such a huge corporation. They also had the gall to ask for my understanding and hope that I will consider giving them another opportunity to serve my tire and automotive needs in the future. I won't be giving them the opportunity to almost cause a serious accident and then to deny all responsibility. Isn't this exactly what Firestone did for years until the state and federal governments finally took them court to force them to accept their responsibility?

I feel that they ripped me off by not accepting any responsibility for causing damage to my vehicle and only by the grace of God we averted a possible serious accident.

Bruce
Del Rio, Texas
U.S.A.