Payless Car Rental Reviews

I waited in line at the Payless desk in Phoenix for 3 1/2 hours with a toddler. I was told I was not able to cancel my reservation without forfeiting the entire cost. Since the wait was so ridiculous, the other customers and I took turns going to other car rental counters to compare prices and the costs were not that much lower. A few customers decided to rent with someone else anyway, and left the line which was the only fast movement we saw all day.

ZERO STARS. By far the worse customer service experience of my life! Flew into Phoenix approx. 8 pm with my 10 year old son. Only 1 employee working (slowly) and handed him printout of our reservation for a full size suv that we paid for. After 90 MINUTES of waiting, we got a small car. Called management after to get adjustment for the difference. He agreed to issue refund within 3 to 5 business days. 10 day later nothing. Reached back out and Payless offered half of what we agreed on. PAYLESS IS OWNED BY AVIS! WHAT A PATHETIC JOKE! Avis (with 4 employees working) is located right next to Payless!

PLEASE don't waste your money and time on renting a car from the Payless @ Denver Airport. We rented a Full Size SUV and paid over $1,000 for the week. When we got there, it looked like a junk yard but I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. There was only 1 cust svc rep available, so it took quite awhile to get checked in. The first vehicle we were given had a flat tire, and looked like it had been sideswiped. The windshield was also cracked.

Staff seems nice. Then they put the screws to your wallet. Every fee is higher than any other rental company. If you don’t buy their insurance they hold 2000$ on your card. If you don’t make your set time they charge 30$ day reset fee. Talk a lot of Spanish so don’t know what’s going on. In the end cancelled whole reservation and filing with Priceline about shady practices. Went to Hertz with no surprises and ended up near same price and no scare tactics. Oh yeah if you get toll charge they make up their own fines on your card. Or you can pay for their over inflated toll pass. Be smart and stay away or they will ruin your vacation!!

The car was fine for the California only trips but they were very deceitful about refilling the gas tank. I clearly told the guy I wasn't using it much and would fill the tank before I returned it. He said they would charge me a lower price per gallon and would only charge me for what I used. When I got my credit card bill, it had a charge I didn't understand. When I called, She knew right away why I was calling, (probably happens all the time) and said they always charge for a complete fill. I then asked her why they charged me for over 18 gallons for a car with a gas tank that holds just under 11 gallons and she very quickly $23, still over charging me $8.00. Basically, they tried and did rip me off.

Is there a 'no star' option for this company? Cause that's what they deserve. They charged me RIDICULOUS expenses after car was returned in great condition and full gas. I have spoken to 3 customer service personnel 2 out of whom were outrightly RUDE. None gave me helpful assistance on how to give me my refund of $59. The actual cost for rental for 4 days was $212.40 at 59 per day... now take a look at the additional RIDICULOUS charges 🙄 11.11% concession recovery fee $35.74 (what were they: recovering?")

We rented a car in early January for a February 23 vacation in Phoenix. When we got to the counter there was only one person working. Stood there for approximately 20 minutes while the agent was working with a person in front of me. When I asked him how much longer he said "Really Long", so I asked for the manager. He went to the back room for 5 minutes and came out without the manager. So I sent my husband to the Avis counter. Then the manager came out and said that he is also the manager for Avis. And asked me what the problem was. So I told him and he just looked at me. So I said can we move along and get me on my way. He just looked at me and said that he didn't understand the issue. So I told him that we just need to be on our way, as we had people waiting on us. Then he said that he was going to give us a car but now he didn't know. And got very belligerent. So we walked away. Never Ever go there!

Rented a car and turned back in with full tank of gas. Was charged an additional 135.00 for fuel. Kept receipt, called for refund. After 12 days no refund. Told their system had trouble would put back through. Still waiting.

Re: Payless Car Rental Company, I am writing to express my outrage and disappointment at the unacceptable experience I had with your company during my recent car rental. Firstly, when we arrived at the pickup location, we were asked to select a car from a specific row, only to find that the car we were supposed to pick up was not even in the slot. This happened not once, but twice, wasting precious time and causing frustration. To make matters worse, when we finally got into the second vehicle, we discovered that there was no key fob in the car. This is a basic oversight that should never happen, and it's shocking that your company could be so careless.

TER-RI-BLE!!!! Zero stars!!! Buyer beware! This is the worse!!! There should be laws against these types of business conduct! So infuriating having to spend hours, days, trying to resolve overcharge fees they don't want to give back! If you're lucky, you might get some of your money back but at what cost??? You're frustrated, angry, and can't believe you've wasted so much time and energy just trying to get someone on the phone, from the right dept! Beware! They will smile while overcharging you for things you didn't agree to or don't need. And if the overcharge wasn't bad enough, the experience and lack of professionalism is mind boggling. They gave me a car that was already rented out. I mean really? I wasted another 1hr at the airport trying to get another car (they could have just given me an upgrade for the trouble, but no!). Waited some more for a infant car seat, and then some more for one that wasn't broken!...

Wife verbally declined insurance as our home / auto policy covers rental cars. The sales person at desk had her initial that we wanted insurance. When we notice the charges after we returned the vehicle they accused us of trying to scam them by trying to get free insurance after the fact. Total misrepresentation, and terrible customer service. Stay as far away from this company as possible.

I rented a car for 28 days from Paphos airport Cyprus, Within the first 24 hours of the rental after only having driven from the airport to the hotel, (20km) the electrics failed which made the car unusable. I called the assist line and was told to wait in my hotel for a technician to call. They called and came to the hotel a few hours later. They said they'd need to exchange the car, so made all the checks and switched vehicles. When I arrived home 29 days later I saw a new charge of 15.80 on my credit card, I enquired and was told it was for petrol consumed on my original car, (That I'd had only driven to the hotel - which malfunctioned and was un-drive-able.)

I rented a vehicle thru CarRentals.com. Keep in mind I have rented thru them many times and had nothing but a good experience. Now this time it was Payless. Ok I can do this, Well I rented a Tahoe. When I got to Phoenix Airport and stood in small line! It did not go fast, anyway when I got to the agent they had a Arcadia for me and I said what about the Tahoe???? "We don't have them." Ok ending up getting a Armada, Then The insurance I had purchased was no good at Payless, So I bought theirs at 65 dollars a day. The Vehicle was filthy inside the windshield was just a full of smug. Contacted customer No help. I would never rent from PAYLESS. They are terrible, pay more anywhere and you will be glad.

Horrible car rental. Was not given car advertised in sale and told that the car “Jeep Cherokee” was not even available at Payless by attendant. Given Kia instead for price paid for Jeep! Also charged extra for miles even though sale stated unlimited miles. Most untrustworthy car rental I have ever used!

If I could give ZERO stars, I would! The car they gave me needed servicing and almost broke down on me. When I returned, I didn't have time to clean the back seat where my dog had been. I understand needing to charge a cleaning fee but $250 is OBSCENE!!!! Especially when the entire cost of the rental was $215 for 3 days. I hope NO ONE uses them EVER!!!! They offer a low rate and charge you for whatever they can. That's how they continue their business. It's another TERRIBLE business practice that lines the pockets of the corporate upper management and screws over normal, hardworking people. I'll make sure anyone I can tell knows it. Don't use them or they will find a way to take money from you. PAYLESS is AVIS and the whole place is a DISGUSTING business that doesn't care at all about the customer. Glad I never have to deal with them again... Hope you don't either!

This place is a scam. They drive you a few miles off site from the airport to a sketchy neighborhood then tell you they won’t rent to you unless you buy the insurance from them even though you may have great personal auto insurance that is sufficient. No kindness, no qualms about doing this because they do it to every customer. Don’t use this place. Only book with a car rental company that is on site at the Tampa airport.

Got my rental at the airport at night time, didn't saw the car had a bump in the rear, back right side window trim was missing and they didn't even had that in the notes of damage. But the worst of all this car SMELLS LIKE IT GOT WET INSIDE but my husband opened the hood and the entire engine looked like the car got through muddy patch and the smell was coming from the AC of the car

I went to its office in Illinois, St. Louis Lambert Airport. The employee didn't accepted my card arguing that isn't a "real bank card", he recommended me to look for Payless phone number in Google to call them and tell them to return me the money I paid online to make the reservation. My card (Money Network card) had the money and even though my card is associated to a normal bank the Payless customer representative, refused to proceed with the car rental.

Payless Car Rental was horrible! They were rude on the phone and hung up - it was a supervisor. They price gouge and the minivan we had made mechanical issue sounds during our trip and had a huge mark on the side. We had to clean the car out completely in fear of being charged for anything left on the floor due to reading other reviews where they overcharged people. Do not use!

I declined additional car insurance as I have State Farm Insurance and was still charged an extra $120 for my 4-day car rental. When I called the Payless Car Rental in San Diego back when I was aware of this, they said it was because I didn’t provide a copy of my car insurance card. First off the Customer Service Representative DID NOT ask to make a copy of it as I would have gladly let him make a copy of it. They spoke to me as if it was MY FAULT and I do not appreciate that as it was not. Their little snide & rude comments and attitude had me say a few choice words as well. I will never rent a car through Payless Car Rental nor recommend them to anyone.

When I booked my car rental online, the app offered an option to add insurance for the vehicle, which I selected. However, when I went to pick up the car, the front desk informed me that what I added was not insurance but something else. I agreed, thinking it was fine. A week later, I was charged about $494. When I called them, they claimed the charge was for mileage, but the rental agreement clearly stated that mileage was unlimited. It feels like they are just making excuses to charge extra. I wouldn't recommend using this company.

Worst place to rent a car. These people take so much money from you. They don't record videos of the cars properly (blurry) some cars are dented and they don't show it. The workers don't want to explain to you about insurances carefully. They quickly say what insurance you got. One that has you paying $500 for any type of damage and one that DOESN'T but they never tell you that. They only tell you that you have to pay $500 for damages. My car had a small dent. They consider a small dent A MEDIUM SIZE. In their defense (their words) any small dents are considered medium size which will charge you more for it. These people are bunch of blood-sucking leeches. DON'T RENT FROM THEM. Go rent another place, the airport is more secured than they are.

On a recent trip to San Diego I booked a rental car through Delta Airlines since they had the best rate. I should have known better since I never heard of them. The people at the airport were nice enough, but that is where you need to be cautious. Their paperwork especially their Collision Damage Waiver are misleading. When presented by the agent that this was a waiver of their collision damage coverage, and by signing it I was waving their additional coverage $25 @ day. However, on my final bill there it was for the 7 days I rented the car.

We made a reservation weeks in advance for a car rental in PA. I called for a pickup when we arrived at the Philadelphia International Airport & we waited for over an hour. They never arrived and we found out they closed at 8 PM, leaving us stranded. We scrambled and had to book with another company at a much higher rate. RENTER BEWARE!

I traveled from LAX to SLC to visit my child in a residential facility for my few hours that I am granted each week. My plane was delayed and I was hoping to get my rental car quickly since I prepaid through Expedia. They do not offer online check in like other rental agencies. I was greeted with a line of over 20 people waiting for two clerks processing the rentals. They were taking their sweet time going over their high pressure sales pitches to sell as many add ons as they could. I paid $67 for what ended up being a two-hour rental since I was only there for the day. My flight was shorter than my wait in that line! I will never make the mistake of using Payless again. If you are smart, you won't either.

The man at the front desk kept telling me that I had to have a tablet and WiFi plan included with my car rental. It wasn’t until I badgered him enough that I did NOT want the WiFi/tablet that they finally took it off. After that they brought me a vehicle with 25% fuel and I was promised 70% or more. The staff was not very easy to work with and it took about 1.5 hours to get our car (even though there was only 1 person in front of us).

This was the worst experience I've had renting a car. They had hidden fees and very rude customer service. We didn't get the vehicle we were promised. Over a month later they charged my bank account despite having a new card that how crooked they are. I would never rent from them.

This is hands down the worst experience I have ever had with a car rental company. When we picked up the car the first thing we noticed was how dirty the outside of the vehicle was. As we were driving on the highway and the sun shined on the mirrors, I was instantly blinded. I could not see out of any window or mirror. They look like they were all wiped with dirty oiled rags. Once we were out of the vehicle and did a more thorough look at the car we noticed it looked like someone had gotten sick out of the back window.

Rented from Payless through my Delta app thinking it would be a seamless transaction. Never again. Payless is poorly managed, makes it hard to get to customer service, and when they say the problem is resolved, you find out days later that it really wasn’t. I had a one day meeting in Brooklyn. Landed at 8 am, rented a Tesla but picked up another electric car because they didn’t have any Teslas. Fine. Received a receipt of “expected charges" for my 14 hour rental and I was on my way. Returned to JFK at 6 pm and was told to leave the car with the keys inside behind a line of other Payless cars being returned. I even cleaned out my car!

I was charged a cleaning fee, and I have pictures of the inside of the car showing there was no excessive dirt inside it. We actually cleaned a door full of candy wrappers out when we received the van since it had not been cleaned prior to us receiving the car. While in Denver, it snowed around 12 inches, so we were not hiking on any trails or outdoor activities due to the weather. I've spoken with a customer service rep and she was going to send me pictures of the dirt inside but failed to send them. Payless did send over an email and when speaking with them they told me I needed to call the phone number listed in the email which there isn't one and then was told I needed to speak with "Nora ** - Payless Operations Team" but no one could provide me with an extension number for her. They did, however, charge my credit card for $250.00!! Please contact me about this matter.

This company lacks ethics and proper management! I rented a car before I got to the airport while in advance and all they had left was a 15 passenger van. I waited in line for 1.5 hours with only 14 people ahead of me. I got to the counter the guy told me he had only one vehicle left and it was the van. I believe he lied because there were several people behind me and he gave those people rental cars. When I complained, he could care less it was as if I was talking to a wall and he just told me that he could cancel my reservation. These people could care less whether or not you travel, cross-country and prearrange for a vehicle. Driving this van is like driving a U-Haul because it’s got the same seat… Whatever you do use a different company!

Initially it seemed that everything was fine. I was given a nice compact car that seemed to be in good condition. However, after a couple of day, the engine light came on, and all the error messages, and it wouldn't drive more than 5mph. I called Roadside Assistance and was told I would get a replacement vehicle. It took about 10 hours to receive the replacement, and involved multiple phone calls in the middle of the night. I'm glad I was in a safe place or I would have frozen to death as the temperatures that night were below freezing. The replacement vehicle turned out to be a large gas-guzzling Dodge Ram truck. Because it arrived so late, I had to change my return flight 3 times. Then I was charged $150 for gas. Absolutely would not rent from them again.

Payless car rental was a nightmare. I picked up a car rental from Payless at Chicago airport. This was booked via Alaska Airlines app. I had booked a compact car option. When I went for the pickup I was offered only Electric car which I did not want nor did I book for that option. The customer service was very rude and almost laughed at me for booking this option. I highly recommend everyone not to use their service. The customer service was equally bad. Also, I found it very hard even to give feedback. For a moment I thought I was visiting a 3rd world nation.

Charged for gas when vehicle was returned on full. Took a picture with a time and date stamp in the parking garage. There is no way to call and speak to anyone in customer service. I will have to go in person.

Do not rent from this company, they are very dishonest. Besides giving me a crappy car with 90,000 miles on it, the check out clerk tricked me into signing up for Collision insurance that I had just told him that I did not want or need. Obviously, I will never rent from them again but I doubt if they care they seem to be based on squeezing profit out of customers one time and then moving on to the next victim.

Do not ever take a car with Payless. I booked their car in Zagreb airport from the 22.3. to 1.04. and when I returned it the only thing was that the tank was half full- that should have costed max 40-50 euros + something for the person that fill it. Well that something was quite something, they charged me 357 euros for that!! This is not a car rental, it is a scam business.

I hired a vehicle from Payless that is listed. At 81$ per day and was charged a shocking 250$ a day. There is no rental company that rents this vehicle at that price and as a matter of fact many of them are cheaper. I opened a case on their complaints website and to this day no one had called me to rectify this. I will never ever use them again.

When I got to pay last Nichole made renting a car seem effortless! She had a smile on her face and understood that I was in a hurry. I will use Payless in the future and recommend anybody else to do so at the Des Moines location.

While picking up the rental in Phoenix I spoke to the representative stating that I needed the car for an extra 6 hours beyond the first 24 hours and was told no problem. What I was quoted was not what the final charges were on my credit card. The printed receipt doesn't even match the final charges. When I returned home I called customer service to understand the extreme overcharges, finding only poor service and no answers. I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told I would receive a call from somebody within 24-48 hours. I only received an email stating there was nothing they could do for me and the charges would remain.

I was unable to pick up my reservation.... Very disappointed in the customer service. I originally tried to cancel and modify my reservation since the dates were entered wrong. Reservation was intended to be 3/7-3/13. Not what I booked which was 2/7-3/14.... However when I arrived today they said I can't get my car.... I reserved a vehicle from 2/7 to 3/14 so that makes no sense.... I was never contacted or emailed saying I couldn't pick it up late. When I called them first they said they couldn't modify the reservation since I booked through my American Advantage... then I called back and said, "I don't need to modify. I'll just the car for 6 days," but then they said they decided to cancel it since I didn't come. They said they couldn't modify it but they could cancel it without talking to me... Not happy with this experience.