Payless Car Rental Reviews

What a scam! I felt like these were psyching the customer to just say "leave it" after all it showed in the travelers' faces that they are tired and exhausted. So tell me again, why do I need to register online when same questions are going to be asked again on the counter? Please do me a favor and redo your ad as "The Modern Inconvenience of Payless Rental Car" or "Pay More" not payless. This suits better your company.

I am convinced that Jonathan intentionally overcharged me by adding in the Collision Damage Waiver (I never took this.), thinking that I'd miss it (which I did) and that I wouldn't notice it when I brought the car back (I did). I was upset, because I felt I was ripped off! The manager there was Mark, and the person who checked me in was Erika. They were professional in hearing my complaints (as was Jonathan, though he hung up the phone on me as our conservation was going in circles), because they knew they had me! I didn't catch the overcharge before the car was driven off the lot. My hope is that their future customers think twice about using them and that future consumers take their time when signing anything. Caveat Emptor.

Next is the roadside assistance scam. As you are going down the contract doing the necessary initialing to decline the optional insurances, they have added a new feature. There is an option to buy an extra roadside assistance service. But your initials indicate your agreement to buy this plan. So if you aren't paying attention, they get you for a few extra bucks even if you manage to dodge all the insurance. I told the agent I didn't want this, but he said it was "part of the rate". All in all, I got away without too much additional damage, but I will definitely avoid Payless in the future.

When it was my turn, with Serge from Mexico, the same thing happened. I stated numerous times that I don't need insurance, as I am covered threefold -- through my insurance in Germany, through my AAA insurance in California and through my credit card. I was told, that is Nevada state law, that I have to provide proof that indeed I have insurance if I want to decline this "law", which according to Serge, "everybody" knows. I stated, that if this is a mandatory requirement, it should have been put in the confirmation from Priceline.com.

So I called Priceline to complain and after a 13-minute telephone recorded conversation, they told me, that most likely Payless would not release the car. My request to talk to a supervisor was also declined. I continued for over 1 hour with Payless and finally after they insisted on making copies of even my health insurance card from Germany, they gave me the car I had booked. When I expressed my suspicion that this scam is there, that the agents make extra commission and the rental car company makes extra income, I got a "friendly smile".

I later on talked to Avia and learned, that indeed that there is no mandatory insurance law in Nevada and that this pressure game is done all the time. Beside the fact that this company copied all my credentials, e.g. passport, drivers license, credit card, health insurance card, etc., this practice is a disgrace. I certainly I will warn other people about this practice.

In Denver with Fox, they charged $50 processing fee for a $2 toll charge. In Denver, there are toll rides without toll booths. You get charged without knowledge by your license tag. Be careful. Fox knows this and charges $50 for "each" $2.00 toll charge.

Get my credit card bill and not only it is $507.84, but they also tried to run it for an additional $250 that luckily my credit card caught and declined. Yes, they tried to charge a total of $757.84. Do not use these scammers. On top of everything else, they are almost impossible to get a hold of and extremely rude on the phone. I will keep this updated as this progresses. But after reading other complaints, I now know why Payless is rated one of the worst three companies by many reviews. I repeat, stand clear of these scammers.

When we took the car, it wasn't even clean. The interior was dusty and smelled like old food. When we returned the car, it was 10pm. They had told us we had to have it back by then because they closed at 10:45. They rushed us so fast and there was a guy standing there asking us if we could hurry so he could get the car cleaned. We got our stuff and stepped onto the waiting shuttle for the (as it turns out, another long one) trip to the hotel. We were on the shuttle about five minutes when my husband realized he had left his two week old iPhone in the console between the seats. He immediately called from my phone and kept trying for the next three hours but they would never answer their phone. (Keep in mind, it was only 10:15 and they said they closed at 10:45.)

I called Cheap-O Air, who we had booked with, and when I explained the situation to them, they also said there was nothing they could do. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, the agent said " this doesn't require a supervisor," and hung up on me. We finally got a hold of Payless at 6:30 the next morning as we were waiting to board at the airport. They absolutely denied that they had seen the phone and said they would call the guy who had checked it in.

When we finally got a hold of them again, they said they had spoken to him and he hadn't seen it either. There was no place else this phone could have been. They absolutely denied that our insurance (which supposedly covered "everything") would help us. I feel like we have been ripped off for money, service, quality, and especially a brand new iPhone. What a horrible experience. Never use Payless Car Rental, or Cheap-O Air!

I have been renting cars for 30+ years and have never had an experience like this. Plus, they were extremely rude in the Kansas City MCI rental office and the car reeked of cigarette smoke. I wish I had read the terrible reviews about the company on the Internet before I rented this car. I am overcharged and aggravated!

I had made reservation for a rental for two days-when we arrived at Payless. They told our car was not available because we were late, and they would not give us the rate that we had agreed to when I had made the reservations on line. The staff was insensitive and uncaring. They said we would have to pay the higher rates, because they only hold the cars for 3 hours. We were exhausted and really in a jam because they knew that we needed a car. When we booked our reservations, no one told us about this. I just feel that we were treated very poorly. The staff was too busy worrying about when they were getting off work.

My husband and I are good honest people and when we say we are going to be somewhere, we are going to be there. It was not our fault that we had they flights from Hell with all the delays and re-routing us across the country. I certainly hope that management reads this and has the kindness to reimburse my husband and I for the outrageous rates that we had to pay for our rental.

I was wronged and will not stop until I get my money back. This company will get its comeuppance. No reputable online booking site should include Payless in their listings.

When Payless refused to authorize any repair of the flat tire, they said that we had to pay for it, and they would have their mechanic look at it on Monday (we called on Friday, and returned the car on Sat) to see if they would compensate us for it. This triggered a reflex to do careful documentation of the car tire condition. We took video and photos of the front and back tires to illustrate the bad conditions of the back tire (and the new condition of the front tires), as well as the mechanic measuring the tread on the rear tire. He also identified the source of the air leak--a small tear only detectable by spraying soap water.

Several red flags were raised. One, Payless' refusal to guarantee paying for the clearly needed replacement (and we learned from the local mechanic that other major companies usually authorize such repairs and work out the payment issue with the customer/insurance later) is a risky systemic design for car rental policy as it leaves management of car safety/repair to the customer who will not always make the best decision for all future users of that car. Who knows if the car leak was addressed with only an air filling before we received it?

Two, when we replaced the car tire and returned the vehicle safely on a Saturday, we got a call back from Mark ** on Tuesday. It clearly demonstrated to us that both his mechanic and himself are unqualified to make accurate assessments of their car conditions. He left me a voice mail saying that all of the tires were "brand new" (his exact words) and that his company did not need to pay for the tire replacement (and I presume they have no plans to replace the left rear tire).

Again, what disturbs me is not our situation or that Payless did not pay for the tire replacement--but the very fact that Payless' fleet manager left a voice mail saying that the rear tires were 'brand new,' yet I have clear video and photos showing that both he and his mechanic are out of touch with the true condition of their fleet--potentially endangering customer lives with their bias to saving money and passing on risk to customers. I hope that no one suffers any consequences due to this negligence.

Other lesson to be learned is to be responsible for your own safety as well. I focused on looking for dings and surface damage, but forgot to focus on checking the condition of the tire treads before driving the rental. This might be more critical when dealing with companies that seem to offer lower prices than others.

This is a rotten, deceitful company. I will never use them again and highly recommend anyone reading this to be aware of this company. I will post this at work so the other 1700 employees where I work can know what a terrible company this is.

Payless car rental simply charged me for receiving toll bill with an extra $66.26 per occurrence. Imagine if you don't have a GPS that re-routes you to avoid toll roads and went through toll scanners 10-20 times. Besides, they don't inform customers about this charge. This is the perfect way to do business without providing any service!

He then left for approximately 10 minutes --just walked away. Keep in mind, I had a plane to catch. When he came back he tossed a card at me with the name of the operations manager and said nothing. When another clerk spoke to me, he said to the clerk, "She has her receipt."

When I posted on their Facebook page, they posted back and asked me to contact them. I sent them an e-mail and never heard back.

Okay, that happens, but when they did finally get me a car, it smelled so bad that I had to buy an air freshener before taking it on the road. The windshield wiper blades were so worn out and made it dangerous to drive when I really needed them. No fluid in the windshield washer either. The car was dented up pretty good, which might be expected with an inexpensive rental, but still.

There were unhappy customers in the office when I returned the car, but the Payless representatives seem used to it and in a phoney condescending way act like they are trying to help.

I'll never rent a car from them ever again, not that they care. It's worth the extra few dollars a day to pay for a safe car and better service. I rented a car a couple months ago from another company (Enterprise, although there may be many) and had a much better experience, and much better car. Albeit a bit more money. I'll never rent from Payless Car Rental again.

We did the paperwork and he asked five times about buying additional insurance and was fairly insistent about why I ought to be buying their additional coverage. It felt like his commissions were getting in the way of me getting on the road. Then he couldn't print out the paperwork. After five minutes of struggling with the printer, he had the other agent send it to the printer.

We went out to the van that had been brought forward for us. A 2009 vehicle, the dings and nicks were numerous and touch-up paint was literally peeling off in areas where it had been repaired.

Upon seeing us walking around the van and making notes, a manager came up to us and offered to swap it out for a 2001. This one had scuff marks on all four corners of the bumper and a ding in the driver's door, but was certainly better than the 2009. I thanked him and after an hour and ten minutes, we left.We drove the van for five days without any further issue.

I strongly recommend against using Payless Car Rental. They'll bait you with a good price, attempt to switch you to a different car and be insistent that you buy insurance that you don't need. The car will be in lousy condition and it will take you forever to get on the road.

We then told her when we would bring the car back and she stated that it wouldn't be a problem and noted it. We were charged for an extra day. She then said there would be a 200 deposit on my debit card for the rental. I said that was fine.

I came to find out that they held $200 deposit, $216.20 (supposed to be the amount to rent the car for five days), and 175.24, which Stan, the phone agent, couldn't tell me what it was for. Held with $591.44, which Stan said nothing they could do about it, I have already left the rental place. So my wedding weekend was spoiled by them holding my funds on my account.

I returned the car on Tuesday at 10:18. Worst experience with a rental car company ever. Their name should be Paymore, not Payless! Never will I rent from them again!

I realized that I originally rented the vehicle at the San Diego Airport facility, and I was currently in the Palm Springs area. I was not aware that Payless did not have a local facility to Palm Springs. It was about 3:30 and the "supervisor" called me back. Although I had great difficulty understanding what he was trying to tell me, he was trying to explain the functions of the air conditioning system. He said that if I was going uphill, it would not function properly. I informed him that I am an A.S.E. Master Certified technician. And in any given driving scenario or vent/temp selection, the vent temperature should not exceed the ambient temperature in the A/C recirculation mode. I did however switch the A/C to his requested position via telephone conversation, to no avail.

He asked for a location where we could swap cars. And then, he informed me that he'd be leaving from the San Diego Airport location. Okay, he's going to honor the insurance and replace the vehicle, but it’s going on 4 PM. It was almost 6:30 and he called to let me know he’s getting close (Okay, thanks for the "heads up" I was thinking.) The driver introduced himself as Louie. He began to tell me how long he’s been at work, how long the drive was, etc., and that he's there to replace the vehicle with an "upgraded" vehicle. And oh, by the way, will I fill the vehicle's tank? I was disgusted at that time. I should not have agreed to bear the burden of transportation costs for the replacement vehicle. It was my assumption that I'd be able to reclaim the gas at the front counter when I returned the vehicle to the San Diego location. I missed my return time by about 2 hrs and was billed for another day with insurance. I turned in the vehicle with full tank as per our agreement.

We rented a car from Payless in Burlingame, California; from June 14th to June 21st of this year, 2011. Our confirmation number was 8960837.

During the trip, we had a flat tire. The first thing we did while on the side of the road was call Payless road service. We didn't reach a person, so we left a voicemail message, and we left an additional voice message on the main line.

We never heard back from either of these calls. We were forced to put on the spare tire ourselves, and drive to a repair shop. We went to OK Tire Store, Inc., in St. Helena, CA on June 17, 2011.

We were told the tire was not fixable; the flat tire was the result of sidewall damage. This kind of damage is usually covered by a road hazard guarantee from the tire vendor. We spent $136.48 (our own money) for a tire replacement.

When we returned the car, we filled out a written report on the incident, requested a refund, and made copies of our bill, which were put on file. In addition, the office personnel said she would research the call logs and look up our voicemails. We have not heard back from the office.

It was potentially dangerous for us to have a flat tire, which we did not cause. We are shocked that Payless showed no interest in our safety, and in fact ignored our calls. It would appear that the roadside assistance service is a sham.

We returned the car in perfect condition; in fact, better than when we rented it-- with a brand-new tire.

We have called the Burlingame office probably half a dozen times, and have left messages asking for a return call. Every time we call, we are told the managers are in a meeting. To this day, we have not received a single call back from Payless, from the roadside assistance and from their office.

After that into the office came his colleague and gave him a bunch of empty papers. They discussed and joked for some time like we weren't there. My husband asked him something about insurance. He didn't answer. He didn't pay attention to us like we were air. He gave us papers without explanation. We asked him for every part that need to be signed and he told us, "That is all usual, don't ask too much! "Then we have to go take a car. We told him about many scratches on the car color, bad tires, bad smell in back-package and some plastic thing hanging behind a front tire. The employee told us, "What you want that is rental car not Porsche. " Then we were glad that we took insurance. Some days were raining and we prayed to God that we could get to the next place because of bad tires and bad wipers on front glass. It was a nightmare driving. And at the end of that, with the payment.. Never. Don't take Payless Rent a Car!

When I arrived, she looked at the hole and she told me that she cannot alter the contract. I should have noticed that hole before I left. She also said If the previous renter did not claim that hole, its mine. I immediately terminated that contract on the spot and returned the car. She filled out a damage claim report and the attendant wrote "burn" on the window. I and my daughter do not smoke and it is evident that its been there for a while. I will never use this company again.

When I went downstairs to the garage, it was very poorly lit even for day time. I went up to the desk where the guy handed me a key and a sheet to mark any problems with the car. He didn't go with me. I had to do this by myself with very little light. There is nowhere I can mark for the undercarriage and being as it is a car I don't know how I would have gotten under there. I marked everything I could see which was pretty extensive. The car had almost 51,000 miles on it so who knows what problems could have been under there.

I drove up the 15 north bound to Mesquite, NV where I arrived about 2:30pm. I pulled in front of my house where there is nothing that could damage the undercarriage of the car. Everywhere I went didn't have any of those concrete barriers for parking spaces. I was very careful with the car. I went to Walmart, Sushi Masa, and Beals in Mesquite, NV. I didn't drive anywhere else until I drove back down the 15 to drop off the car.

I brought the car back on January 22, 2011 at 1:41pm. When I got to the drop off area, the car was not smoking nor did it feel like there was anything wrong with it. The guy I dropped it off too helped me get my luggage out of the car and then did a walk around where he didn't mention any problems. He recorded the mileage and gave me my receipt. I said, "Everything is okay?" He said yes. I asked if there are any issues and he said no. At no point did he say he found any damage. If damage occurred then they should have filed a report with me there so that I could sign off on it and also so I could see what they were going after me for. I went inside where I caught the shuttle and went to the airport. I had to wait 3 hours for my flight because I got to Las Vegas so early.

On January 27, 2011 at 2:06pm, Mark from Payless Car Rental called me. He asked for Leroy and I then asked him, "Who is this?" He said this is Mark from Payless Car Rental. I said, "This is Elfriede. How can I help you?" At first, I was hoping he was calling to tell me they found my MP3 player which I believe I left in the car but no, that was not why he was calling. He then said, "What did you hit with the car?" I said, "Excuse me." And then he said, "You rented a Camry from us, correct?" I said, "Yes, but I didn't hit anything with the car." He then told me that there was damage done to the undercarriage of the car. I told him that is impossible because I again didn't hit anything with the car and that he better not go after me for something I didn't do. He said, "Well, I was just trying to figure out what happened to our car," and I said, "Well, I didn't do anything to it" and we hung up.

When I got off the phone I called my husband very upset explaining everything to him. He told me to relax and hold tight. He then called me back about 2 hours later telling me to call them asking for the contract I signed and a new contract to be faxed to me as I would be meeting with my attorney later that night. I didn't get a chance to do this until I got home from work. I made another phone call to Mark at 5:36pm. The girl who answered the phone said she would get a supervisor when I asked for one. I sat on hold for about 4 minutes when she got back on the phone. She said, "Mrs. Leroy, I need you to call back around 4:30 so you can speak to another supervisor." I asked is there no supervisor around for me to talk to and she said there was but it was Mark who I spoke to earlier. This struck me as odd as to why she would want me to speak to someone else. I said, "No, I will speak to him." He got on the phone and I began by asking him when did they notice the damage? He told me that when they picked up the car from the staging area where I dropped it off and brought it back to be washed, the attendant let him know the car was smoking.

According to him, that is when they put it on a lift and discovered there was damage on the undercarriage. I then said that if they took possession of the vehicle then how can I be blamed for the damage when I wasn't the one driving it at this point. He then said, "Well, we had just got it from you." I said, "Well, the damage was not done by me". I then asked if they found the damage just minutes after I left then why did they wait to call me until today (1/27/11). He never answered me about this and just danced around the question. I asked again but he still didn't answer me. He then told me that accidents happen and that is what insurance is for. I said no insurance is for something I caused and I didn't cause this. I then told him I wanted him to fax me a copy of my signed rental agreement and he told me that if I had the copy they provided then I had all I needed. I told him I was going to meet with my attorney and I need this to be faxed so I can give it to them and he again told me that if I had the copy they gave me at the time of rental that is all I need.

He then made a comment that I was being pretty defensive and I made the comment because you are being accusatory. I then said they way I was asked by you "what did you hit with the car?" was said very harshly. I asked him if they were going to come after me for this and he said he didn't know that he would need to talk to his supervisor to see what they were going to pursue. I then again said I am not responsible for this and I will not be paying for it. I also told him of the numerous complaints lodged against the company for this same kind of issue and he said that those people were involved in accidents and didn't want to pay for it. I told him no, it was the exact same complaints as mine where the car was dropped off and several days later they received a call where they where being told that there was damage to the car. At that point it seemed useless to speak to him anymore.

I then checked my credit card and found that there was an outstanding charge for $200 so I called the credit card company to find out what it was. They told me there was a pending charge for $200 from Payless Car Rental. I told her I am not paying for that and that I wanted in dispute because my card already showed a charge for the full rental price. She asked if I wanted to dispute that charge and I said no I did rent the car I just didn't want them to get anymore of my money. She said I had to wait until the charge shows up for her to put it in dispute so I said I would keep checking and when it comes up I will put it in dispute at that point. I also asked her to block any further charges from them. She said that she would do that but it would take about 30 days. I told her that was fine and to place the block. I then called my husband again where I was in tears because I couldn't understand how they could do this. He then told me to call our insurance company and tell them what was going on so they could handle it.

I called Progressive who is our car insurance carrier and spoke to Jessie on January 27, 2011 at 7:00pm. I told her the whole story and she could not believe what I was telling her. She said the best thing to do is to start a claim so that an adjustor would call me to help me get this resolved. She feels that the claim would be denied due to it not being my fault. She asked if a police report was filed and I said no I just found out about the damage when Mark from Payless called today (1/27/11) at 2:06pm. I told her I didn't want them to get a dime from my insurance company because I didn't hit anything with their car. She stated that she couldn't find any claim filed by them and they need to do so when the damage was noticed. According to her she said she felt this could be a case of insurance fraud but the adjustor would know more. She also felt this rental car company needs to be reported and I couldn't agree more. My reference # for the claim is *** and that the adjustor would call me tomorrow (1/28/11) before noon.

The adjustor (Josh) from my insurance (Progressive) called numerous times to find out their story and they never called him back. He actually closed out the claim due to their lack of response. I received a letter 3/14/11 from the Subrogation Management Team letting me know the amount of the damages which I turned over to my insurance. Josh stated he was already working on it but stated they were sending out a denial letter due to the damage not being my fault. This was not reported to me until 1/27/11 which is 5 days after they state they noticed the damage. There is 5 days where the car could have been damaged before I was notified. The letter from the Subrogation Management team is the only written document I have received from Payless and that was sent on 3/11/11.

I called Payless Car Rental a total of three times and was told three different possible reasons with last being my card swiped twice. The first call did not even want to address of my card being swiped twice. I then asked the representative what was the proper procedures for me to simply return the vehicle that same evening and have the funds returned to my account. She told me that it could take up to three to four weeks before my account would be refunded the amount. Wow! I am in LA for seven days and I am now without the funds that was to allow me to enjoy my mother and see my dying grandfather. And that is the best that this company has to offer me.

The poor couple next to us, who did not have good English, were sucked into the extra $16 a day for insurance. I had been through this with another company so I knew that we were covered. The "lack of customer service" representative got even more abrupt. Then, it got worse! We rented a car at exactly the same time as another family on Expedia (we were talking on the phone, discussing it as we pressed "pay") and were quoted to receive a Ford Focus of similar. Our friends got the Focus. We got a useless, two door gas guzzling Mustang. It did not even have enough seat belts for our family of five!

We went back inside to switch to one of the dozen Focus' on the lot but got no deal unless we upgraded for an additional $16 a day! They also tried to scare us into the additional insurance, claiming our home insurance and/or extended credit card insurance did not cover collision - another $16 a day! We are not people who complain but during our entire trip, one of our children had to go in our gracious friend's car as they did not fit in the Mustang. My 7 year old daughter could not look out through the tiny windows.

We cannot believe that we were treated this way! Any other company would have bent over backwards to make sure that not only our children were safe with seatbelts but that we walked away happy with our rental vehicle.

Foolishly, I did not check the contract carefully. I later discovered on my return home that they charged $18.00 per day for the upgrade and added on numerous other charges, bringing the total up to $155.00 - making this the most expensive car I have ever rented.

I have never had this experience with any other car company and will never use Payless again.

I drove the car a total of 52 miles in approximately 3 days. Obviously, the car was parked most of the time. I brought the car back, check out and went home. I got a bill in the mail for $230.00 for windshield replacement. Now, I know there were many more issues with the vehicle already and it had prior chips in the window. I did not take out the comprehensive insurance offered as I have my own.

I will be sticking with the major car rental companies from now on and I do not recommend this company to anyone renting a car. They may come off as being cheaper but they have a nickle and dime mindset and will get the money from you, in the end costing you much more than a reputable car rental company. Don't rent from the guys.

When I dropped of the car on September 4, 2010, I realized the insurance was charged to my card and tried then to get the charge removed. They were very rude and told me there was no manager on-site and I would have to call another time. I angrily told them that I knew it would be best to discuss this matter in person but there were of no help whatsoever and extremely unprofessional. Response of merchant: I did try to contact the merchant on a number of occasions though no one has ever returned my calls. When I dropped off the car they gave me the card of the manager named Pam **. I tried to call her that day as well as Sept 5 and Sept 7.

I left detailed messaged though never received a call back. They told me that if I contacted her, she would be able to review tapes of the day I picked up the car, which would prove my account of the events that took place on August 28, 2010. Name of person contacted: Pam **, Orlando Manager. I also contacted Payless Customer Service as well as Travelocity (they referred me to this business). I returned the car on September 4, 2010. Letter Dated: November 18, 2010 To: Pam ** (fax **). Per our phone conversation today, please see attached my personal auto insurance coverage. Although it does not seem to match your insurance this is the coverage that my family uses daily and feels most comfortable with (and I know that anytime you have personal auto insurance it automatically covers car rental insurance).

My Chase credit card that I used to charge my car rental to also covers car rental, so for no reason would I need or want your car insurance. Also, had you returned my call within five days of my first calls to you in September, you would have been able to look back at the recording of my interaction with your front desk with my clearly saying that I did not want insurance coverage. After a long day of travel and a horrible cold, I unknowingly signed an incorrect bill. There was no reason I would have ever suspected that he would add this on this we had discussed this only seconds earlier. Also, you spoke to my Chase dispute department in mid-October and they have on record that you told them that you would issue a credit back to my card. Also, see attached 26 reviews of your Payless Car Rental in Orlando19 of them rate you as a scam, liars, cheats, terrible, bait and switch, etc which is exactly what I experienced.

As I was taking a shuttle at 9 pm over to the car rental, having an anxiety attack because of the price and who knew if I could get a rental at the last minute at another car rental, I was trapped into renting from these thieves. Upon dropping the car off, I was handed a receipt for the amount of $732.02. I was told it was $80 because I brought the car back empty. I told them that if I didn't have the prepaid gas, why on earth would I bring a car back empty when I was 2 hours early for my flight and could have stopped to get gas. They took off that charge and the final cost was $702 which was a $270 more than originally quoted. This is false advertising!

This is the worst experience I've ever had renting a car. Something needs to be done about how they trick customers into getting their business. It's definitely wrong when your trying to travel on a budget. I'm a single mom of two and worked really hard for that money to try to give my kids a great vacation and most of that money was spent on a car which in the end was not in the budget.

The rent a car cost was supposed to cost $153.72, yet when I arrived here I was notified that insurance was mandatory! The price of the rental went from $153.72 to just over $400. The mandatory insurance was never brought to my attention either by Expedia or Payless. Not only have I been charged more than double the expected cost, I have also been charged $700 refundable deposit which I assume is the deductible on the insurance. If I were to get into an accident I would be charged the deductible. Had I known insurance was mandatory, I would not have used a rent a car, I would have taken a bus. I intend to notify all travel sites like trip advisor of the bad service Expedia and Payless Rent a Car have provided to me.

Payless said my car insurance doesn't cover "non-availability" in case the car was damaged; and insurance for that is $24 a day, more than renting the car! This is ridiculous since car rental companies routinely have extra cars unused. This is obviously a scam intended to rip off consumers. I paid $150 more than was quoted.

When we were picking up the car, the attendant asked when the car would be returned. I said about noon, knowing it would be into the fourth day. He also asked if we wanted to upgrade to a convertible. I said it would be too expensive.

He showed that it would be $195 for the Mustang convertible. Comparing this to the $167 it seemed reasonable. What he did not tell me was that the price was based on 3 days and that there is a 1 hour grace period. So, returning it 1 minute before noon is a 3 day rental. 1 minute after noon will result in additional fees.

We returned the car at 1:30 pm and were charged $224. I complained and eventually realized that he did not propose the convertible rental to the same pick up and drop off times that were on the itinerary for the compact, nor did he tell me it was different. They have a confirmation number with the itinerary information. He chose to change it to 3 days and compared it to the 4-day rental of a compact to make it look more attractive.

As I complained and argued my case, they would not let me speak to a manager. The would say, "She just stepped out." I was given a business card with her name and number and told to call her the next day. She was pleasant but not willing to admit the attendant did anything wrong and reduced the price to the $195 I had agreed to.

She said she wished she could do it for everybody, which made me think that this happens a lot. They either make a lot of mistakes and do not learn from them. Or they intentionally confuse and mislead customers for the extra $.

The attendant should have told me that the times he was using were changed from what was on their confirmation/itinerary. that he was putting 12:00 as a return time, and that there would be an additional cost by returning it past noon. I would have readily admitted that I would not make it before 12:00.

This was only about $30 more than what I was told the upgrade would be and $57 more than what the compact would have been (barring any additional rental fees, penalties, or charges they might have tacked on upon my return). However, I felt taken advantage of and even worse, I felt scammed (bait and switch).

I rent cars regularly but never again at Payless. I will urge Expedia to not promote them. They should be investigated on. From the other complaints I have read on this page, it sounds like this is their method of operation. I too paid more at Payless!

The bus picked me up at the Tampa Airport and took me to the Payless Car Rental. I was upgraded, at my request, from an economy, to a small car, Ford Focus, which was $48 more. The rep said my bill would be some $603, which shocked me. I asked how I could lower that price since it was so much more than I was told it would be.

I asked him about the insurance, "Do I need insurance since I already have insurance on my personal?" He said that I didn't, so I said that I did not want the insurance. He then gave me the price of $479.40. It's quite a difference from the estimated price of $209.03. Since I was alone in a large city, I felt I had no choice.

However, when I returned the car, I lodged a complaint. I was given the business card for Phil **, manager, with Pedro **'s name handwritten on the card. The girl said that I could call and complain to them, which I did when I returned to Little Rock. Pedro ** said he would have to listen to the audio of our conversation to see what I said. He later told me that I said I wanted full coverage, which was a lie. I asked if I could listen to the audio of the conversation and he said that was not allowed.

I contacted Chase Visa card and lodged a complaint with them not to pay insurance charges of $176.88. They got the same answer as I.

I was in the company of my wife, who does possess a PA driver's license (we recently married, so I have not had time to get my PA license yet). As I am on her car insurance policy, also with coverage for rental cars, there should be no need whatsoever for additional insurance.

As we were pressed for time we also felt pressed to rent from Payless. There was no time go to a serious company. My wife finally managed to get the contract transferred to her name, after showing her bar membership card and pointing out that the company rules regarding transfers of contracts are unconstitutional, as they don't honor the legal rights of a married couple if the couple has chosen to use different family names.

We ended up with the same scam deposit as described otherwise on this page. I believe the possibilities of a lawsuit against Payless should be considered. I also think consumers should tell airport managers and tourist agencies that they should set standards for companies having concessions at the airport that push out companies like Payless from the airports. Tourist agencies should be warned that having a Payless office in their area makes them liable to have the Payless business practices lessen the attraction of their area. Business leaders should instruct their employees to never use Payless, as renting cars from Payless is an unnecessary business risk to take.

At the end of the week, when I returned the vehicle, they tried to tell me that I accepted their full coverage insurance and tried to charge me $25 per day for 7 days that I had the car. Worst was that when I showed him the copy of the contract that specifically showed that I declined the coverage, agent said "Well, you still had the benefit of the coverage so there is no need to complain." I was shocked and fought with him to have the charges taken off. This company is a scam. Will never ever use them again and I will tell everyone in my company never to use them either.

I explained that I had no idea they were about to withdraw $550 from my account and to please cancel the transaction. I was informed they couldn’t cancel the transaction and it would take at least five business days to get the money back. I want to clarify I was never told the total or even that I was to be charged any money at all; they just ran and then refused to return the money for at least five days! And that was after I threw a fit and asked to see the manager!

Payless may seem cheap but they are a sneaky underhanded company with all sorts of hidden fees that they do not inform you of nor do they ever seem to put anything in writing. They will take money from your account without authorization. Do not use. Hertz at the end of the day is straight forward and will come out cheaper.

4. The renter is 100% responsible for the depreciation in value of the car. For example: If the car was valued at $4000 before the accident, now post accident the value is -$1000.00, the renter is responsible for that $1000. The rental agents will not come out to inspect the cars once the renter has identified existing damage.

Payless was going to charge an additional $4.95 per day for my husband to be added as a second driver. The remote control did not work to open the trunk of the car. We told that to the rental agent, he told us to use the key. We told him the trunk did not have a keyhole, the agent just walked away. My husband and I canceled our reservation on the spot. We left Payless and went to Enterprise Rental and actually paid $40.00 dollars less. Do not rent from Payless, they are dangerous and unethical. If you do rent, make sure they are not adding any extra charges. Remember, if the car already has damages, you may end up paying for pre-existing damages.

You don't want to go back to the terminal and start over with a new car rental company because you just wasted an hour finding the bus, heading over to the lot, and filling out the paperwork. There's no telling when you would get out of there.

I will never rent from this company again and advise anyone looking for a cheaper rate, go elsewhere. You will pay more at Payless. Don't do it.

So when I got my car, I checked it very carefully. Indeed there was a front bumper that was broken. I had it marked on the pick-up form, but I was surprised to receive a car in that condition. In retrospect, I suspect that had I not indicated it was there, I would have paid for it.

When I returned my car, the person at the counter said that the key was bent and that he would be unable to rent it. Indeed the key was bent and you could tell that it had gone in and out of the ignition many times from the marks on the side of the steering column. It was also dirty from oil. But most important, I noticed the problem the first time I put the key into the ignition and mentioned it to my wife. At first the attendant was going to make me pay for the key. My wife joined the conversation and he changed his mind.

This episode did not cost me any money, but you can be sure I will never rent from Payless again and I rent cars at least 20-30 times per year. For the person that was there previously, the attendant told him that he could file a claim with his credit card company.

I believe this agency is engaged in insurance fraud. A quick check of its records would indicate if they are charging customers more than other agencies for damages. Thank you for your attention.

When I called to discuss the discrepancy, the new agent was condescending, rude, and smug. He said that we waived our on-line rate and now had to pay the walk-up rate because we made the change that was offered. He said, almost laughing, "Well, ma'am, you agreed to it. "

We ended up paying over $100 more because he charged us the walk-up rate.

By the time we finally got to the desk, all the clerk did was ask us our name before another customer who was already checked came and angrily interrupted us because the car wouldn't start. The clerk then took about 10 more minutes helping him without even an apology to us. Once we were being helped again, the car we reserved (a convertible because it was our honeymoon) we couldn't have because we were under 25. This upset me because when we reserved it, we had already put in our ages, so Payless knew our age and still lead us to believe we could have it. Then they would not accept my husband's Visa card to pay for the car. My husband never carries around another card so we had to use mine and then I had to be the prime driver. I was so mad because we then had to pay an extra $130 so my husband could drive. It took us forever! The car was nice however but the service was terrible and I would never use them ever again.

Well, the story gets better the day we come to return the rental car, as the paperwork and cost to rent it was being processed. The check-in clerk said there was a scuff on the right lower bumper and wanted to write up an accident report. Well, at this point, I was getting a bit upset, because I know we drove from the rental car location to the hotel at Niagara Falls, and it was all highway miles / not construction or anything that we would have got near to scuff the right lower bumper.

The spot is roughly 2" by 2" in area. I felt that it was there when we picked up the car. And in my opinion, the rental company should have a completed detailed inspection report for the customer to review, before you take the rental car into your care. They said it is my responsibility, and I said that all other good rental companies always clean and inspect their cars, before they are rented out again.

The car had trash in it, and the windows were dirty. This car wasn't even looked out or cleaned from the last customer when I got it . Lastly, the charges were not even close to what was quoted. I was to get it for $42.00 a day plus local taxes. I was hit on over $80.00 for who knows for.

I called the rental location to complain but there is no manager position. I just want to replace another car, they responded that I have to pay for the towing to bring it back to the location and they will credit back for the car and reimburse for the towing. Is it my responsibility to pay for the towing or drive it back even if it's not safe to drive? Otherwise, no one will able to help or could bring me another car to exchange.

When I returned the vehicle in the daylight, the employee found very small nick on the windshield, lower driver’s side next to the corner of the wiper blade. He tells me that, “You did not note this damage on the inspection report.” I asked him, "How was I supposed to see that in a covered garage with poor lighting at 10:30 pm?" The lighting in the garage is not adequate to spot minor damage on vehicles. He says, "You need to complain to the airport, they installed these energy saving lights."

I was asked to complete an accident report, even though I didn't have an accident. The manager then informed me that an investigation would be completed to see if I was at fault.

The counter people actually called Expedia and when Expedia said that for a full size car it was advertised as a Chrysler 300 or equivalent, they then said, "Well, you will need to take it up with Expedia." What was the point of wasting my time and aggravating me with calling Expedia then? They told me I could call another car rental company and handed me the phone and a list of phone number. I had two children and my husband waiting to get our Disney vacation started at 11:30pm on a Saturday, so I just took the car. I have never had such unprofessionalism in my life. But, it didn't stop. Then I was told that I had a $500 deposit taken from my credit card after it was taken and is still pending three days after I returned and paid for the car (so a total of $560 deposit, and $215 car rental fee is on my card).

In addition, the car was absolutely filthy. There was spilled liquid all over the console. The car hadn't been vacuumed, and the outside of the car was covered in ashes from cigarettes. When I returned the car and asked if the deposit would be given back to me, the guy just said, "We only charge you what is on the receipt ($215)." Again, I asked is my deposit lifted. The answer was again, "You are only being charged what was on the receipt." Question never answered. After I got home, I then proceeded to call the Orlando office where I rented the car and asked if they can call American Express to take the hold off ($560) and they said it was American Express' fault. No it's not. I called American Express. They gave me the solution and Payless car company employee put me on hold while I was trying to explain to them what needed to be done. It's like being hung up on. I just want my $560 credited back to my card. They nearly ruined the vacation.

The staff at the Payless Car rental asked for my driver license and my credit card and charged my credit card (American Express) for $368.43 (which was later voided). Then they asked me to specify which cities I will be going to. I told them I may go anywhere in the areas that is covered in your plan as "free" and colored green in your map. However, they kept insisting that I HAVE to tell them which cities I will be going to. I said I may also go to Philadelphia in addition to New England. I told them to please just mention in the rental car agreement that we may go anywhere in the "free" covered area. I found it strange and odd that they have to know and they have to specify in the rental agreement all the places I may visit in the next 10 days.

I am still mystified as to the reason for the way she (Ms. D.S.) behaved. She was full of attitude. She told me that she will not give me a car and cancelled my reservation. In my hand, I had a copy of the rental car agreement I had just signed and a customer copy of my credit card receipt. She came and PHYSICALLY snatched these documents from me and called the security. A few minutes later, one of her staff gave me the yellow copy of the rental car agreement/invoice and voided Amex receipt (photocopies of which are enclosed herewith). The entire episode happened in front of my wife and my son who were horrified and disgusted, and could not believe if this was really happening. Two security guards came and talked to me and my wife. He told us that this lady is "full of attitude and in the past she has had several incidents with other tourists including a female German tourist recently". We asked them why no one takes action against her. He said she "owns" this Payless car rental franchise.

I have rented cars on numerous agents over last several decades. Needless to say, I have never had any experience anything like this. I was totally shocked with what had happened today. I along with my wife and son then went back to Newark International airport (several miles distance) and rented a vehicle at National Car rental. The experience at National was pleasant, friendly and smooth. My 12 year son told me that why did not we come to this facility first. He is absolutely correct.

I would appreciate if a thorough investigation is done in to this matter and appropriate actions are taken. In my view, at the minimum Ms. D.S. and her company should be stripped of her Payless Car rental Franchise and people like these should be debarred from any participation in customer service. I would not be surprised at all if there are past complaints by other tourists against Ms. S and her Payless car rental franchise. This was the first day of our long planned 10 day vacation and this experience at Payless ruined our vacation experience, and caused immense emotional and mental harm.

I plan to leave no stone unturned including a possible legal action unless and until appropriate action(s) is taken against Ms. D.S. and her Payless Car rental Franchise.

I rented a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo from Payless Car Rental Las Vegas in March 2008 and returned the car undamaged. Several weeks later I received from Subrogation Management(claims company that Payless Car Rental uses) a claim for unspecified damages and no monetary value included. I called Subrogation Mnt and Payless to get a description of the damages but even though they claimed the car was already repaired no one could adequately describe the damages and no damage report had been created.

The only evidence provided were two photographs of poor quality showing possible scrapes to the left rear door. The area in the photos was such a small portion of the car that it was difficult to tell the make and model of car. A separate vehicle identifier with my rental car information was included with the photos and demonstrated as evidence that this was my rental car. However the paint color describe in the photos did not exactly match my rental car.

I escalated my dispute to Las Vegas Payless Manager Robert D who refused to investigate the issue despite the color discrepancy or lack of damage description.

Since I was told the car had already been repaired I requested that Robert D send me the repair invoice. A week later, instead of a repair invoice I received a repair estimate completed by Executive Auto Body which was not filled out until April 30th, several days after I requested it. There were $770.00 worth of damages listed and the repair estimate was faxed from the auto body repair shop to Payless Car Rental at 2:01 am.

By carefully comparing the description of the damages in the estimate and the damage photos with my vacation photos of the car I rented I was able to definitively prove that this car was not even the same make and model as my rental car.

The photograph of the damaged vehicle shows a scratched chrome strip on the rear door and the repair estimate states that there is a damaged chrome strip on the rear door. The car that I rented had no chrome strip anywhere. The damage that the estimate describes is obviously based on the car in the damage photos with chrome strip that is not a Jeep Grand Cherokee Laredo. Also, even though the damages in the photos match the location and the description of damages in the repair estimate, the estimate can not be based solely on the damage photos since the estimate describes damages to tail lights that aren't even shown in the damage photos or described anywhere else.

It's not possible that both Payless and Executive Auto Body could independently and accidentally place my rental car vehicle information on damage photographs and a repair estimate from the same car which is a different make and model car than my rental car. The only reasonable explanation is that someone within Payless Car Rental Las Vegas intentionally coordinated a fraudulent damage claim with Executive Auto Body of Las Vegas.

I contacted Vice President Kathy J of Payless Car Rental Corporate Office and sent her this information. Immediately after I sent her this information I received a notice that the claim against me was terminated due to insufficient evidence. I requested from Kathy J an explanation of how this happened but no one from Payless Car Rental will speak with me.

Payless Car Rental Las Vegas has far more complaints before the Better Business Bureau than its competitors. Most of the complaint involve damage claims.

I have notes of telephone conversations, and e-mail correspondence detailing the many weeks spent trying to get someone from Payless Car Rental to investigate this matter. I would love to hear from anyone with a similar experience from Payless Car Rental Las Vegas.

We had to go all the way back to the first counter which was a very long way. We were then given a second vehicle and I asked them if they had included the insurance. He said yes. Which we later found out he did not! We went to the pick up counter and they motioned us to this grey/silver vehicle. The windows were down, it smelled like smoke, the floors were filthy, dirty, the seats were dirty and sticky and in the second row of seats soda had been spilled all over. It was disgusting. I asked for the manager & the service person sarcastically said, He will not be able to see you for an Hour!!!

By this time, we had been standing for a very long time, my back and knees were hurting. My husband was out of breathe for having to go back & forth, up & down the escalator. I told them I wanted my money back immediately & refunded either to my bank account or in cash so we could go to another place to rent a car. Finally, they brought up another silver vehicle. It, too, was dirty and had not been serviced, but it was better than all of the rest of them. They said, We have been very busy and have not serviced any of the vehicles. I did not pay this type of money for a rental car to be stuck with a dirty car. So we took this vehicle anyway. But we wasted alot of valueable vacation time!

My husband has very low lung function & is on dialysis for kidney failure. He was so out of breath, I thought he was going to pass out. There was no where for us to sit down. I have severe back & neck pain and a brain tumor. My knees have been operated on many times as I was injured in the U.S. Airforce. I am in constant pain. I walk with a cane but wished I had brought my wheelchair with me due to the excessive walking back and forth from upstairs at the main counter to downstairs to pick up the vehicle so many times.

It upset both of us terribly. All we wanted was a clean vehicle without any damage. Was that asking too much? It interferred with our valueable vacation time & caused us much pain & suffering esp. to begin a trip. My huband & I had to rest for the entire day to get our energy back and pain under control. This was in deed unacceptable.

I double checked the tires later (in daylight) and the wear bar was showing.

Other than that, I was quoted $119 for a week rental. Afterwards, I noticed that I was going to end up being charged a total of $175 but the extra fees other than $5 airport and $7.88 were not shown on the statement.

Only consequence was having to go back the next day to return and spending a little more money because I had to pay for a one day rental and then another week rental from another company.

I objected and showed her the printout of my confirmation that stated the miles were unlimited. The sales clerk said Oh, you booked thru the internet...yah, well, when you act as your own travel agent you have to read all of the fine print and exclusions. I told her that I did read all of the fine print and there was nothing there noting a 100 mile a day limit or I wouldn't have chosen that company. She said, Well, it's there and there was basically nothing she could do any miles over 100 miles a day would be charged .35 cents a mile.

As we were leaving immediately for Orlando and the reservation stated that if I cancelled I would be penalized one day's rental, I felt we had no choice but to go ahead with the rental. We also chose to pay an additional $12.00 per day for a ford taurus because the economy car they were giving us (which looked nothing like the economy pictured and stated it sat 4) was a 2 door hatchback barely big enough for 2 people.

So,with added miles, upgrades, tax, fees and addition costs I ended up paying more for my car rental that had a 200 mile limit, than I would have paying for much nicer vehicle at a better know rental agency. I will never return to payless because they are bait and switch artists....Car Renters beware!!!!

We were at the airport not more than 15 minutes when I realized I did not have my camera. I immediately had my husband call Payless Rental. The man there who answered said oh that car has already gone out, nothing we can do till Fri 05/23/03. When my husband told me that I said that's impossible, they had to clean the car, vaccum it, check it out etc and there was NO one there waiting to rent a car, absolutely NO one. Once we arrived in Seattle Saturday night, again my husband called the Rental office and was told there was nothing they could do.

We had never been to Denver before and we were there to watch a baseball game with BYU (our son goes to school there) and the Air Force Academy. We have pictures on that camera that cannot be replaced. Our son won't be there next year so we won't be back in Denver. I was very upset about the whole thing because I know they were lying. There just wasn't enough time for them to clean that car and send it out in that time frame plus there was absolutely no one there. The shuttle driver even commented that it had been extremely slow that day! I called and spoke to Gene Cunningham on Monday 05/19/03 at 6:55 a.m. I again asked him for my camera.

I explained there was no way that car could have left their lot that quickly etc. He proceeded to yell at me, saying there was nothing they could do, they would call us Fri 095/23/03 when the car returns. First I could not even believe that a man in charge had the nerve to yell at a customer. I never once raised my voice. I merely explained that there is no way the car could have left that quickly. I asked him to have the employees return my camera. He kept yelling and said he'd question the employees on that shift and he'd call Fri 05/23/03. Well, it is now Monday 05/27/03 and guess what? NO phone call. I called the corporate office who proceeded to tell me there was nothing they could do. They don't get involved! Read your contract, we are not responsible for items left in the car. Unbelievable!!! She wasn't even nice when she said that! They may as well put it in their contract that will STEAL any items left in the car. I could possibly understand IF it had been hours or even days, but we called within 15 minutes!! What a rip off this company is. I will never recommend this company to anyone. For the manager, Gene Cunningham to yell at a customer is not acceptable at all nor is it acceptable to employ theives. And for the corporate office to wash their hands of a customer once there is a problem is also NOT acceptable.