Payless Car Rental
Reviews and Complaints

1- received the car with a completely empty tank from SAW airport Istanbul
2- I dropped the car at Attaturk airport and the company charged me 150 Turkish Lira which they have communicated but what was unacceptable is charging me for the the parking at the drop off location of additional 20 TL. In addition, the driver basically mandated a tip and that is not professional at all. He deducted an additional 10 TL and when I skied why he stated it's my tip. I called the office and the man at the reception told me it is a normal parking charge and it is 30 TL. There was a lady that answered earlier and she was the one that told me to drop off the car at the parking lot.

In conclusion, its a matter of how to handle customers and how to be professional. The amounts are not the issue it is the attitude and the poor handling of customers. I was completely satisfied with the car but the above matters honostly just made the experience way below average especially that I am paying a premium to deal with an international company to avoid such experience.

On 8/7/18Tuesday thru 8/12/18-Sunday, I rented a truck through Payless Car Rental from Ontario Airport in Ontario, CA.

I unfortunately found out that Payless opens its front desk area at 7am on weekends.
My flight departed at 7:05 am on 8/12/18, which is the reason why I turned in my truck rental one day early-on 8/11/18 at approximately 7:15am. (To avoid any delay)
Had I known this fact, I would have rented until 8/11/18-Saturday.

My request is to be credited, one full day to my credit card on file.
Additionally, Payless needs to have Its customer service intake the information, stop giving out emails that do not take the info submitted, and stop telling customers that there's nothing we can do because rental Agreement can't be changed!
Last but not least, get the Ontario, CA office a functional number we can call instead of a disconnected one.

Respectfully submitted,
Mike [protected]@icloud.com

I had reserved a standard size SUV for the dates of 8/9-8/14. I have rented many cars in the past, from multiple different agencies. I believe this is my first rental with Payless. When the topic of the gas tank came up, I told her that I would like the option of returning the car empty and paying for Payless to fill it up. I remember this distinctly, as this is the way I always set up my rentals, and I also had a conversation about the current cost per gallon (she told me the cost would be something around $2.87 per gallon). She circled four sections of the contract to initial, and described briefly what each was.

When I came to return the car (on empty), I was really surprised to see the price (it was about $150 more than I was expecting) and as I looked at the receipt, I noticed that I had been charged $9.99 per gallon for gas. I spoke to the person checking me in and he said I would have to go inside to talk to someone.

When I got to the front of the line, the gentleman working was EXTREMELY rude to me; yelling at me that I "should have read the contract". This is true, that this "mistake" would not have happened had I read the fine print (I am not sure what to believe, as it does seem this may have been done intentionally), however, I had a fairly significant conversation with the saleswoman about returning the car empty and paying the pre-pay amount, and incorrectly assumed she did everything correctly.

It wasn't until I stopped him and said, "excuse me, you will not treat me like this" that he realized that he needed to stop yelling at me, the customer, and gave me the option of taking the car back and going on my own to fill the tank. This is what I ended up doing.

I feel it is important you know about both of these incidences. I am just one customer, but I am not sure I would use your services again, given the way I was treated on both ends of the rental. I am attaching a copy of my final receipt so that you can identify the transactions.

I have a ticket number . Called and had tix resubmitted. Still no reply would like to hear back. Have gone through all appropriate avenues still no response. Had a car rental for 262.00 Ford Explorer. Was given a mini van, told they did not have an explorer (we saw one on the lot) was given mini van. And charged for the upgrade also they added roadside assistance which we had to have refunded. Ended up paying 488.00 for rental. Complete fraud by bait and switch.

I reserved a full size vehicle through Southwest for their rewards program, get to the Phoenix Sky Harbor airport and was assisted by a crook named Haider. This joker gave me my paperwork, told me I was getting a Mitsubishi Galant and then says oh, are you a government employee, in the armed services, or are you a teacher? I said well I work at a college and he tells me oh I can give you a bigger discount and save you over 70%. I look at my agreement and it's the same price as what I reserved. Got to get my car and it's a Ford Edge. Whatever, I just figured he changed the vehicle from the Galant. I go to return the car and there is an additional $100 charge! This crook upgraded my vehicle without any request or permission from me! I will get my money back or I will be flying back to Phoenix and stand in their front area telling everyone that passes to not rent from these CROOKS!

Not only was it the worst service ever. They lied about how much I was charged, refused to fix their mistake and when you out a complaint in they do nothing about it and refuse to let you go up to cooperate. They give you the same 800 number which does nothing. This is the worst company. The company is a scam.. Then I was called a liar by the guy who called me back from the location.

7/1/18 8:30pm
a couple hrs ago, rent a car at Orlando airport with embarrassing experience. I was sicked of a long line of budget rental car, switched to Payless and encountered an Payless employee. I tried to get a car rental in a rush manner because I was tired of a long line of budget.
During his CDW sales efforts, I declined options that he tried to explain. A guy said I was rude and threatened me to cancel my reservation and send back to budget line twice. I had to listen to his explanation. I was tired and wanted to get a car asap and left the scene.
After that, I think this is BS experience. This employ disgraced your company and forced me not to return to you forever. unlike other rental car desk, it seems that it is training issue how to handle customer in a friendly manner. I never got threatened by an employee at a rental car desk. Why Payless keeps unhappy employee and have him show negative impact to customer. I rent a car Orlando about 20 times so far, this is an awful experience.. I strongly suggest to shut down business at Orlando

I was renting a car through Expedia. Get to the Phoenix airport and the agent states that there was a recent cancellation on a mid size car. He stated this car was only 15.00 per day to rent. I agreed and found out they charged 15.00 on top of the small car rate. At no time did I see a formal end quote and was told this was a tremendous dea. This was a bait and switch.

Booked vehicle through Booking.com. Was assigned Payless as it was the cheapest. When itinerary email arrived, I noticed they had me returning car exactly 4 days later. I needed 9 more hours. Tried to adjust online but rate doubled. When I called, their customer service was beyond rude! The guy that answered spoke incredibly fast, and every word was dripping with disdain. When I asked to add an extra 9 hours to my four day itinerary (which was $172.23), he gives me a quote for $750. Shocked I repeat that I only want to add an extra 9 hours, not nine days. He then starts to spit our insults. He tells me that I waited too long to adjust. When I explain that I had called immediately after booking the rental he tells me that they don't have a crystal ball. WTH? I cancelled the car and went to Costco Travel.

Payless is a nightmare of a company. This was my first time renting a car as well unfortunatly. I reserved online months in advance and upon picking up the car, the woman gave me a new receipt to sign with all of the insurance and optionals added. This amounted to 1209.00 for my 536.00 vehicle. I let her know my credit card would handle the insurance and declined all options and signed my new correct receipt for the amount of 536.00. The next day, my first real day of vacation, saw a charge for 1209.00. It took 3 calls to get someone semi nice to give me the answers I needed. They told me I had to go back to the rental place to do anything. The manager said there was nothing they could do because a refund would take 5-10 days. 5-10 days was half of my vacation with 700 of my vacation money on hold. Which held true. Didn't receive the money until the 6th day. IMMEDIATELY was charged the incorrect amount AGAIN. Money went on hold AGAIN. What the hell. I am now home from my vacation and dont have any of my security money until I work again because they charged me the correct amount of 536.00 finally BUT BEFORE they even put in the other refund in. So I now have two charges for them on my card and no available balance on my card for the couple days of "vacation" left. Called today and again got the usual, Im sorry, nothing we can do. Thanks Payless for a fantastic vacation! I will never rent from you again and noone else deserves it either.

Tried to go in the Payless system to get my money back complaint # 509853. They say they have no record of the transaction so I now disputed the transaction with my credit card company. Posted on April 26 th from Payless location ADB Hanover Md. They were able to charge $24.00 to my card from the same location which is still pending for Tolls from a trip in March yet they claim they can't find the transaction on April 26 th They are not a good company to deal with, The transaction was completed on the southwest airlines web site Payless claimed that southwest may have charged my so I went all the way to their home office South west did not charge me anything did verify that I cancelled a reservation in April with them which I used the money for another flight Payless is trying to steal my Money

First time traveling to Denver, we rented a car from Payless via Expedia and purchased the $40 insurance. We wanted the cheapest rental and had book the compact car for $109 for our 4 day trip. The lady at the Payless counter was friendly at first but then started to force more insurance on us. Telling me that Expedia insurance coverage is useless (even though I have never had any issues from other car rental businesses). Then she started telling me I need a better car and that I should upgrade to an SUV. This went on for almost 10 minutes. I pulled out my rental agreement I had printed from online and said: just give me what I reserved for $109. Somehow the forceful upgrading issue started again and I ended up taking a Kia Sorrento for $160. I immediately called the Payless customer support

I booked a flight to Phoenix and also reserved a car with Payless at the same time. I booked a cheap car sedan. The total cost was $128.00 included tax, for three day rental. I opted to purchase insurance with a third party (didn't know it was third party until later). I had to pay for that in advance. It was $34.00. At the time of booking I was given a number to reference the reservation. All of this in advance. All of this on my IPhone.
When I arrived at the Payless Rental there was an extremely long line. It took 11/2 hours just to get to the desk. This was the first time I had ever rented a car and didn't really know how it all worked. Someone named David helped me and didn't say more than 10 words the whole time. I showed him my reservation on my phone twice.
I assumed it all came up in his computer. He told me that the car I reserved wasn't there, they didn't have it. So he said he would put me in a different car, , He said it was a better car but I wouldn't be charged extra. He finally set the paper in front of me and said for me to initial, initial and sign. I know I should have looked it over but he did not offer to give me any pricing he didn't go over it with me at all. I assumed he was giving me the price I had on the reservation I had made. I did not look at any of the paperwork until the evening before I was to return the car. I was floored to see that he had charged me for insurance $166 and change plus extra per day (more than twice as much than the price I reserved for)for the car. The charge for three days went from $128 and change to $491 and change. I didn't ask for an upgrade and I certainly didn't ask for insurance.
I could not reach anyone that night and when I returned the car I had to wait for someone to open at the Payless desk. The guy looked it over and gave me a woman's name (Laura) and her extension. I called and left many messages and was never called back. I finally did reach someone from a call center who turned in a "ticket" to voice my complaint. After much back and forth through text I was offered some very vague small return on the charge. Because it was so vague I did not feel comfortable discussing it with them any longer so I then spoke with my credit card company and they are disputing it for me. I do not have any results from them as of yet. Something needs to be done to put a stop to what is an obvious scam on Payless Car Rental part. They need to stop getting away with taking money from unsuspecting people. I am a 66 year old woman and it was difficult enough to save the money for this long awaited trip without ending up getting scammed out of over $300.00 for a three day car rental and for a vehicle I would never ask for at any price. All I want is my money back for the extras I was charged. What a horrible experience.

My boyfriend was hospitalized the night before our departure. The airlines waived the $400 fee to put us on another flight (southwest! Kudos). Payless will not only charge us for the extra day but tack on a $10 change fee, even with proof of hospitalization...super tacky. POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE.
Bad enough being hospitalized on vacation, but treated like this on top. Plenty of companies to choose from

As many other customers have reported, I arrived at facility and was told they didn't have the car I reserved, only one that was a different model and size. No price difference was given at counter. Agent spoke approximately 10 words to me. Have been trying to dispute a fuel charge for a week. No response from company after I provided requested information. No actual contact phone number. Only able to reach call centers across the world.

I prepaid a car rental with Payless on their website for pick up at Phoenix Airport. I noticed after returning the car that I was charged an additional amount for 'roadside assistance' which I never requested. After numerous calls to Payless the situation has still not been rectified. I just googled Payless and found out that this has happened hundreds of times and that the Better Business Bureau has issued a warning about the company. I should have googled before my trip. So, based on my experience, don't rent from this company!

I hired a car in Bucharest and I was surprised to see at the office my rental agreement and confirmation was not in their system.Travelling from London to Bucharest with my wife and 2 children(4 and 5 yrs old).
I've got the confirmation number recived by e mail from Payless and confirmed by phone with 2 days in advance.The clerk from Bucharest office keep as 1 hour in cold to prepare the paperwork.Nobody greet as at the airport and very important we take Walk to their office wich are 20 min walking from terminal Otopeni airport.
Surprises are not finished with this because regarding the payment I've been charge for winter tyres 3€/day plus the the tax road 10€ plus 14€/day comphresive insurance plus 150€ holding on my CC plus 105€ the length time rental.I am very disappointed of this services and in regards I will like to sorte it out somehow.

Rented a car at Phoenix airport, my fault to pick payless. Did not realize this was the car rental place that treated me very rudely once before. So to my dismay when I got to counter it was the same unbelievably rude agent ( Louis) . He should be fired! I suggest a company rep should go to counter themselves and I guarantee he will be rude to them. I will pay extra not to rent from them ever again. Also got a car with doggie nose prints on the inside of all the windows.

On January 23, 2018, I made a reservation through Priceline and received a confirmation at Payless Car Rental for a Toyota corolla or similar for March 12, 2018. I provided my flight information which was arriving at 8:30pm, so I gave them a 9:30pm pickup time. When I arrived, one attendant was at Avis and another was in the back. The attendant at Avis returned and gave a car to someone that didn't have a reservation at Payless, and I'm aware of this because I heard the entire conversation while waiting. When I approached him, he told me there were no more cars available and I could wait for one to be returned in 45 minutes, but there was no guarantee, one would be returned in that time frame, or I could have a mini van but the rate may be different. It's now 10pm and I was tired from traveling. He then tells me, he'll be honest with me, I could shop around and maybe get the same or better deal. I could not believe a company would have such disregard for their customers. I don't think anyone should ever utilize Payless Car Rental in Miami because they're not honest brokers and don't care about a reservation or anything else as far as I could see. I will also go on trip advisor or anywhere else I can to make any and everyone aware of how dirty and deceitful this company is. I was fortunate to find a car at 10:30pm for $140 more than my confirmation with Payless. I am so very frustrated with this company and apparently I wasn't the first, as told to me by another rental company. They said it happens all the time with Payless. Additionally, there was a family behind me who also had a reservation and was turned away with the same statement that they don't have any more cars.

I reserved an Intermediate vehicle at the Tampa Airport Payless through AARP. On arrival, the only vehicle they could give me was a Nissan Versa - a very poor substitute for an "intermediate" vehicle. When I returned the car in the early morning (6AM), I was not given a "checkout" or receipt, but the person at the window did require me to turn in my contract. Without the contract number, I was unable to file a complaint on the Payless website. The contracted charge was $138.43 (AARP Itinerary [protected] and confirmation 06727446US5), but my credit card was charged $173.45. I have not been given an explanation for the overcharge. The vehicle was returned with a full tank and no damage.