Payless Car Rental Consumer Reviews - Page 3

ORLANDO, FLORIDA -- What a **! When I first arrive hey tell I need liability ins since I was paying with a debit card. OK, not too happy about that But I will pay. No biggie. When I drive this car... (Nissan) the car has warning lights on and the steering wheel and shaking. I call and make a complaint. Marlyn who stated she is the supervisor was so rude, she said to "You are wasting my time." She also said, "If I gave an older car with more mileage, you will ok with that"... I was taken back with her attitude and her ignorant comments. She did not want to accommodate, was upset, rude, and a total **. I would never rent a car from this place again.

TAMPA, FLORIDA -- I usually don't write reviews, actually this is my first. Our experience with Payless Car Rental in Tampa, was drama free. Of course we would have liked an airport location, instead of off site. But the bus was waiting when we arrived, the ride was short {maybe 10 minutes}, and the line moved quickly when we arrived to check in. The vehicle was clean and roomy, and we even upgraded to a SUV, for a few dollars more, and we were on our way.

Upon our return, we pulled right up to the return window, there was a bus about to leave for the airport, and they held it for us, even though we hadn't finished our paperwork, which surprisingly only took a few minutes. Then we were on our way, no problems. People only seem to write reviews when they are angry. I'm in customer service, try putting yourself in the other people's position sometime. What they do is not that easy.

DALLAS, TEXAS -- I rent cars all over the world and Payless has been my worst experience ever. Booked a car for 4 days for $115.00 just to find out a few days later that I got overcharged by almost $90. The car was returned on time with a full tank of gas. After contacting their so called “customer service” I was told that the car was returned with half a tank. I provided a receipt for the fuel but since I topped off the car the night before returning it, it was “not acceptable”. I filed a dispute with AMEX and will never use this company again.

PHOENIX, ARIZONA -- I was very disappointed with Payless Car Rental company at the Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport this past weekend. As part of my Southwest Airlines Vacation package to Phoenix I booked a compact car through Payless for a 3-day weekend for $175.

When I got to the Payless car rental agency the salesman encouraged me to upgrade from a compact coupe to a mid-sized vehicle for $75 and then he stated that if I would agree to the upgrade he'd substitute a small SUV for the mid-sized car, a Nissan Murano so I agreed and I signed a bill for $352 which included the SUV rental and the mid-option ($100) for the car insurance.

Everything was good until I returned the SUV on the third day and the receiving clerk printed out a $415 bill total owed -- Payless imposed a $63 surcharge for less than an eighth of a tank of gas. The gas needed to top off the tank was 2 gallons, or less, @ $2.50/gal in Arizona, a max of $5. Even a $10 gas surcharge I'd accept; however, Payless stiffed me over $55 which I perceive as a heartless price gouge. The interior was spotless when I returned the SUV, just like when I picked it up, and all they had to do was wash/rinse/dry the vehicle. I will never rent from Payless again and I will never recommend the company to anyone.

SEATAC, WASHINGTON -- My wife reserved a compact car online and I was ill when I stepped up to the counter to rent the vehicle. In a classic bait and switch I was upgraded to a "luxury" Ford Fusion Hybrid without being asked or advised. The sheet with all of the approvals said nothing about the cost and it wasn't until I had driven away that I realized that my quote of $142 had magically changed to $298.

I have rented from just about every company in existence and this is the first time I have ever felt cheated like this. I filed a complaint when I returned the car, but of course there was no manager available and my numerous attempts to phone have been fruitless. It is impossible to get a living person to answer. I will never use this company again. Too bad there is no ZERO STAR rating.

WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA -- It is no surprise that the Payless counter is the very last one on a long row in the bowels of the airport. There were three people in line in front of me, but we waited almost an hour for our car. The clerk was moving in slow motion and chit chatting with others behind the counter while ignoring those of us in line. There was a terrible attitude -absolutely no regard for customers.

Once I did get up to the counter, he took his sweet time finding us a car (we had a reservation), then he tried to sell us every add-on feature. When he tried to sell me some sort of box in the car to help us use the ROV lanes on the interstate, he was not clear. I asked him to explain and he replied, "Since you didn't get it, I'll start over." He was still not clear. This is a terrible company if these employees are any indication. You would think they would want people with a better understanding of customer needs when they are the face of the company. I will never make this mistake again. Payless is a very poor company.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA -- I booked a Payless car rental online through Rentalcar.com (confirmation #04270338US2) for the week of April 14-21 with pick up at McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas for our vacation. The quoted total was $138.32 including fees and taxes. We wanted to go with the lowest cost as we did not plan on driving very much. When we arrived to pick up the car we were told we had to pay an extra $16.50 per day for collision insurance coverage. I told the agent at the rental car counter that I had the collision coverage though my Mastercard agreement. This was previously confirmed with Mastercard. The Agent was adamant that out of country customers did not have collision coverage. Rather than being gouged for the extra $115.50 we walked away upset and disappointed and had to find our own transportation to our hotel. With all of the online complaints that Payless gets, you would think the Avis Budget group, the parent Company, would be concerned over the negative customer service complaints (Likely the reason they dropped the “We Try Harder” motto). Really wondering if our HO know about some of the “Preferred status they have?

TAMPA, FLORIDA -- I booked a car online with Hotwire.com. When I booked the car I purchased insurance through Hotwire for $45. When I picked up the car at PAYLESS CAR RENTAL I was asked if I wanted insurance, I said I already purchased insurance. I signed the contract and drove to my hotel. After reviewing my bill I noticed I was charged for insurance, that I did not want or need. When I returned the car I inquired about the charge; I was told I would have to call a supervisor. I called when I arrived back home. No resolution. They need to be stopped!!!! There are countless complaints about this very same practice.

ATLANTA, GEORGIA -- Wow if only they had zero rating! That's truly what I want to give. This is the first time I used them and it will be the last! When I went to pick up my reserved car in Atlanta it was not ready so they offered me a lower class style car for the same money. I said no. The man tells me to wait 20 minutes and he would have something then. I go back and shifts were changing. There was a female at the desk. She said they had no cars except this economy car. She said "besides when you reserve a car with us there are no guarantees that we will have any car for you."

She was so rude and nasty going on and on that it was not her problem and telling me I can wait another hour or go to another car rental place. So you know what I did I went to National. They were super kind, quick and honored me a similar price and car. In fact when I went to get the car they let me go to the lot and pick it out myself! Goodbye Payless car rental and Hello National!

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI -- In a rush and in an effort to save time, I told the agent that my personal auto insurance had excellent rental car coverage, and that I did not, under any circumstances, want any additional insurance coverage with my rental contract. She immediately put a piece of paper in front of me and told me to sign it to DECLINE any additional coverage. When I returned the car and saw the total of the bill, I told her there must be some mistake. It was a 3-day rental at the most basic rate. She then pulled out the piece of paper and showed me I had signed up for ADDITIONAL INSURANCE COVERAGE!

So, she took advantage of the fact that I was in a hurry when I picked up the car, lied to me about what I was signing, then refused to refund the extra charges. I had subsequent phone conversations with the manager at the location, who also refused to refund the extra charges. So clearly this is part of their revenue generation. They scam the customer by advertising a low base rate, then make their money by fraudulently upcharging the consumer. DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY!