Payless Car Rental

Pros: The car didn't break down
Cons: old worn dented scratched car horribly high unannounced surcharges rude staff scam-like methods

Reserved a car on-line, spent too much time at the airport looking for the rental site (hidden away in the corner of the lobby of a hotel somewhere off the beaten track), and got the car. The car was old, scratched and dented, and I had to sign for ...

Pros: Did not have to wait in long lines.
Cons: Smelly cars
Dirty cars
Extra hidden charges for using your Visa debit card

I rented this car at the San Bruno, CA location (near the San Francisco Airport). I was quoted one price when I booked and secured my rental online; however, this location charges an EXTRA  $5/day  if you pay with your Visa debit card. They ...

Pros: NON
Cons: All

This is the worst company I have ever tried to rent a car from. NEVER rent a car from them. They have a lousy service, the counter personnel are rude, we thought we had a deal when we made the reservation, we check a car that suppose to be for 5 people ...

Pros: NOT ONE I CAN THINK OF.............STAY AWAY
Cons: IF YOU GO THERE, THEY WILL SCREW YOU TOO!

Do NOT rent from these crooks........They are the worst car rental company I have ever dealt with and I have dealt with a lot. I wish I had checked the reviews on Payless Car Rental in Orlando.  Booked my flight on line and also ...

Pros: Cheap,  unnecessary markups. Quick service, but too quick   Fast talkers, double talkers.
Cons: asking you if you want a car without a CD player. It's 2009.

Do yourself the biggest favor you can on your vacation. DO NOT RENT FROM PAYLESS CAR RENTAL IN TAMPA!!!  These people are basically like a bad version of car salesmen (if you can imagine worse).  We needed a car for the weekend.  We ...

Pros: Made some limited attempt to address the situation
Cons: The basic premise that I was duped

Payless Car Rental Montreal – hidden geographic restrictions on ‘unlimited miles’A few months ago I booked a car on Travelocity to go from Montreal to a location 600 km away and back again.  Naturally like a fool I ...

Pros: None.
Cons: High pressure, poor communication, long wait, poor selection

Had a reservation in Orlando for Jan. 31 for a subcompact. Got there and was told they would not let me drive a subcompact on the interstate highway! They offered a minivan for the same price, but I didn't feel comfortable driving something that big. I'm not sure I clearly understood this next part, but I think what the clerk said was that since I had refused the insurance, they wouldn't give me a car that had less than 50,000 miles on it, and they didn't have such a car except the minivan. Fortunate to have some time, and having encountered various kinds of upselling schemes before, I said OK, then, I'll go back to the airport and rent from someone else. And that was it--they canceled the transaction. I rode their shuttle back to the airport, went to the Alamo desk, and that company quickly and courteously gave me a great small car for not all that much more money. I suggest you go straight there and save yourself a trip.

Pros: NONE
Cons: Expensive (PAY MORE), aggravations, become prey of fraudulous schemes

We had a very bad experience- On return of my car @ San Francisco , CA. PAY- LESS Inspectors created "a make believe damage" claim to bill Insurance/Credit Card Cos/ to me. But the guy did NOT realise yet, I already took pictures of the areas through a Cell Tel.
After reading through all the comments over here, I note that this is NOT an Unique incident this NOTORIOUS LOCATION & COMPANY.
They pray on hurried passengers to catch planes/appointments, Women, International/ also National tourists.

I am writing to the California Governor, Attorney General, Tourist Bureau. Please you do the same @ yours' experiences. In addition to writing in this forum.- A "First time & Last time" Customer of PAY LESS RENTAL.

Pros: Exactly as expected
Cons: None

We rented a Ford Taurus from Payless in Las Vegas. Prompt pick up from the airport (one of the few pickup areas with a rain shelter), no line, reservation in computer was identical to my printed copy, no pressure to buy CDW ( it was offered but not pushed). Car was fine, no problems. Return was smooth, with two attendants waiting. Return took less than 2 minutes with no requirement to go inside. I believe Payless is a franchise operation, so I would imagine your results will depend on your location.

Pros: They don't steal your luggage and they rent cars at the PHX airport.
Cons: They take advantage of your distress by renting little junk cars for $199.00 a day!

Phoenix Airport, our rental reservation at Hertz (remember the Seinfeld episode?) means nothing. They have reservations for probably 100 of us but they have no cars.  We go to other rental companies and Payless sticks us for $199.00 (plus taxes making it $272.00!) for the crappiest little car, called a Chevy Aveo. (No wonder GM is going out of business).  This company is simply a rip-off taking advantage of consumers!

Pros: The car was clean.
Cons: My rental car's cost was over 1000 dollars more than it should have been.

While in San Jose, Costa Rica, I rented a compact car from Elegante / Payless Car Rental. They seemed very nice and the car was fine. Unfortunately, they overcharged my credit card by one thousand dollars ($1000). They refused to refund the money and I have been working on getting the money back for over a year. I had such a nice trip to Costa Rica, I would still go back there. I would just never use PAYLESS CAR RENTAL again, since they ripped me off. Whats funny is that their corporate office seems to approve the rip off. No appologies. They are protected since I guess the Foriegn Offices are separate companies. That make the fraud legal. Or at leat it makes U.S. law unenforcable. I wanted to sue them in civil court, but I would have to fly back to Costa Rica and do it there.

Pros: nothing good to say about these clowns
Cons: Bait and switch, rude to the point of nasty.

I rented a car at the Tampa Airport location. What a nightmare. These people were probably the rudest I have ever dealt with. Bait and switch. Wouldn't honor the reservation we made through travelocity. I'm used to dealing with the pro's at National, Avis, Enterprise. I have never had an experience like this renting a car. Travelocity didn't answer their service line after 1/2 hour on hold. Midnight in Tampa and I was just trying to get my family to my mother in laws funeral. My wife finally just said pay them, I can't deal with this. My $290 car rental ended up costing over $400. Plus they put a big hold on my credit card because I wouldn't buy their insurance. Stay away from these people. Payless is just the biggest ripoff out there. God knows what they ended up charging my credit card. We just got home and I will have to talk to them. Stick to somebody you can trust.

Pros: Absolutely none
Cons: The Entire Experience with this company!

My family recently took a vacation to Florida (5/21/04-5/29/04) and booked everything through a very reputable travel agent. In attempt to save money, we decided to use Payless Car Rental while in Orlando & to visit family in Daytona. Needless to say, when we arrived at the rental place, our reservation was not there (I had a the reservation # in hand, but they claimed it was no good), and the $203 deal we were supposed to receive, VERY QUICKLY became $400 for the same exact car we had reserved! Sadly, we had already taken their shuttle from the airport to their car lot, so we were forced to take the car at $400 because that was all they could offer us. As everyone knows, Disney is not cheap, but you try to explain to a 7 yr old why she cannot get Mickey Mouse ears because $200 additional dollars were spent on a car, when the money was supposed to be our spending money for our 4 days in Disney. When we returned the car, the people behind the counter were just as unconcerned as they were when we picked up the car.

Pros: cheap, but you get what you pay for.
Cons: horrible service, the wait in lines, rude people.

I chose Payless since it was the cheapest, what a mistake. In the end it was more expensive.

This is the most horrible service I have ever had to deal with. The shuttle does not pick up under the sign that clearly says "Payless", they said it's my fault for not calling them to be told where to stand.

When I finally get there, I had to wait in line for over an hour. When I try to complain, they tell me it's my fault and you get what you pay for.

The car was fine and served it's purpose.

I had to return the car a little late. They charged me for a whole another day. Most other places give me a grace period for the return since they know about traffic and other problems, especially if the facility is off airport. This caused the price of the car to be more expensive then if I had rented from the more "expensive" places like Hertz or Enterprise.

Pros: Cheap
Cons: The small print made "cheap become expensive"!

While renting from Payless in Las Vegas, the valet at the hotel, where we were staying, had an accident in the rental and broke the side mirror holder. The hotel said they would take full responsibility for all damages. Well, the car was repaired and our insurance carrier assured us we were not liable for the charges. Then, the stuff hit the fan. Payless charged us for their possible loses ($48) while the car was in the shop and $50 for administrative charges for phone calls, reports, pick-up and delivery fees for repair, etc. (whether you or responsible or not for the accident). All of this was of course in very small print. My husband and I are livid because we were not even in the car when the accident occurred nor did we know of the accident when it happened. And, the hotel agreed to pay the charges! They are simply greedy pigs! They are ripping off their customers! Never again will we rent from them nor will we recommend them to our friends. As the old saying goes, cheap becomes expensive.