Business Profile
Auto Rentals and Leasing
Payless Car RentalHeadquarters
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Reviews
This profile includes reviews for Payless Car Rental's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see
Customer Review Ratings
1/5 stars
Average of 97 Customer Reviews
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Review fromThomas R
Date: 06/01/2025
1 starThomas R
Date: 06/01/2025
I had a BAD experience with Payless Rental Car. I rented a ***** ****** from the ******************** location on 5/6/25 for one week, returning on 5/13. I had prepaid for the car. It took a long time at the reception desk and the 2 reps seemed distracted. I Verbally Declined any insurance coverage but I didn't notice that they checked the Accept "Loses Damage Waiver" ($24.95 per day) on the contract and I did sign the contract, which I acknowledge, was my mistake. The night before returning, we went to a restaurant and the car would not start, it was totally dead. We called for Roadside Assistance, they came and jumped the car. The next morning the car did start but at the first traffic light, it stalled but did restart, then it stalled at the next 3 lights but it did restart. Of course we were now Very Nervous, the Airport was 40 miles away and we didn't know if we would make it. We did arrive and brought it to the rental return where it Promptly Died and Would NOT restart. This was at 10:37 am...our flight was at 7:55 PM. So instead of spending the day sightseeing in *********, we sat in the Airport for 9 Hours... We weren't Happy. The Car Return Agent said she would compensate us for the inconvenience... But there was Nothing... Upon checking my credit card I saw a charge for $224.29. I did accept returning the car empty so a portion of that was the Fuel cost. I contacted Payless and their response was, I signed the contract.. Tough. I tried to dispute the charge through Am Ex but they accepted the Payless explanation. While I would accept partial blame because I did sign it, I think Payless should have accepted some blame as well... I did tell the agents I did NOT want their insurance.... I will NOT rent from Payless in the Future and I would urge anyone else to AVOID Payless Car Rental.Payless Car Rental
Date: 06/03/2025
BBB Review#: 37646
Case: 72572103
Dear ******* ******,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Payless values the relationship that we have with our travelers and always strives to do the right thing. We apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused.
Based upon the information you provided and the findings of our internal investigation, we have refunded the previously offered adjustment of $109.57. Please allow up to 10 business days for this refund to post back to the **************** card on file.
Thank you for allowing us to assist you.
Sincerely,
*****************
Client Relations TeamReview fromM. H.
Date: 05/29/2025
1 starM. H.
Date: 05/29/2025
I sure wish I'd read the reviews before renting here. Last April, we rented a car from this location because the price was roughly half that of other companies. When we went to pick up the car, the ***resentative pushed very hard to get us to upgrade. He said the car was small (which was fine with us) and that it had no power locks, power windows or USB ports. We were disappointed to hear that, but unwilling to pay more for an upgrade. When it came time to sign the contract there at the counter, it was roughly twice as much as our quote had been. The *** assured us that the extra was just a deposit that would be returned. Car rental places always ask for an additional deposit, so we didn't think anything about it & signed the contract. The car, it turned out, while small, did have power windows, locks & even USB ports, so the *** out & out lied about that in hopes that we'd spend money on an upgrade. We drove the car for the five days of the rental with no issues & returned it as agreed. When our credit card bill came a week later, it had the full price (i.e., quote plus deposit) charged to it. Instead of going directly to reviews & the BBB & the credit card company, I tried to work through the Payless customer service site. It's been four weeks since I first contacted them. Other than sending me another copy of the bill with the overcharge, there's been no communication. So now I'm starting the process with reviews/BBB/credit card. With luck, a future renter will see this review before they end up spending a lot more money than quoted at the ***************** location of Payless.Payless Car Rental
Date: 05/30/2025
BBB #: *****
Case: 73000573
Dear Consumer,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB Review#*****, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;
Renter's Name;
Rental Location;
Exact Date/Year of Rental;
Thank you for allowing us to assist you, please note you can also contact our **************** Team directly at ************ for assistance.
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response CoordinatorM. H.
Date: 06/08/2025
Reservation number: 20207166US0 Renter's name: ****************************************************************** location: ***************** Exact date: April 5, 2025 Payless **************** ticket number: ******************************* Case: ********Payless Car Rental
Date: 06/16/2025
BBB #: 37627
Case: 72313293
Dear ******* *************,
Thank you for your reply, we do apologize for any frustration that this has caused you.
Our records show the Payless at the ***************** location is independently owned and operates as a franchisee of *****************. We've forwarded your complaint to the owner of this franchise so they can respond.
Thank you for allowing us to assist you.
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response CoordinatorM. H.
Date: 06/18/2025
After looking into it, Payless let me know that I had failed to cancel an earlier reservation for the same date. It surprises me not at all that the staff member who was lying in an attempt to frighten me into paying for an upgrade chose the oldest (more expensive) of the reservations rather than the newest (less expensive) one. Although I accept responsibility for not cancelling the more expensive reservation, the fact remains that the staff member lied over & over again, trying to bully me into spending more money. I strongly recommend that potential customers should be very cautious about renting from Payless at *****************.Review fromChuck V
Date: 05/22/2025
1 starChuck V
Date: 05/22/2025
Worst rental car company. Waited in line 2 plus hours even though reaerved vehicle ahead of time. Returned vehicle is much better shape than we got it; 2 days later notified of $450 cleaning fee. Total rip off. Someone should investigate this company's fraudulent practices.Payless Car Rental
Date: 05/26/2025
BBB Review#: 37557
Case: 72898920
Dear ***** ****,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.Payless values our relationship with travelers and always strives to do the right thing. We apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused.
Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;
Renter's Name;
Rental Location;
Exact Date/Year of Rental;Thank you for allowing us to assist you, please note you can also contact our **************** Team directly at ************ for assistance.
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response CoordinatorReview fromT. T.
Date: 05/02/2025
1 starT. T.
Date: 05/02/2025
Where do I start? Got a plane ticket to *** via Southwest, and also reserved a rental car via Payless through the Southwest Portal. Quoted price is $370 for a standard 'full size' car. 1. Got to desk and was offered a 2 person mini convertible. Ummm... No. 2. They "found" some other car, which they said was full size (did not mention model). 3. They then told me the price was $392. I said "No, you quoted $370" and that is what I am paying. After much back and forth with the **** the manager came along and said very irritated to the *** "Just give her the quoted price--do a manual adjustment." So I got the $370 price printed on my rental agreement. 4. walked upstairs to the car floor and floor manager up there said here is your car, pointing to a giant (to me) full size **** Bronco. Like a Jeep Wrangler, but 50% bigger in all directions--The hood itself was level with my neck. 5. I complained, saying I had ordered a 'full size" car, as that is what I am comfortable driving, and also I was concerned about mpg, considering CA's $5/gal gas price. I asked again for something approaching a "full size" car. 6. Floor manager found me a **** Trax, which was a good size, took my paperwork, printed out new rental agreement, on which was the price of $681. 7. Ummm... No, i said, I was quoted $370. Please provide a $370 car. 8. Manager printed it again, final rental agreement stated **** Trax, $370. Thought ordeal was over. Not so. Dropped off car with full tank, flew home 9. Get the **** bill from Payless for, you guessed it, $392. (See #3 above). Price was printed on my agreement as $370, and also emailed to me after I did checkout for the reservation, aslo as $370.11. Called Payless. Explained whole deal. They said "Well you got another car type". I said "That's not my problem, I have a receipt." They hung up.12. Called again, explained whole deal again, *** SAYS they will fix my bill. We'll see.Payless Car Rental
Date: 05/04/2025
BBB Review#: 37386
Case: 72345425
Dear ****** ****,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;Rental Agreement Number;
Renter's Name;
Rental Location;
Thank you for allowing us to assist you, please note you can also contact our **************** Team directly at ************ for assistance.
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response CoordinatorT. T.
Date: 05/11/2025
Rental Agreement Number **SSN**. My question for you is: How can this many things go wrong with a simple rental (offered mini car instead of full size, offered giant off road SUV instead of full size, charged wrong amount (392, then 671, then 392 final **** charge) for what they SAID was a $370 rental? It is like you cannot do a single thing right. After calling twice (first *** told me it was my fault because I had gotten a different car type than the one I ordered, even though I was trying desperately to try to get the type I ordered), the second Payless *** gave me a $22 credit. HOWEVER, GIVEN THE REPRENSIBLE TREATMENT THAT I RECEIVED, I WOULD NEVER RENT FROM PAYLESS AGAIN. ** WAS A Sh$%Show from start to finish.Review fromWill P
Date: 05/02/2025
1 starWill P
Date: 05/02/2025
Now I understand why Payless Car Rental in *********, ** isnt accredited. Dont rent from them for many reasons. First, be prepared for an extremely long waitthey have terrible customer service. Second, if you book through AARP Travel or Expedia, be warned: they may not honor your car protection insurance and could charge you excessive fees. They made my trip far more expensive and showed no concern for the inconvenience. Its clear theyre more focused on making money than treating customers fairly. This is not the kind of company you want to trust with your hard-earned money.Payless Car Rental
Date: 05/04/2025
BBB Review#: 33155
Case: 72345467
Dear **** ******,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;Rental Agreement Number;
Renter's Name;
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response CoordinatorReview fromAlex C
Date: 04/15/2025
1 starAlex C
Date: 04/15/2025
My experience was incredibly frustrating from the start. After a 25-hour flight, I arrived to pick up my reserved car, only to be greeted with, Let me see if your car is available. Not exactly the welcome you expect after such a long journey. The ***resentative then informed me that, because I had booked the car just 24 hours earlier, my reservation was not guaranteedsomething that was never mentioned in the contract.Despite having paid in advance, I was told my car wasnt available. Instead, the *** offered me an SUV that typically rents for $400, "discounted" to $200$120 more than my original reservation. I felt cornered and exhausted, and had no choice but to accept the offer.When I got to the parking lot to pick up the vehicle, the situation became even clearer: Id been forced into an unnecessary and unwanted upgrade. It felt like a bait-and-switch, as though I had voluntarily walked up asking for an SUV instead of the car I had reserved. This felt dishonest and manipulative.Fortunately, I found another ***resentative in the parking office who was able to help. They canceled the revised contract, removed the extra charges, and reverted my booking to the original $80. I ended up with an older, intermediate car (though I had reserved a full-size) that reeked of cigarette smokebut at least I wasnt driving away in a gas-guzzling SUV I never ************ thoughts:This company uses deceptive tactics to upsell customers and take advantage of them when theyre most vulnerable. I strongly urge others to avoid this business. Based on my experience, they should be investigated and barred from operating at *****************.Payless Car Rental
Date: 04/17/2025
BBB Review#: 37253
Case: 71941254
Dear ******* **** *******,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Avis values the relationship that we have with our travelers and always strives to do the right thing. We apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused.
Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;
Renter's Name;
Rental Location;
Exact Date/Year of Rental;
Thank you for allowing us to assist you, please note you can also contact our **************** Team directly at ************ for assistance.
Sincerely,
ABG Client Relations Team
*****************Review fromDavid B
Date: 04/13/2025
1 starDavid B
Date: 04/13/2025
I rented a dodge ram on 4/12/2025 and recognized the inspection sticker was 3/25 when the police pulled us over. We had to explain it was a rental and plead our case not to get a ticket. It happened 3times so we cut our trip short and returned a day earlier. **************** rep **** and ****** told me it was nothing they could do, I could return it back to where I picked it up at ***************** to get another vehicle but I'm in ****** now. I asked to check to see if there was one close to me with a pickup truck because I had it loaded and ****** said no. I return a day early and get home 30min away and realize I left my garage door opener. I go right back to find out the truck is gone with another customer with the expired inspection sticker that I just showed to the guy in return and he took pictures of it and said this truck should not be on the road and I'm going to report it. Once I left they washed it and sent it off with someone else. That's horrible customer service. I had other things I needed to do with the truck but couldn't because of the sticker. So I was robbed out of my money and time. The line here was so long and slow it was ridiculous. This particular budget/avis/payless has poor management. We were waiting on the truck to come out the wash so long I had to stop someone walking the lot to ask for help. She went and told them we have customers waiting on this truck. They were just sitting and talking. She made them move and she drove it thru the wash and brought to us. The cleaners were just looking at us and laughing. We were already frustrated with everything else is probably how we missed the sticker. The truck is out with another customer and still not inspected. I guess my garage door opener is with them. I'm just going to buy another on but if they had pulled that vehicle off rotation until it was inspected my opener would have been there.Payless Car Rental
Date: 04/16/2025
BBB Review#: 37240
Case: 71826896
Dear ******* *******,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Payless values the relationship that we have with our travelers and always strives to do the right thing. We apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused.
We are incredibly sorry for the experience you had and the stated condition of the vehicle that you received. Although we realize that we cannot make up for a disappointing experience such as this, we have discounted $27.50 from your rental. Please allow up to ************************************************************************ 0648.
Thank you for allowing us to assist you.
Sincerely,
*****************
Client Relations TeamReview fromRichard D
Date: 03/29/2025
1 starRichard D
Date: 03/29/2025
Wait lines are in excess of 2 hous. 3 persons working counter. One ar a time.Payless Car Rental
Date: 03/31/2025
BBB Review#:37093
Dear ******* *****,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Payless values the relationship that we have with our travelers and always strives to do the right thing. We apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused.
Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;
Renter's Name;
Rental Location;
Exact Date/Year of Rental;
Thank you for allowing us to assist you, please note you can also contact our **************** Team directly at ************ for assistance.
Sincerely,
*****************
Client Relations TeamReview fromSteven G
Date: 12/04/2024
1 starSteven G
Date: 12/04/2024
I will not return to the Payless Car Rental of the *****************, or any Payless Car Rentals, and will tell friends to do the same. I booked the reservation through ****************** and was quoted a fair price. I have rented cars many times and the price I quoted is what I get. And to Payless's credit, I would have got that price. My issue is with the way the customer service representative presented me with an upgrade. He made it sound like I was getting a deal on the original contract, lowering to about $25 a day. Instead I ended up paying $140 more. I feel this was a bit deceptive the way it was presented .And the fact that they send your contract via Email on your Cell phone. Hard to read and I assumed everything was good to go. Listen carefully to what they are asking you. I enjoyed the car, but not at these prices. Buyer beware. I called Payless about my misunderstanding my contract, and she was rude. ****** learned. ***** *. BG, **********Payless Car Rental
Date: 12/08/2024
BBB Review#:358686
Dear ******* ****,
In regards to the aforementioned BBB complaint, thank you for giving us the opportunity to address your concerns.
Payless values the relationship that we have with our travelers and always strives to do the right thing. We apologize for the inconvenience this matter has caused.
Once this complaint was received, we tried to conduct an investigation. Unfortunately, there was not enough information provided, and your rental was unable to be located if you would kindly provide us the following information below, so we can investigate this matter further.
Reservation Number;
Renter's Name;
Rental Location;
Exact Date/Year of Rental;
Thank you for allowing us to assist you, please note you can also contact our **************** Team directly at ************ for assistance.
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response CoordinatorReview fromKatrina M
Date: 11/19/2024
1 starKatrina M
Date: 11/19/2024
Payless charged me for the additional insurance without asking me. They have said they will refund it to my account "in 3-5 business days", but it hasn't yet arrived to my card. I should also have been credited back the last day (at least) of the rental that I dropped off early. I had no place to charge it. They required it to be returned at 70% charge. They didn't give me any refund for any of the days. The car was not satisfactory. Something was wrong with it, so, it should have been refunded. I will explain.Charging stations were not compatible, or so slow, I'd have to charge it overnight and/or many miles out of my way. This was the fault of Payless, because they substituted a Mustang Mach E for the Tesla that I requested. I am always willing to have a substitution for a gas powered car, but electric cars are different. If they are going to substitute a model then they need to also provide an adapter for all their cars so that any car can go to any charging station nearby. People plan trips around charging station access when they rent cars and to switch the model is impossible to work with when it comes to electric car rentals, unlike gas powered ones. I only found two decent places to charge it and I had to drive very far out of my way to use those places. I spent around 3.5 hours during the rental time charging the car. The grand total of mileage I used was 103 miles, per the receipt! I spent around $100 in charging fees during that time for those 3.5 hours, with the last chunk being just to get it back to the airport above the 70% requirement. This was due to not being able to go to the Tesla charging stations, but it is obvious something was also wrong with the vehicle! Why was 103 miles running down the battery that fast? Something had to be wrong with the car because NO car gets that bad of range, especially not an electric one. I am not exaggerating to say that I spent more time charging it than driving it.Payless Car Rental
Date: 11/20/2024
BBB Review #*****
Payless Case: 69267288
Dear ******* *****,
Payless values the relationship that we have with our travelers and always strives to do the right thing.
When you rent a car, you do not rent a specific model, but a category. For this reason, it cannot be guaranteed that the model you see in the images is the model you receive. An example is provided for logistical reasons and availability, but it will be a different model. Several models have similar characteristics in terms of size and quality and thus define the price of the designated category.
Any difficulties or problems encountered by a customer are a concern to us, and we apologize most sincerely for any inconvenience you may have been caused. It sounds like your situation was unique and we are sorry your expectations were not met.
A credit of $227.88 was refunded to your credit card on file on November 18th; please allow up to 5 calendar days from that date for this to reflect on your account.
Although we realize that we cannot make up for a disappointing experience such as this, we do appreciate your contacting us.
Sincerely,
*****************
Customer Advocacy Response Coordinator
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