Payless Car Rental Reviews 409

Once deposit is paid, no chance that it s going to be paid back in full. Horrible experience, when you return the car a guy will carefully go through the vehicle and look for even small scratches done in previous rentals only to blame you. Obviously this is done over and over so if a person makes a small scratch, they leave it there to blame whoever rents the vehicle again. This guy blamed us for a scratch in the front bumper, the part below €290 and €250 for cleaning, total €540. Before taking the car a guy outside advised my children that these people are fraudists but I had already paid for the rental, so couldn t turn back. We looked carefully for scratches and pointed to attendant all of them, we didn t realise that there was a scratch in the bottom part of the bumber but. If you have already paid for the rental make sure to inspect every mm before taking the car, even the bottom. If you didn t pay just avoid, these people are fraudists. I also suggested to Ryanair and Rentalcars to remove these people from their platform. Both Ryanair and Rentalcars don t deserve to be associated with such an amateur company

I don’t have time to write down how bad my experience was-from the second I stood in line, til a month after I returned the car. I’m still paying for this garbage rental car company. Poor in every category or standard. They need to be shut down permanently. Every review is the same-gives horrible service. Don’t rent here and definitely don’t give them your credit card information!!!!!

Zero should be an option. Same complaints as most people: employees who don’t answer questions, lie about charges, add charges that you were never asked about, being charged mileage for a reservation that stated unlimited mileage and that’s just at the counter. Customer services answer to everything is: “ According to our records, and the signed rental agreement provided, the coverages added to this reservation were accepted by the customer, you were provided the rental agreement and agreed to sign, therefore no action is due.” Even though you explained the employee told you the charges on the screen were a deposit. Highly recommend never using Avis Budget Group rentals no matter what name they are using. Horrible customer service and experience.

Worst experience ever, car was dirty not even windshield washer and the worst part the price you pay with Expedia is not what you pay when you pickup your car, they charge 100% more for example a $419 reservation is really $895 dollars. I do not recommend Payless at all, worst customer service ever, and cars are not to standard

I rent a car in Sibiu România Ford 16 Julie 2024 and the car had some scratches and the guy said I will put in my report . On August 8 I have to return the car and on 7 August car got lock with the key inside. I call Sibiu pay less and they said will take 3 days. I got professional company to open the car and when I brink the car back they charge me with 1400 euro .Today October 15 they do not show me the car was fix big scam to steal money .Do not rent from those basters

I've been renting cards for the last 25 years and Payless is by far the worst company I have dealt with. During a visit to Montenegro we booked car hire via Payless, having the required insurance, however on arrival we were made to buy additional insurance of nearly £400 or they would not let us have the car. No-one was around to actually give us the car and had to wait nearly 30 mins. Service was appalling, bordering on fraudulent activities and would never use again.

The worst experience I've had with a car rental. Shame on you Priceline for even associating yourself with this company. We arrived at the car rental in Puerto Rico only to wait over an hour for our turn at the counter. While waiting I kept listening to the unexpected extra chargers other customers were presented with. When I presented my information for my reservations to my surprise the 1st thing I was told was that the insurance coverage I purchased, while booking on Priceline, was not excepted by Payless Car rental. Then, after the cost of the car plus their insurance, total cost $420, in addition to the $200 deposit that I was told would be returned to me account, once the car was returned. Car was returned on 9/29. To my surprise I received an alert message from my bank that the transaction for $200 with Payless Car rental was cancelled and it would not be placed back on my account. Why????? What was the reason. Trying to get an answer has been a frustrating battle. On the phone for 1 hour and 44 minutes. Transferred 5 times. The worst customer service in existence. Who do you contact??? I want an answer. No one picks up the phone at Payless car rental in PR. I will never book a flight or car rental with Priceline ever again.

Waiting in a hugely long line at the Indianapolis airport to pick up my prepaid rental car. I have never seen anything like this in my entire long life!
In fairness, it’s Avis & Budget as well—all at the same desk.

Rented a car from Payless in Denver on 8/24/2024 for an overnight stay. When I returned to the airport on 8/25/2024 the location was closed, and the instructions said to return it to the Avis rental facility. I did just this, and followed the instructions to leave the keys in the car. A few days later I received a text message to "return the car" and had to spend time on a phone call informing them that I had done as the instructions at the Payless location instructed.

On 9/4 I received a notice of a certified letter from Payless that I had to sign for at the post office. Upon opening it I found it was another request to "return the car" dated 8/29/2024. If I am to believe this exchange Payless did not know where this vehicle was from 8/25 to 8/29 -- I find it hard to believe that they didn't rent the car back out, or that Avis didn't inform them that the car was on their lot. In either case this is shows poor control of their vehicles.

The letter threatened to put me on their "do not rent" list. I will do them one better, since Payless, Avis, and Budget are all part of the same group I'm putting them on my "do not rent from" list.

I had a reservation for 310 dollars at San Diego International Airport for a midsize car. At the Payless car rental counter the representative would not honor the reservation. He charged me 419 dollars for the exact same reservation that I had originally made with Payless. On previous trips to San Diego I reserved cars with Alamo and had absolutely no problems.

**Rental Experience with Payless at Cluj Airport – A Serious Safety Concern**

I recently rented a car from Payless at Cluj Airport, and my experience was nothing short of disappointing and alarming. Upon arrival, there was no one from Payless to pick me up. I had to ask another reputable car rental company to contact Payless on my behalf to arrange a pick-up.

When the representative finally arrived, he was uncommunicative and showed no signs of concern or apology for the poor service. He seemed surprised that I was already unhappy with the company's performance. Despite this, I accepted the car (not the one I originally booked), a Dacia that appeared to be in decent condition after a quick inspection.

However, two days later, the tyre pressure warning light came on while I was driving. Upon checking, I discovered both front tyres were completely bald on the inside and outside, which shocked me. It’s concerning that Payless would allow a vehicle in such dangerous condition to be rented out.

I immediately called Payless, and after some delay, I finally got through. The representative said he was not at the office and would get back to me shortly—but never did. I had to call again the next morning, and while they offered to send a replacement car, there was no apology or acknowledgment of the severity of the situation. When I asked about compensation for the inconvenience and safety risk, the representative claimed he couldn’t authorize it.

Our communication continued over the weekend, but still, no apology or proper solution was offered. Instead, he seemed more focused on replacing the car before Monday, likely to cover up the issue. I decided to wait until I spoke with Payless’ head office before agreeing to any vehicle exchange.

As of now, I'm still waiting for an apology and appropriate compensation for this serious issue. I hope Payless takes responsibility for their poor customer service and the potentially life-threatening condition of the vehicle they rented to me.

Worst car rental experience ever – and that's being generous... In a nutshell, everything you want to avoid when hiring a car – rude staff, a battered car (engine warning lights on), we were supplied a smaller class than I'd paid for (I paid for a Compact (C) Class – Ford Focus or similar and got a (B) Supermini Class – Renault Clio), very high hire damage excess (1550 euros – unless of course you pay for their extra insurance). And the icing on the cake, they expect you to valet the car inside and out before returning – the sign said no dirt on the mats, no mudspashes, no bird dropppings (I've taken a photo of it). And then when we came to return the car, their were no staff there, as it was a Sunday! A helpful man from a rival company helped us by showing us where to put the keys (in an unmarked lockbox on a different company's wall). Surprisingly Payless is owned by Avis. Avoid – I was tricked into using them by booking with a 3rd party, Easy Terra, which I'm still waiting for a response nearly a month later... so equally usless.

Flight delayed, Payless closed when I arrived which I did not know would happen. I was stranded with my infant daughter. Called to sort it out in morning and Payless told me I had to go through Expedia so Expedia called and then told me everything was fine with rental and I picked it up. Guy at counter assured me the $214 charge was standard for incidentals and I would get it back. I never got it back and when I called customer service they said cuz I was late getting car they fined me. I asked to speak to a manger and never heard back. Customer service also quite rude. They are very dishonest I would not trust them. It’s sad they take advantage of people.

Avis @ 151 Drumcondra rd lower, Dublin, Ireland. Buckle up if you rent from this car rental. Rented a 2024 Toyota Yaris for 7 day= 152.04 euros. Bill upon signing € 873.48 for full coverage insurance + roadside assistance and all VAT/FEES. I bumped building on front left side scuffed bumper side panel, full coverage insurance covered that. Got a flat on M50, called Avis many times to find out how to get roadside assistance. There was no tire jack in the rental car so we had to call Mods 24hr roadside assistance. Got tire replaced, paid €190.00. Avis will not refund our €190.00. They question the type of receipt we received from Mods 24hr. We clearly paid for new tire and roadside assistance. When we get our receipt for car rental it is from PAYLESS. One Avis/Payless employee tried very hard to help us Mr. E. Rimkus. We appreciate his help trying to get refunded. I would search for other options for a rental car and ask up front what the total bill would be. Loved Ireland, driving on the very narrow county roads is nerve wracking .

The 1,3 star average rating on this page left me very sceptical, but I had already booked. My experience however was quite pleasant. The car was nice and for a fair price, the staff was incredibly friendly. I couldn't get the car back in time, but the company agreed to simply prolong it by one day for the same price.

Very good experience. I assume the people with good experiences don't leave reviews, while those with bad experiences do out of frustration.

So, unfortunately we are also victim of Payless Slovakia office.

According to terms of contract, deposit was supposed to be 900 Euro, but when we arrived at their office to pick up car, they said it would be 1500 euro bcs their ID reader did recognize our driving licenses.
First of all, we sent them copies of driving license by email a week before our travel. They said it was ok and did not mention anything about that scanner. Our driving license is international with NFC technology (not RFID), so if their “scanner” can not read it, that is their problem. Or at least, they should mention about scanner in the email or their terms, so we could rent car from different company when we had enough time for that.

Payless Car Rental Bratislava Airport - I had very bad experience with this Car Rental company. The company charged me for small scratch on the car door.
First of all there is no way the scratch happened during my car rental, as the time of rental was without any incidents.
Secondly - they overcharged for the small scratch. Their price list shows completely different amount.
Thirdly - they even point out the car interior tiny speck of dirt on the passenger seat!
I do not recommend the Payless Slovakia car rental company. Look elsewhere and find better customer service!

Terrible service and bullying of customers.
Only excepting theyre own Coverage with bigger costs than the car rental.
Use another company.

I rented a car with Carjet and got their 'platinum' insurance.I got to Cluj - Romania to collect the car from Payless. I lost the money with Carjet as this guys didn't want to give me any car without paying 160 euro. They didn't care about my 'platinum' insurance...

Hiring from 37 Old Kilmainham Branch is the worst car hire experience we have ever had, they are only getting one Star as you can't post a review with Zero.
Avoid this place if at all possible they are horrible to deal with and their cars are terrible, old, high kms, filthy inside and out, smelly, unsafe and basic

I'd go as far to say they are running some sort of scam from this branch, once they found out we had a tight itinerary to get somewhere, the manager stepped in and told the rep we were dealing with to change the vehicle he had had loaded in the system and was about to give us. They then palmed us off with a car that did not meet the specification of what we had pre-booked. This fact was confirmed on drop off at the airport where the supervisor there confirmed we had been downgraded by a couple of steps.
At the pick up we went out to inspect the car once issued the key and found it to be filthy and smelly and a more basic model than was in our booking. We were so shocked we returned to the representative and were then lied to, telling us "this was the spec of car we had booked", "in Ireland cars are older and more basic than the rest of the world", "this is a safe & good car", "we could pay for an upgrade to the vehicle we expected (a Toyota Corolla) but would need to make our own way to the airport and pay a premium for an upgrade", "they had no vehicles at the branch for an upgrade"
We would have upgraded as the car was that bad but they "had none at the branch" and we didn't have time to waste to go to the airport so we unfortunately took the car.
We immediately regretted this and had a terrible driving experience as the car was so uncomfortable, radio barely worked and didn't feel safe. Car had a NCAP rating of 2 and we noticed mid journey the passenger airbag had been turned off. Resulting in us stopping our journey and searching to find how to switch it back on as we didn't feel safe.

All in all the worst experience we have ever had with car hire anywhere in the world and terrible people to deal with. It ruined our short stay in Ireland and caused back ache through uncomfortable driving position
Avoid this business if possible and if you deal with them do not engage with them on your plans as they will be looking for opportunities to rip you off.
The manager of the branch was of no help and wouldn't engage with us at all and we believe he was the instigator of the entire scam.