Horrible horrible horrible, the car was dented, scratched, 40,000+ miles, had stains, and half a tank of gas when I got it. DO NOT RENT FROM HERE read more

I had a similar experience as Jen B. I reserved an economy car with Payless on-line based on their estimate of $62.26 for two days. When I returned the vehicle there was an additional $11.98 charge for RSP, which is their abbreviation for road side assistance. It is listed as an option; however there was no provision on their paperwork to decline the RSP charge and staff at the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport told me that they charge all customers the RSP of $5.99 per day. I was advised that I could request a refund of the RSP by emailing Payless Car Rental's customer support. I sent the email, but did not receive a response to my email. ECR read more

The first time I rented through Payless, I had no issues. Customer service was great, fast and friendly. The second time, however, was a terrible experience. I arrived on time for my reservation but there was a sign posted at the Payless counter to go to the Budget counter. The line for Budget counter was 10-15 people already. The line moved very slowly, each person taking about 15 minutes to help. When i finally was able to speak with the clerk, he was unhelpful and was not knowledgable of Payless rental system. He told me that my reservation wasn't ready, which didn't make any sense to me as I arrived on time and spent an over an hour in line. He tried to charge me more for a different car that was available. I reserved an economy car and the only available ones were $15 more per day. So my options were to wait even longer or pay more and it felt very unfair, especially considering that he was the only one at the counter and a Payless representative wasn't available. I didn't want to wait any more than I already had, so I agreed to pay more to have the next available car. Next it was time to head up stairs and pick up the car. Unfortunately the headache continued. The clerk upstairs was very rude, not just to me but to others as well. I was having trouble starting the car so I asked him to get me a different car. He was just so rude about it, like every customer was a huge inconvenience to him. I really never want to rent from here again. read more

Place was bad! Made reservations to get my rental car. No one was at the front desk, after waiting an hour and a half for someone to show up and after calling a few times someone finally came out with a sign telling where they located. They didn't tell me about any hidden fee's that made my payment go up $200. I highly recommend people go elsewhere. read more

Mediocre Experience. They are the cheapest for a reason....There will be a VERY hard sell for the typical extra stuff. Lots of hidden charges for any tolls and anything they can think of. Customer service was meh...Not as rude as the previous reviews led me to believe but definitely not on the level of Enterprise, National and the like. Warning: Their cars seem to be bottom of the barrel cars and seem to be bought second hand. Lots of scratches, etc. They will try to tell you not to worry about it, but document everything! The car we rented (cant remember what it was) was the worst car i have ever been in, severely underpowered and terrible ride. Overall they get two stars only because on a 1 day trip, they met my needs and i was able to avoid the extra charges and save some money. Car got me (somehow!) to where i needed to go. Would probably pay extra for the major chains next time, especially for anything more than a day. Remember, you get what you pay for. read more

Horrible. 45 minute wait at the counter, (had already made a reservation) Overcharged me when I returned the car. Complained to customer service about pre paid fuel charge I never agreed to (brought the car back completely full of gas) Customer service said show us gas receipts.. (They can't check that the car was full) I complained to the better business bureau. I don't even care about the money, I just can't allow a horrible company to profit from their mistakes. read more

Used them once . I reserved the car for my vacation 3 months in advance when I got to the counter they said they had absolutely no vehicles available let alone the intermediate car that I wanted I woundt up going to a different car rental company During my vacation we met another couple who had the same problem with them I suggest that you never ever use this company read more

Don't fall for the Gas Service Option. Guy behind the counter tells you that the fee will be removed if you return the car with a full tank. But they don't, and then customer service won't refund it either. Deceptive business practice. read more

Payless Auto rental should be call Pay More. I was in Austin TX in March and they overcharged me $50. NOBODY, form this company has any sense of helping a customer. They SUCK, stay as far away from this outfit as you can. I am in dispute with my CC company to resolve this issue. Reading other Yelp reviews, it seems I am not the only one ripped -off by this lousy company. P.S. I am rating it one star because it will not post with no star!!!!! read more

Picked up a car 2 days ago for a 2 week rental. Just received an automated message to tell me about an "emergency recall" on the car I rented. Not even the decency to call in person. I have spoken to 3 people trying to figure out how I get a different car, and the only advice I've been given is hop in the car (that's been emergency recalled) with my two young children and drive it 45 miles to the location to exchange it. Pass. My advice - rent with a enterprise. I wish I had. read more

The absolute WORST car rental option at the airport. The receptionist was sassy, difficult and unhelpful. I rented a passenger van for 1 day and they charged me for 4 days. The customer service team has been impotent and incompetent thus far. I still haven't been reimbursed and it's been 6 days since the return. At this point I demand a full refund for the hassle and horrid service and unlawful charges. read more

First I had to wait for 40 minutes at the counter in Houston even with a reservation then the person working the desk did not even know what she was doing. She had to ask which keys were for which cars and kept leaving the desk to try to figure out what key goes to what vehicle. Second the company stated one price on my agreement papers but yet charged me triple the amount and now I am stuck with this ridiculous payment. The company needs to learn how to operate. Every time i call it goes straight to their call center, I could not get in touch with the actual location that i rented it at. The people at the call center always reply with "I'm sorry we can not help you, you must contact the location you rented from." Even though the location would never answer their phone, I informed the call center of that and they still said "we can't help you." Worst place to rent from never again I'd rather pay more money than deal with this company ever again. read more

Do not rent from this company! I returned my vehicle at 5:00 AM prior to my 5:55 AM flight. I left the keys in the drop box and the car with a full tank of gas. Several days after my return home, I received a VM from Payless Loss Prevention advising that the rental was still out and I would need to call to extend the rental contract. I attempted to call the Austin location but my call kept being directed to the national customer service center where I was repeatedly advised that there was nothing that could be done until I spoke with someone at the Austin location. Finally, I was able to connect to the Austin location (select #2 for parking) and was told that '... this happens all the time and that they just need to locate the car and adjust the date in the system." Two days later, I receive an email update to my complaint stating that the car was returned at 5:00 PM and an invoice charging me for a full tank of gas! The total amount invoiced is $70.00 more than my original reservation. I am furious and still in the process of attempting to deal with this situation. A word of caution, do not rent from these people! read more

Worst car rental experience of my life. I had told them I got insurance through another company but they sneakily still added insurance to the contract and had me initial. It even has the name of the other insurance on the contract. When I asked them about it a few days later, they basically said too bad, contract is closed. I've rented from other companies in the past using other insurance and have NEVER had to read over the contract and have NEVER been charged for their insurance. They way the dismissed me and how they conducted overall business is unprofessional and unethical. I will never use them again. read more

We booked a full size car online and showed up at the counter. Firstly, the waiting was loooong. A couple in front of us left. We should have known then. But we waited. But we were told the car we booked was not available!!! And ask us if we would take a truck.... Then we left to Enterprise. Took 5 min to get our car for a similar price. read more

STAY AWAY!! This company is a complete sham. They told me they "didn't have any cars" when I arrived at my scheduled time after having made the reservation WEEKS in advance and I had to wait around for an hour trying to figure out how to get a vehicle. They then proceeded to lie and say I returned the car half empty. I provided photo proof that the car was full of gas at the time of return and they told me that they did not accept photos as evidence of fueling. It has been almost 2 months and this issue is still not resolved. Blatant scamming and horrific customer service. read more

ABSOLUTELY HORRIBLE!!! My Flight was delayed from Charlotte, so even after calling ahead and the representative stating that she would make a note and that I could pick the car up the next morning, the reservation was still cancelled. When I arrived at the counter the next morning (it was closed by the time we arrived the night before) the rep at the counter said the reservation was cancelled. I explained to him that the girl the evening before said that she would note the account and that I could pick it up the next day. He said that it is automatically cancelled and that he could not even honor the same rate that I had reserved with before. I was very upset and because it was easter weekend, I was out of a car for the entire weekend. I would NEVER recommend Payless Car Rental to ANYONE! read more

This company is the absolute WORST! Beware all the hidden fees that they don't tell you about. I booked through Booking.com and was given a final total of $133 inclusive all taxes and fees for a two day rental. The ACTUAL price ended up being about $50 more. I don't appreciate being subject to such deceptive practices. They also tried to upsell me on a toll pass telling me that I'd have no choice but to pay tolls - however I used to live in the Austin area and I knew that I could take a different route to my destination without taking a toll road so I declined. The car was dented and scratched up and was dirty inside as well. When I returned the car, there was no one around to check it in or walk around it with me to ensure they couldn't bill me for some imaginary or preexisting damage. Take my advice and don't rent from these clowns or from Budget - you will regret it...I certainly did... read more

Dropped car off at the airport, company never sent me receipt as promised. When I called to ask for receipt, rental was still open. Instead of fixing situation, they picked an arbitrary return time and charged me for an extra day! Opened a customer service ticket with no resolution. Unbelievably bad service especially for active duty military customer. read more

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. This place deserves a ZERO..... WORST customer service EVER. Super unprofessional. We waited over an hour to get someone to even get us to our car and that wasn't the worst of it. They OVERCHARGED us badly. They charged us $300 more than agreed from the start and they will not be in any assistance. I've called to resolve the situation and they always say their system is down and I even got hung up on a couple times. I finally disputed this place with my bank and the bank gladly returned to me the overcharges and I just received a bill in the mail from none other than PAYLESS CAR RENTAL for that amount they overcharged us for. They are trying to bill me again!!! This is insane. They are unethical and l regret trying to go with a cheaper place. Got totally screwed over. Stay away!!! read more

dont ever rent from this place again! they are horrible people and the cars are a load of crap!!

My wife and I rented a car from their company through Priceline at a set price. When we got the bill, we found the representative had slipped in an added insurance charge. In the 50 plus time we have rented a car, we have never opted for added insurance. The reps must make commission on added expenses they try and talk you in to. My dispute is ongoing however, I don't expect any satisfaction. Will never ever rent from the company again and I suggest others look elsewhere for their car rentals....company employs dishonest people....says a lot about them. read more

$130 rental was charged $686 and still no resolution... no one to talk to in customer service - can only file my grievance via online system... worst customer service ever... read more

Rented back in November, and was not pleased. They rushed through signing on the documents and didn't explain it was for optional coverages. Just said "sign here," and ended up overcharged $190. Called their customer service to dispute charge and got a call center in a foreign country that refused to help. They couldn't even explain where the extra charge came from and had no receipts. Phone line at the airport location just forwards you to the foreign call center, too. The car seemed to be nearing the end of its rental life, which is probably why they're so cheap. Clean up on a cheap car and sneaking in additional charges. read more

Come here after Thrifty messes up your reservation. They will have a car for your, will help you quickly and efficiently and your car will be nice and clean and ready to go. Their prices are good and they are organized. Avoid Thrifty. Go to Payless. read more

I rented car from Payless at Austin Airport. At the front desk the guy names Rock and he was very helpful. He provided me with the best car and it was good clean and a good drive car. The most important thing I will have to mention that I forgot my laptop bag in the car and after a week I noticed that my laptop bag was missing. I had my passport and every single important document that you could think of including my university diploma. Today when I went there and met Rock again he helped me find it and it was there. I really want to thank Payless for their service and also helping me find my lost item. Thanks Rock. You rock at payless :) read more

Reserved thru Expedia, arrived at the desk at 11:30PM at night in Austin and the desk was not staffed. All the other can rental companies were staffed, even though most had no cars to rent. I did end up getting a car from Avis at twice the price due to short supply. I will never ever reserve a car from Payless again. They appear to not be seriously in the car rental business. read more

HORRIBLE customer service. The desk agent told me they were not adding additional coverage on my vehicle and I verbally confirmed that with him 3 times before leaving. Then he had my husband initial and went ahead and charged for extra coverage. When I contacted customer service-(which they by no means make easy-you cannot even call and speak to a real person at specific locations. You have to MESSAGE the main customer service dept)- they said there is absolutely nothing they can do to right the verbal deception. I told them they lost a customer over $30. I don't care about the money. I just don't appreciate someone lying to make a sale and corporate not taking care of their customers. read more

There should be a way to award Payless less than one star. They are terrible. Please save yourself problems and avoid this company at all costs. Payless's business model appears to be based on making fraudulent and excessive charges. I rented an economy car from them for two days at the JFK facility, at an advertised discounted rate of $40 per day. At the end of my 2 day rental, I returned the car and left on a trip to Argentina, where I spent a week. After my return, I got my American Express bill and found that Payless had been charged me for 7 days. And since the alleged 5 extra days were outside the discounted contractual rate, they had charged more than $500 for the extra rental period. I promptly provided documentation showing that the 5 extra days were not properly charged. However, Payless's customer service is less than useless. I submitted to them copies of my airline tickets, stamped passport entries showing departure and return to the US, frequent flier account credits for miles flown, receipts for purchases made in Buenos Aires, etc. all to demonstrate to them that I was in Argentina at the time they claim I returned the car to their facility. And to make matters more ridiculous, the alleged mileage they claim I drove in the 5 extra days they've charged for is 16,816 miles! That's not a typo, they claim I drove 3500 miles per day for five days --- all at a time when I can document I was not in the U.S. Not very plausible, but still good for imposing excess fees. I tried to save myself 10 bucks a day by going with Payless; so far my "economizing" has cost me $500. Do yourself a favor and rent with a reputable company and pay the extra few dollars. One final note: Payless is owned by Avis, so in future, I'm going to avoid Avis-affiliated car rentals. read more

The worst car rental experience ever. Basically over charged and would not let me change payment to my other credit card; regardless that the person I rented from stated it would be no issue! What a scam. I've rented 100's of cars. I will only go to enterprise. If I could give 0 stars I would. read more

STAY AWAY, i repeat STAY AWAY. Classic bait and switch. I rented a compact car for a few days at a total charge of $124. When I returned the car I was billed for $236. When I asked why, i was informed no one could help me there. I finally got hold of someone, and I found I was being charged for insurance I waived. That was resolved there, but I was also being charged for an upgrade I didn't authorize. I was told I had to call the number on the invoice. i did this, and the Payless number on their invoice was an Avis number!! Still trying to get the invoice corrected. My next call is to the Attorney General. DO NOT USE THIS PAYLESS it is not worth the trouble. read more

Reserved a car in Albuquerque. At the rental counter, computer glitches made me wait for an hour to complete the reservation and get my car. The car wasn't what I expected so I asked for another car. The outside service person told me "when you buy a car you get to pick the color, when you rent a car, you have to take what we give you." Got angry and eventually got a car that worked for me. Returned the car a few days later and did not notice that they did not remove the $30 "Gas Service Option" even though I told the same service person that I had returned the car with a full tank. Called customer service and they said it had to be entered as a dispute and they would get back to me via email in 72 hours. read more

This is the ABSOLUTE WORST place to rent a car. Please save yourself a headache. These people charge you for products & services that you don't order or approve. The customer service is HORRIBLE!! You have to put in "tickets" to just express your concern. The whole process is BULL.... I will never rent from this place again nor will I recommend anyone. read more

Rented throat Southwest, the price was great! But low and behold it was a different price when I returned the car (fully gassed and I. Perfect condition) and yet again a higher price on my credit card....numerous calls and letters have gotten me NO WHERE. southwest did call me personally and will pass my displeasure on to corporate but they have nothing to do with the billing! WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE EVER read more

There's a reason this car rental has only 1 star rating. I am so disappointed in this place!! Beware, the total price quoted is not the price out the door. They've changed up their form and try to swindle a few more extra charges from you--very unethical way to earn my business. Then, when you try to contact customer service, it's an endless phone tree and their online customer service doesn't respond neither.......NEVER again will I use them! Bad business! read more

This company does not get a star from me. They are a reap off they do have a lot of hidden charges. The charged me for a two hour late fee which I turned the car in on time they had me initial and Did Not Explain to me What I was initialing on. They charged me for insurance when I had full coverage. I will call the airport and talk to the person who let this company have their reap off service on their premies. I will contact the better business bureau. WARNING DO NOT RENT FROM THIS COMPANY. THEY WILL REAP YOU OFF read more

Stay away from this place! The price is not as cheap as you think. What I found out is that they take the cars that come out of rotation from Avis and Enterprise (if I'm recalling those companies correctly). So the vehicles have TONS of miles and then they keep adding on tax after tax for any and everything to the point where your rental car daily rate x 4 is what you actually end up paying. Apparently because the vehicles are so old and have so many miles, they charge you a daily roadside assistance fee. Between the $40 per day I had to pay to park at the hotel and fees I pay to rent this junk car from payless to drive a whopping 52 miles total, I was completely disappointed. Stick with the bigger name rental agencies. Never again for me. read more

Be sure to read the fine print. They conveniently placed a "by initialing here you agree to pay" (roadside asst) option in between 4 other "by initialing here you decline" option. Yes everybody reads these things so carefully when renting a car, no? We're talking $23.80 here and they steadfastly said no to a refund. The kicker is they wouldn't even drive her to the terminal after dropping the car off. Stay classy Payless. read more

If I could leave a 0 I would. I was originally quoted for a car in Austin, TX for 106...my friend and I then we get to Austin and it turns out its $176 (some added fees, yeah I get it), but when I check my bank app 2 days later I noticed that I charged $200 and was told that was a deposit. Why was I not told this at the counter with the person took and swiped my card? Then after returning the car I was charged an extra 102 (so my total so far here is $302 charged to my card) I called the customer service line and was told that the 102 is the actual amount owed and the 200 would be put back in 5 business days. I call asking when it would be returned and they said 10 business days. I then call again after 10 business days and I am told it can take up to 14 business days. Then I call again after the 14th business day and am then told that the $302 charge is accurate and that the $200 is not going to be put back. EXCUSE ME? What type of business is this?! I am never renting a car with payless again and you should not either if you want to save yourself money and a headache. read more

I rented a vehicle here from Dec 4th to 5th 2016. The price was reasonable so I went with Payless despite all the negative reviews. Arrived at the Austin airport rental car center at 10am and all the other rental counters were staffed and busy. NOT PAYLESS! No one was in line and no one was at the counter. So I waited and waited. Finally, I called the Payless customer service number to complain. The rep on the phone said she would look into it but she really seemed uninterested. By now there is another poor customer in line behind me. About five minutes later, Payless employee Demetrius walks in with three cups of coffee and a bag of food. Really!!!!!!! He puts his breakfast down, mans the counter and handles my rental. No apology at all. Off I go to my vehicle. A Hyundai Elantra with obvious collision damage to the rear bumper. This is a first as I have never rented a car with collision damage! This was no problem for Payless though. Just tell the person at the exit gate and it will be fine. OMG! Take everyone's advice on Yelp and pick a different rental car company at the Austin Airport! read more