Error in PAYLESS Car Rental Charges May 2015 I needed a rental car in Phoenix, AZ, saw a bunch of ads promoted by the site where I bought my air. The Payless "come on" was $13/day which was reasonable enough. However, after all the taxes and such were added on, the total was more like somewhere a little less than double. The rest of the rentals agencies I looked at were about the same situation. So, I just went with the first one I looked at which was Payless. I needed to rent the car for about 3 days. When I picked the car up on May 14th, I was presented all the options of assorted different insurances and I told the agent I did NOT want any of them. He said "no problem, you will not be charged for any of them". He, the rental agent, also asked if I wanted to buy the pre-paid fuel at some ridiculously low price and I said OK. It was $22.49 for a tank of gas. which was supposed to be about $1.19/gallon. If the tank held 20 gallons it would be about right. Turned out, it was a first class rip off as it was a much higher price/gallon than he quoted. The tank only holds around 10 gallons and it would have been less expensive to just buy it on the street. Well, my fault for not asking more questions. I went to the lower level, looked at the condition of the car, marked the dings and took off. When I returned the car the evening of the 16th, I saw where I was being charged for all of the assorted insurances that I said I did not want. I complained to the agent where I turned in the car and he said that I would have to take it up with a manager upstairs. So, I went upstairs and told the agent there that there was a mistake and I should not be charged for any of these assorted insurances. He said it would have to be taken up with a manager. I requested that he bring out the manager. There was NO manager present. He told me not to worry that all of the transactions were videotaped and so there should be no problem and that a manager would call me the next day, Sunday or the latest Monday. I received NO call. I thought that probably they would be issuing an appropriate credit. By Tuesday or Wednesday after seeing no credit issued, I filed a complaint with my credit card company. The agent said no problem, took my information and said they would take care of it. All of these phone calls are supposedly recorded so I figured they had all of the details enclosed in this letter. A few days later, I checked my credit card account and saw no action so I called again. Oh, for some reason, the discrepancy was not entered and this agent said they would file the dispute. Once again I repeated all of the complaint and it was supposed to have been recorded. I now get a letter from my credit card company and they want me to first contact the merchant yet again. Well, how many times am I supposed to contact them only to receive NO response? The merchant is receiving a copy of this complaint letter so this is contacting them again. I would like to see that video tape that was supposedly taken when I rented the car. My traveling partner was a witness to the statement that no additional charges would be made. I am expecting my credit card company to support me in this dispute. I am also posting this to YELP, sending copy to the Better Business Bureau, Consumer Affairs and will file a claim in small claims court if necessary. I have been charged $242 when I expected to be charged somewhere under $100. Three days of rental at $13/day plus all the assorted taxes amounting to somewhere under $25/day plus that exorbitant $22.49 for the tank of gas come to around $100. Consequently, I demand a refund of $142 for the overcharge error. read more

My family and I have rented several cars from other rental companies, Enterprise, Avis and Hertz, over the years and this is the worst experience I have ever had with a car rental company. We were quoted one price then charged a much, much higher price. We went over each item at the time of rental with the clerk but, were charged for a long list of things that the clerk never brought to our attention. I expected some "extra charges", but the laundry list of nonsense I was charged is ridiculous. I called the customer service, billing dept. for an explanation of the charges and were told they "couldn't" help me sort this out. That's right, THE BILLING DEPT. COULDN'T HELP ME SORT OUT THE CHARGES ON MY BILL???? !!!! WTH?? So, for a One Day Rental ($58.00) and one additional under age 25 driver (extra $35.00) the total charges were $229.00!!!!! What a scam. I will never use this company again and I will tell everyone I know not to, as well. read more

Don't rent here!!! First they didn't have my car when we showed up, they had to borrow one from another company. Got stuck with a compact car instead of a midsize and got charged for the midsize. Bill started at $153 and quickly changed to $397. Charged to add my wife as a driver which i didn't ask for, charged me for a tank of gas even after i brought it back full. Tried to call these people several times, no one answers the phone. Called the 1-800 number with no satisfaction. If I could give them a negative star rating I would, they do not deserve the one star. read more

Car is picked up in very dark parking garage....After leaving the garage I noticed the car was never cleaned prior to renting to me. Had to stop and wash windshield just so I could see where I was going. trash in back seat and carpets not vacuumed. I will never use this company again. read more

DON'T RENT THROUGH THIS COMPANY. Unfortunately, I didn't read these reviews before renting through Payless in Phoenix, AZ. I rented a 5-person, 7-bag car/SUV for $349 for one week (including tax) - several months before my trip. When I got there, the agent told me the car I rented was a Camry. Obviously, that wouldn't hold 5 people and 7 bags. He said I could get a different SUV for a little more. I didn't pay any attention to the cost until I got down to the place where I pick up the car. The total was $900+! I went back up to the desk to talk to the agent and he explained there is a cost for having an extra driver and, etc., etc., etc. - I ended up getting them down to $695 but they wouldn't go lower. I should have gone to another car rental place but 5 people were waiting with baggage and golf clubs. I'll never rent through this company again. read more

Avoid! Bait and switch. They tell you the roadside assistance insurance is mandatory and that they'll credit you a few days after the rental ends. Not true! They'll do anything to make money. Very poor customer service. read more

I reserved a rental via Expedia. The rate was $173 over a 5 day period. This was for my wife. When she rented the car they hard-core upsold her on insurance, fuel and an extra driver. They totally disregarded the Expedia rate and charged her over $400. She went back in and they adjusted it but still incorrectly charged $300 for the rental. I know. Caveat emptor, right? Now they are putting through the entire amount for both transactions as a charge to our account. NO WAY I ever rent from these guys again. Nor should you. You truly get what you paid for. read more

went to the counter to get my car that I reserved and the total was more than when I reserved it. After looking at the statement that I was to sign, I noticed they charged me for insurance. I told them I did not accept the insurance and Dennis stated that I reserved the car with it, so he could not take it off. I pulled out my printed reservation receipt and showed him that I did not take the insurance. I told him "nice try though" He then pulled back the form I was to sign and told me that my car was no longer available, that I would need to stand off to the side, and that he would check again in minutes. The other two men working at the counter laughed about it. There was no supervisor available. After 15 minutes he stated that I had had enough, and I could go get my car now. read more

BEWARE Will never rent from them again. I was overcharged big time and they won't even return my call. again BEWARE

I booked a rental on the internet for $259 but by the time I got finished at the rental desk my bill was for $634! The added insurance which they told me was a necessity in Arizona because if I had a accident without their insurance I would be billed for daily rental until the car was fixed. This would be above the cost to repair the car. They also added other costs for road side protection that I did not need. I discussed canceling the rental but was told that since I had prepaid on the internet they could not refund that amount and I would have to deal with the internet location and they did not know if it would be refunded. I felt so angry and frustrated at that point I just left fully realizing that I had been conned! The next day I found that a stop light was not working and not wanting to get a ticket for same called Payless. They did not return my call as promised on their phone message. I called again the next day and received a message that "the mail box was full and could not accept any more messages. The frustration as well as the unexpected cost was a major negative impact on my vacation! When I went to their internet sight to complain, the told me the if I had a complaint to come here! They would even accept my complaint! YOU CAN BE SURE THAT I WILL NEVER EVER, EVER USE PAYLESS AGAIN. If there were negative stars I would give the same! read more

Booked a car through Hotwire at a price of $86 for an Economy Kia Rio or equivalent. Arrived at Payless, first time renting from them, and the agent explained that Economy to them is a "bubble car" - two seater. This was not going to work for a family of three and the agent immediately suggested an upgrade. He said I can get you a great deal on a Hyundai Elantra which he marked as luxury on the rental agreement. Charge now became $123. Clever used car sales tactic. Suggestion if you have been burned by these jokers; dispute it on your credit card. Have your card contact these clowns to not pay or at least get credit for the difference. read more

Worst company ever. We booked a car a month in advance and after waiting for half an hour in line they told us they did not have the car. Are you kidding me? Then the person at the desk was rude and then told us we have to wait for an hour if we want to get a car! DO NOT BOOK WITH THEM! WHAT A SCAM!!!!! read more

I wish you could assign zero stars. Absolutely terrible experience. The salesman guaranteed us one rate ($495, already VERY expensive for a short rental) and when we returned the price magically jumped to almost $700. We were guaranteed a midsize car and were given a Yaris, which barely fit our luggage and made it unsafe and impossible to see clearly out of the back window. We were upsold on a GPS device that malfunctioned and directed us onto an unpaved path in the desert where we were stranded until we were able to get Google Maps working on one of our cell phones. Laura, the manager at the Phoenix Airport was rude and unhelpful. I never write reviews but this was such a terrible experience that I felt compelled to ensure that no one else makes the mistake of renting through Payless. Unless you want to pay almost $1k for a terrible car and an extra $22/day for a GPS that doesn't understand roads and will endanger your life. read more

I wish you could leave 0 stars. Absolutely terrible experience. The salesman (David) guaranteed us one rate ($495, already VERY expensive for a short rental) and when we returned the price magically jumped to almost $700. We were guaranteed a midsize car and were given a Yaris, which barely fit our luggage and made it unsafe and impossible to see clearly out of the back window. We were upsold on a GPS device that malfunctioned and directed us onto an unpaved path in the desert where we were stranded until we were able to get Google Maps working on one of our cell phones. Laura, the manager at the Phoenix Airport was rude and unhelpful. I never write reviews but this was such a terrible experience that I felt compelled to ensure that no one else makes the mistake of renting through Payless. Unless you want to pay almost $1k for a terrible car and an extra $22/day for a GPS that doesn't understand roads and will endanger your life. read more

When I arrived in Phoenix payless was terrific. They upgraded my compact to a mid sized. I was out of there in no time and the price was fantastic. The car did have some dents and scratches, but it was only 1 year old. I just marked all the dings on the paperwork and it was not problem. I don't always love the place I rent cars, but this one worked for me. read more

If I could rate Payless Car Rental a zero I would. The way they present their pricing to customers is fraudulent and purposely misleading. When I booked a reservation online, the stated "estimated" charges for the 2 day rental was $54. When I arrived at the Payless rental car booth the agent asked if $54 sounded correct as the estimated total for the two days. BUT he had the paperwork in his hands that said the total charge would be $184. How could your estimation be so off? They then usher you quickly through signing paperwork so that people who are not careful to read the tiny print (like me) won't realize they're actually paying 3xs more than both the online booking and agent said you would. It's a scam to get people to think they're getting a great deal. Plus to make things worse, the customer service rep actually laughed at me when I called to ask how there could be such a discrepancy between the prices they state on your online booking and the actual rental charge (and why an agent would lie about the estimated charges). This ended up being way more expensive than enterprise who also gives great customer service. So go with them. read more

I will never rent from this company again. Don't be fooled by their prices. They will add fees for something you do not need. Similar to the various reviews I find myself in a pool of people with the same complaints. Your drastically low prices are appealing but this companies optional and unnecessary fees that I did not want are on my receipt. The individual I was checking in with seemed to not pay attention to what he was doing as he was speaking to another individual about his deportation and making mockery about their job. When I was asked if I wanted full coverage I told the individual no. I said I already purchased a collision and damage plan on Orbitz. He continues to hit a button and act with strong conviction of his mistake. I asked him what he did and told him repeatedly I do not need whatever optional unnecessary he was suggesting I pay. I refused and when I returned the car, this charge that he added that I did not need was on my bill. read more

The car itself was OK as were the people at the desk, though as everyone else has said, they tried to upgrade us to a bigger car, insurance etc. We were going to Sedona and it was 4pm by the time we got on the road. We got onto I17 and went directly to the HOV lane as we had miles to go. About 20 miles out we hear a noise and the next thing you know we have a blow-out. Now tell me-when was the last time you had a blow-out? Like I can't remember. We had to get across 5 lanes for 70pmh traffic before we could exit. We called Payless and they said they would come and put the spare on the car. Too bad the spare was a donut and that would then leave us without a spare. We told them we wanted another car and they told us we'd have to pay for the tire. It took 2 hours before they got out there with another car. We ended up driving to Sedona in the dark and arriving just before out hotel office closed. The Phoenix staff had no idea what customer service is and were rude and unhelpful. I'd never use them again-and they better not try to charge me for that tie! I have pictures..... read more

Unbelievable experience, price is lower than the competition because they use bait and switch tactics to upgrade you to another vehicle since the vehicle you previously reserved is not available for rent when you get to the counter. They use delay tactics and then attempted to confuse me by telling they would upgrade me to a Mitsubishi SUV. Using a calculator the sales rep showed me how he was renting it to me for 50% off saving me money on the Jeep Cherokee I reserved. I agreed and he quickly provided a contract. I took a moment to read the information and he was attempting to charge an additional 150.00 for a vehicle that was inferior to what I ordered. When I caught him and confronted his misrepresentation he quickly got me another Jeep Compass for 35.00 less than my previous reservation. The car had been smoked in and when we returned it they gave me someone else's receipt. Do not use this company, they need to be shut down. read more

I wish I had read the reviews before I booked with Payless. I booked a full size car for five days but got a filthy intermediate instead with steering that felt like the front end was about to come apart. I didn't want to argue since I had already been through the meat market of standing in line at the counter, getting the insurance doom & gloom talk, etc. (BTW, my credit card will cover me as primary insurance and covers loss of use so be sure you check that out before you take the rental car company's insurance.) I decided the next morning that I didn't like the car but I didn't want another one from them, so I returned it to the airport. I have done that in the past with other companies when my plans changed and never had an issue. They simply recalculated the time and fees. In this case, I was stuck for the entire rental period! $129 for less than 24 hours. I was stunned given that Payless is now owned by Avis. I talked to an Avis agent before I left the airport and he said they would recalculate just as I thought. I ended up booking another car with Budget (I just told Payless my plans had changed and I had to fly out because I didn't want to have the conversation about getting another car). Budget's agent also said in these circumstances they would just recalculate the time and fees. I have written to Payless and they won't budge. I also wrote to their Regional VP but have not received the courtesy of a response. Has anyone else run into this situation where you were charged for the entire rental period? I paid for the full five days less some readjustment on the airport fees so I am an unhappy camper. read more

Rented from Payless at Phoenix airport. The agent, David, flat out lied to us about collision insurance, roadside asst. and other charges I had never heard of and that were not part of the conversation and then charged me for all of them after I clearly stated I did not want any additional insurance or services He explained the higher cost as being because of a security deposit which would be returned after the vehicle was returned. When I received my credit card statement! it was $220.50 higher than the reservation amount from the internet!! I called customer service and left several messages but they have yet to return my calls. After reading about other customer's experiences, I'm quite sure I never will hear from them. DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! Better business bureau has given them a rating of "F" and now I know why. Wish I had checked them out thoroughly before jumping at the inexpensive internet rate. Total scam artists!!!!! read more

Well, like everyone else, I was misled, but worse not told about next day charge or the high taxes. You know, the way the economy is and how people are trying so hard to at least treat themselves on such a budget that I would think and hope there would be good businesses who would be more than happy to make life a little easier when it comes to renting cars from them! I could of just tried a bus, shuttle or drove myself here and saved by buying gas. Which again was told it was higher out there than what they would offer by me buying it fueled from them..PAYLESS...Not true folks, gas was cheaper on the road and would of saved me some time to spend in their state of Az., I wish there were honest, sales people who were trained to be honest and not throat choker's matter what, Payless does make its money back, they don't loose when travelers come to rent from them, why...I wish there was a Secret boss who would come and see how this operation is handled cause there is to much shark treatment and we all don't need that right now. I will NEVER rent from them again and I hope alot of people will think before you do rent from them and just go on line, it is a better deal and find out what the gas is out there before you become naive like me and believe what that salesperson says about they have a better deal on gas, I usually am cautious but this one time I opt to believe this young man. Damn......Don't use PAYLESS to rent a car, it should be PAYMORE, get screwed anyways. read more

Pros: Man checking us in was very friendly. Cons: After telling us about an inexpensive refueling deal, he did not check that box on our agreement (unbeknownst to us until we returned the car), so when we returned the car we did not get gas at the promised 1.49 price, and we had leave and go fill up ourselves at 2.79. The man who checked us in upon returning the car would not give us the deal on the gas, saying the box wasn't checked so we must not have agreed to it. How else would we know about this if we weren't told?? This company nickel and dimes you to death without any explanation that you are being charged for two drivers,consolidated facility fee, facility maintenance, energy recovery fee, concession fee,and some surcharge that is just listed as surcharge. When you read Yelp reviews, you will find that ppl give terrible reviews, and some tried to contact the Better Business Bureau about them and turns out they are NOT an accredited business. It's a shame Sky Harbor Airport even deal with these crooks if they are not accredited.Also, the car was dirty, dinged up, and in dire need of oil. The 'change oil soon' light came on, so we checked the oil and found it dismally low, so we had to add a qt. of oil for peace of mind (at least we were reimbursed for the oil)The front tires were pretty low on tread as well. I would not rent from this company again. read more

You're not getting the deal you think so just save yourself the feeling of being screwed and book with a reputable firm. First car was filthy. Second car had bugs encrusted in the grill, but at least the windows were clear. When I got to the hotel, I noticed they added charges to my bill without telling me - roadside assistance and an extra driver - that almost doubled the bill. Car was supposed to be $81 with taxes and fees. It was $152. I was so jetlagged and running late for an event after American misplaced my luggage (a whole other story) that I didn't notice when the clerk was rushing me to sign the insurance declinations as a line of people waited behind me, looks like he slipped in signatures for these other charges I was never told about. So, that's fraud. What a horrible way to treat people. Why not just be upfront and say what things are going to cost, rather cheat people? I called to complain when I got to the hotel, but of course no one answered and I was bounced to voicemail. Never again. read more

Do not rent from this car rental location. Their terms and conditions are written in a way that they can apply it to your rental agreement in which you will lose and forfeit your money by force. I rented a car there, did not receive the car nor did they refund me my $230 back. Called corporate and they were not helpful, just kept shoving the terms as I did back to them to let them know that they are not well written. Staff is very unhelpful, and this is by far the worst car rental location. I have rented from numerous locations for both personal and business reasons and I will never think of renting from this location. Please do not rent from here, save yourself the headaches and your money. I would say from my experience that enterprise have been the most helpful, and I am just giving this as a suggestion to help not endorse. Either way just don't rent from this company. I wish I could give them less than 1 star. Don't fall for their low prices, hidden charges will happen and unexpected prices will happen. read more

I think Brad K of Park City who wrote a review this week must be a Payless franchise owner!! Really !! Arrived at Payless counter in Phoenix on 2/7/13 pretty excited about our 87.00 rate and figured that the 35 minute wait in line was the down side of the cheap rate. That was only the beginning. Went downstairs to pick up the car and learned, just like everyone else, that unless you could provide a copy of your insurance they required $13.95/day for insurance! Who carries thier insurance paperwork with them on vacation??!! They said it was all explained on their website! NOT!! So after no amount of protest, pleading, whining, could change their policy we signed the paper work and waited for our car, and waited, and waited, and waited, "It's coming right now". "It's just getting cleaned" "It's on the way" An hour and forty five minutes later the car arrived!! And we had a reservation! Three days later we blew a tire on the Highway and called Payless for help. Are you kdding! the insurance we were required to buy didn't cover Roadside Assistance! It was only liability, so if we had been in an accident that was our fault we had insurance but help on the highway.. no way. It's not Payless probem. Change your own tire or have it towed back to Payless at the airport and pay for it yourself. Lukcily a wonderful Highway Patrol guy helped us and got us back to the airport. So in the end our $87. rate ended up being $316! Of course we're just going to protest the charge on the credit card so not only will they never get their money neither us nor any of our friends would EVER rent from them again in Phoenix. I have used Payless before without this problem so maybe it's just Phoenix but I'm tempted to start a class action suit that includes everyone who has ever been screwed by Payless in Phoenix for the bogus Insurance charge. read more

I'm another one that would rate this company 0 stars if I could. I was very pleased with the rate I received, $140 for a six-day rental. When I picked up the car, the counter person tried to upsell me on car size and everything else you could possibly add on. I declined it all, and initialed my contract to indicate that I was declining road side assistance, full insurance coverage, etc. and picked up my car. To my surprise, my credit card was charged $320 before I even turned the car in. I assumed that this amount included my deposit and would be released in 7 - 14 days, like the original confirmation stated. After 14 days, I still did not see a credit for my deposit. Upon further investigation, I discovered that my deposit WAS released, but I was somehow tricked into initialing the contract for the full insurance coverage at $25/day. WTF? I would never agree to something so expensive. After a pleasant (not) conversation with a person named Laura, she essentially told me it was too bad, that I had agreed to the $25/day charge. I informed her that Payless had lost a customer today, and I would be spreading the word about their shady practices. So be warned.... DON'T RENT FROM PAYLESS... You'll definitely be paying MORE! read more

I rented a car for what I thought would be 150. When I got to the counter I was propositioned for an upgrade for only 149.95 for 3 days. I thought it was all inclusive, basically giving me an upgraded car for a cheaper price because of a cancellation. I think not. I should have kept the original deal because by the time everything was said and done I paid 399. Are you serious. So they beef up the courtesy of the 2.99 a gallon if the car is returned on empty. However, they forgot to mention the 250 deposit until you have already signed the papers. Lovely. So I then have to wait until the car is returned and an additional 2-3 days for the deposit to fall off my credit card and up to a week for my debit card. This is such a shady operation. I would never go beyond my trusted car rental agencies. I thin that is why they post that they can rent a car for a nominal price then all the extras that go on top are not mentioned. Ridiculous. Thanks Payless for making the trip start off crappy. read more

If I could, I would give Payless Car rental 0 stars. Don't get fooled by their prices online because you will end up paying more than other car rental places. To get a car you have to wait in a very long line with all the other suckers that were fooled by false advertisement. Once u talk to someone they will give you a higher price and tell you that all they have even though you reserved the car online. So at the end a car that was $25 online costed me $86. These guys lie and wouldn't accept the insurance that I purchased through orbitz. They just want you to pay for insurance twice and rip you off in any possible way. Also inspect the car and note any damages. I found scratches and wrote it in on the paperwork. When I came back they said that these are new scratches and now I had to fill out an incident report. PLEASE DONT DEAL WITH THESE GUYS. You're not getting a deal so might as well go with hertz or enterprise. Trust me you will save yourself a headache. This is a bait and switch operation ran by scumbags without a soul. read more

We also rented from Payless at sky harbor. Our experience was good until are flight time was moved out 2 hrs. We had been bumped and rented a car from them for 1 day and 4 hrs. The contract charged us for 2 days which is fair because the hourly rate would have been more. Then out fight time got moved out and I called to extent our rental a couple hrs only to find that our original contact said I would return the car at 9pm, we wanted to keep the car till 11pm. OH no that's not the agreement sez the employee on the phone. If your late even though we payed for 2 days I would be charged the hourly rate for being late. After pleading our case for nearly 20 mins that we already paid for 2 days and would be well under that I asked to talk to a manager "Why he replied he'll tell you the same thing. Fine I said I'll talk to him when I bring the car back and said good bye. Returning the car 1 1/2 hrs late the gal that checked us in said you'll all set. So I asked for a final recipe Which I received and it showed no late charge. So either the guy on the phone did not know what he was talking about or they just let us slide. Then later we realized we let a gift in our car. When I tried to contact that location I kept getting the national reservation people to explain our dilemma, there response was keep tiring the local number when they're not busy they will pick up. So I called and called til I finally got them to answer, again I explained the problem only to be transferred to there lost and find, again no answer, finally I get a answering machine and left a message and my number. Its been several days and no one has returned our call. Never again will we rent from them, there customer service is ridiculous. read more

My experience with Payless was the worst I have ever had. My husband is a professional musician and we travel all around the world and have rented many, may rental cars. To begin with, when I went to pick up my car I was told that I had to purchase the extra car insurance which I have never had to do before and I know for a fact that my own insurance would cover my rental car. They blamed it on Priceline which we didn't even use. Then I was asked for a utility bill with my address on it. I don't carry around my utility bills so I showed a check which had my address on it and I had to give them a voided check. After I gave them a voided check they told me that they were going to take $350 off my credit card and it would not be returned for 14 days. The normal rate is $200. It took them exactly 14 days to return the $350. I will never rent a car from them again. It was a total scam. I wish I could give tham a 0 rating but I have to give a rating. read more

SCAM - SCAM -SCAM -- Last month we decided to rent a car from Payless in Phoenix for 5 days for about $250 which was about $10 cheaper then the next company. We declined all coverages including insurance because we get built-in insurance by using our credit card. When we returned the car, it had a full tank of gas and was in spotless condition. One month later I see I was charged more then double on my credit card statement. When I FINALLY got through to the company on the phone they said I bought insurance, road side assistance, and a bunch of other useless things. This is definitely a clear case of FRAUD and just by reading all the other reviews I see that there are many other victims like myself. Now I have to waste my time filing a dispute with my credit card company and send a letter to the state attorney complaining about fraud. The person responsible for this scam needs to go to jail!! read more

If there was a way to give negative stars for this review I would have. I travel extensively for work and constantly am renting cars. I saw this company through Hotwire and rolled the dice.... Won't happen again! Car wasn't ready, stood in line for nearly an hour, still didn't have the car ready, ended up taking a standard rental as opposed to the full size I had reserved... The person I dealt with literally didn't talk to me, asked for DL and CC, after 30 mins said "Hey, not sure when your car might be in or ready, there is a compact down there if you want to take it." Now, as I'm looking over the bill, I see this jack@$$ charged me for the insurance I declined. So a rental through Hotwire for a Full-size vehicle for 2 days that was supposed to cost $95 total turned into less than satisfactory standard Kia Soul and a bill of $207!!!!!! Are you freaking kidding me?!???!?! STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY! Absolutely ridiculous! read more

Wow, I was really scared after reading all these negative reviews, but the truth of the matter was that they were fine. I had Abdul as my agent and he was quite friendly. I was processed very efficiently, and although he did offer the insurance and an upgrade for a few bucks more, I just said no thanks and that was the end of it. No hard sell, no guilt trip, no scare tactics. The car was fine and I even got the upgrade for free. No hassles checking out at all, and no surprise charges. The cherry on the cake was the price: Sub-$50 for 2 days, including taxes! If it makes you feel a little better, Payless Car Rental is actually owned by Avis, so there is a big reputable company behind Payless, which set aside some of my worst fears of being cheated. My experience was so routine and nothing like the horror stories from other customers. Maybe I was just lucky, but I don't think so: my sister did the exact same thing I did (we were visiting in town for a function) and her experience was also just fine. I hope you give them a try as I like to encourage businesses that offer a fine product at a very reasonable price. read more

payless, get less. with a chaotic scene at the return area, the female payless representative chose to scold us for parking in the wrong lane, saying we don't check people in if they are in the wrong lane' and then barking " there are signs everywhere". cars were blocking the signs; however, that was her response instead of apologizing that no one was in the area directing the commotion. read more

Do not rent from here. We chose them because they had a car last minute ( now we know why) when we went downstairs we watched another gentleman take the car we were given. The man behind the counter said they double booked the same car. How this happens within 10 minutes of walking downstairs from the airport is beyond me. They have us an SUV for our inconvenience. It rode fine. My problem here is the customer service. When we had rented the car we asked if noon return was okay, he said yes and that there was a 30 minute grace period. I called that day to make sure, again they said yes. I bring the car back, after waiting for the man to give us the okay (10 minutes later) I check out. I notice a 45 dollar charge in addition to what I was quoted. She said it was because I was 5 minutes late.. I tried disputing it with her she completely shut down and told me to go upstairs. I do. The gentleman upstairs says there's nothing he can do that I have to call corporate. He told me they were just bought out by Avis and have had many complaints about how it is now ran. I called customer service, they promised me a response within 72 hours. No response. I call again, they tell me the email they took down must have been wrong but they sent me a receipt for my rental. Which is not what I asked for. So again I have to wait for them to decide to take the charge off or not. Your better off taking an uber. read more

I would give this organization zero stars if I could! DO NOT RENT from this company. Reservations in my son's name, and he was getting the luggage from the shuttle so my husband went up to counter to begin the rental process. Two minutes later my son was at the counter, but the Agent put my husband down as an additional driver (at the tune of an additional $50) when he NEVER drove the car. When they told the agent to take the additional driver off, he told them that he would have to start a whole new reservation at, of course, a much, much higher rental rate. This was a midnight. Agent was very rude and after a really long day of travel (with hours of delays) it was not appreciated. My husband flew home the following day (still no reason to charge for 4-5 days of additional driver when he wasn't even in the state.) Called several times and was told that we would be getting a credit only to find out that no credit was ever issued. Called again today, and again was told that a credit would be issued, but when the request goes to another department they decide no credit is due. Again, do not rent from Payless Car Rental. Pay a few bucks more and get a reputable car rental agency. read more

I booked a rental car online with Payless Car Rental (pick up at 6:30am) for a one day orientation I had at a new job. I arrived at the airport and walked up to their desk at 6:29am and there was no one there but a sign said to go down to the car pick up place and someone would help me. I go down and the lady there says to go back up that there's someone there at 6:30am. I go back up and there's no one up there. I go down and tell her there's no one there and she calls someone on the phone, then tells me to go back up. I patiently went back up and there STILL no one there. I go down again and tell her, starting to get really pissed because I have somewhere to be and she could see my agitation, so she develops an attitude and doesn't even look my way when she asks someone else to help me. What a TERRIBLE experience I had and at that point, they say they have to do a HARD credit check because I wanted to use a debit card. I asked the guy to clarify: is it a soft or hard credit check? And he rudely says "its like the credit check they do when you buy a car". I thought that was ridiculous because all the other car rental places I used do a soft credit check (I use my debit card pretty often). In summary, this is the most disorganized car rental company I'd ever had the misfortune to deal with. I'd suggest you explore other car rental companies before you settle for Payless. Their prices look cheap but gosh, I'd say its surely not worth their attitude. I walked down to Advantage and got attended to and drove out of there in less than 7minutes, after wasting upwards of 15minutes with Payless going up and down the escalator because of their disorganization! read more

This business is unethical and shady. I had reserved a car online and was told that the fee with taxes would be $ 302 for a 4 day rental of a mid-size car (Hyundai Elantra with 35,000 miles). When I arrived they asked me if I wanted the CDW insurance and I said "no" I don't want it. They had me initial like 8 places on the form and I assumed part of that was to decline the insurance. Well, they charged me for insurance and other surcharges above and beyond what the reservation showed for a total of $ 164 more than what the original reservation stated. My total bill for a 4 day rental was $ 466!!! That's insane!! Once I caught the extra charges, 2 days after my rentaI, I asked for them to credit me back the amount. They wouldn't do it. Bottom Line: Do NOT rent from Payless. They are unethical and force you to pay for the insurance that you don't want. I've seen others on Yelp have problems with them as well. Phoenix in general charges a ridiculous amount in taxes and surcharges for rental cars. Save time effort and money and just use Uber or Lyft for all of your needs. I could have had over 20 Uber rides in and around Phoenix, Scottsdale, Tempe and all of the suburbs of Phoenix for less $ than renting a car. Ridiculous! They should be ashamed that they gouge renters. I agree with Red J. and would prefer to give them 0 stars. They suck!!!! read more

If I could give Payless a 0 I would... DO NOT RENT FROM HERE. The car... well lets say it at least it ran. The car was dirty, had stains and the maintenance light was on. While I was driving the car, it sounded like it was going to fall apart any minute. Upon my returning my vehicle I reviewed my final receipt only to find out they had signed me up for "Basic Insurance" coverage with them, even though I clearly stated I had my own insurance and would be utilizing that. I proceeded to request a refund... which was of course was denied! The best part was they informed me they would call me within 72 hours to let me know about my claim... never heard from them. Only when I went onto their website and looked up my claim did I see they were denying a refund... If this doesn't make you pay a little extra for better service and a better car... then I don't know what will. Please go somewhere else! read more