Payless Car Rental Reviews 

Absolute scam. When we arrived back at Cluj Napoca I should have been wary when he asked me if I had taken photos. I didn’t because the car had obviously been a company car with stickers on the side which had been removed leaving terrible paintwork, which they agreed. He managed to find a tiny crack at the bottom of the windscreen passenger side, which showed in neither the photos they took before or after the rental. They removed the whole £1100 deposit for a windscreen that was quoted in Romania between £200-450. I emailed them after for a breakdown but got nothing. Zest the car broker managed to get an invoice from a garage and it was exactly the deposit!! Zest should not use this company.

I reserved a mini van 3 months ago for my family and I to travel to Hoosier National Forest. We were scheduled to pick the van up and the Indianapolis International Airport on 9.18 and 7 pm. Upon arriving I was told by a gentleman at the desk that all of the cars had been recalled and they did not have a vehicle for me. He asked if I received a text, phone call, or email. I had not. My questions to him where:
Why wasn't a car/van found at another location and brought here for us to rent?
Why wasn't I called, text, or emailed?
Why didn't you reserve a car for us at another company in the airport and then send an email, text, or call?
He had no response for any of these answers.
When I called Payless customer service and asked these same questions- they first asked me to verify my rental by my email address- I gave it to them. They let me know they sent an email earlier in the day letting me know that my rental was cancelled. I told them I never received the email in which they replied, that's because we don't have your email address. Okay- so you just asked for my email address to verify my rental but now you don't have it.
The CSR said they would hold a car for me for the following day, and we could get a hotel at the airport- to which I asked, where they planning to provide vouchers and/or pay for the hotel? The answer was no. I asked them how they planned to make it right and the response was they weren't going to. We ended up paying $250.00 for an Uber to our location. I WOULD NEVER RENT FROM THEM AGAIN- terrible customer service, dishonest, zero problem resolution. Steer clear.

Don’t trust this company. I booked online without extra insurance, when I arrived to the counter at Montenegro Airport, I was asked if I want to pay for extra insurance and I declined. They still went ahead and added it to the contract and I signed for it without reading all the small print while there was a long queue behind me. I paid an extra £217 even more that the cost of the car hire. When I found out about it and emailed them to complain they never replied to my emails. Don’t trust this company, very unprofessional.

Avoid this company at all costs. I booked a car through Jet2.com, paying in full upfront (£350 including insurance). When I arrived in Montenegro, I was forced to wait almost two hours just to be seen at the Payless desk – painfully slow and chaotic.

When I finally got to the counter, Payless staff claimed they had no record of my prepaid booking, refused to accept the official voucher from Jet2.com, and demanded I pay an additional €260 on the spot. I had no choice but to hand it over if I wanted the car.

The whole setup is a scam. Jet2.com hides behind CarTrawler, their third-party broker, who are equally useless. I submitted every bit of paperwork and proof of payment, only to be told the “scans weren’t clear enough” and eventually brushed off with: “there’s nothing we can do – you agreed to pay at the desk.” Absolute nonsense – I’d already paid in full before arriving.

This isn’t just bad service – it’s dishonest. Payless Montenegro, Jet2.com, and CarTrawler are passing the blame in a circle while keeping my money.

Do yourself a favour: do not book with Payless, and think twice before trusting Jet2.com with car hire.

I booked my car on expedia app thinking Payless car rental agency at Sabiha airport would be respectful of their sponsor but they acted viciously and aggressively trying to force me to accept additional fees not advertised on expedia like additional insurance. When I refused to pay it they said I needed to have a security deposit of $10,000 or pay $60 for insurance for a 3 day rental. The agent, Çagatay, was very mean and cold I will never forget his shameful behavior. I canceled the car and rented from AVEC which is a decent agency to deal with.

Terrible, hostile customer service at Otopeni airport from each and every member of staff we encountered. Lied about insurance cover to scare you into upgrading (I didn't). Car terrible. Support for mechanical issues on the road amateur and unresponsive (thank goodness we didn't break down by the side of a road), charged to change (downgrade!) our car as our original car was cancelled "automatically by the system" because we were an hour late picking it up (plane delayed. Surely this happens all the time?!). You have to return the car in immaculately clean condition (genuinely!) or face yet more charges. I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. Don't be tempted by price. Nothing positive to say

Watch out for their insurance scam! It cost me £478 at Dubrovnik airport. I’d already paid extra insurance with Holiday Autos who I booked through. When I collected the car I was prepared for the usual insurance sales pitch but nothing was mentioned other than sign here and here, “it’s very important for the police.” I asked them and they confirmed that my full deposit would be returned upon safe return of the car and that there would be no additional charges. My card has now been charged £478 for extra insurance. My daughter who booked a second car has had exactly the same experience. So many people are sharing the same experience on review sites that this is an extensive practice that needs to be dealt with.

We never got our car because we only had visa debit card. The same card that was accepted to pay for the car plus full insurance so We wouldnt be liable for anything. Anyways i wanted to transfer money to my travel card but that wasnt enough. Marko the Clerk seemed more interested in showing off to the woman next to him than trying to fix the situation. Normally never give 1 star but this time we pay for a car we never get and loose precious time on our vacation. Basically get horrible customer service and no product. Dont see how it can get any worse 🤣

I had a very bad experience with Payless Rental Car. I rented a car and left a $116 deposit, but when it came time for the refund, they gave me only $100 and the rest in lira. At first, I didn’t notice, but later I realized they didn’t actually give me the $100 at all.
This feels dishonest and unprofessional. I trusted them, but they failed to handle the refund properly and scammed me out of my money. I would not recommend Payless Rental Car to anyone. Be very careful if you decide to rent from them!

PAYLESS LA AIRPORT– bald tyre leading to puncture; suspect claims by counter staff about insurance and special deals; customer service tickets ignored. Prepaid rental for a 48 hour stopover in LA – 4th to 6th July.
BALD TYRE: Puncture while travelling just under the maximum speed on the freeway. Changing the tyre myself, I found it had less than 1mm of tread at the site of the puncture. I filed an online maintenance complaint ticket, and it was responded to quickly. They gave an assurance to review their processes. It’s a safety issue and customers should not have to check tyre tread, but best to double check with Payless LA. No type of compensation was offered or asked for.
INSURANCE CLAIMS: I told the agent I already had full insurance with a well-known 3rd party provider and offered to show the policy. Without viewing the policy, the agent said I still had to take the Payless basic insurance. I’m not a US citizen and was unsure of my legal standing, so I accepted the agent was telling the truth and paid for the expensive insurance. However, I have since found no evidence that this claim is true. An online ticket was filed with customer service asking for clarification about the insurance. It was ignored, as was a repeat ticket a week later.
UNEXPECTED EXTRA COSTS: The agent said I was eligible for a special deal involving an upgrade of vehicle, which I got, and no need to refill gas upon return. With all my previous rentals I’ve never taken the agency refuel option. I asked the agent 3 times, and each time she assured me I didn’t need to fill the tank. I was charged for a full tank refill. I only used just over half a tank, so it was an expensive and unnecessary extra cost. I also made the rookie mistake of not checking every single line item (there are lots of taxes). She’d also added roadside assistance that I definitely didn’t ask for. Agencies usually go through the contract items before they ask you to sign. In this situation the contract was handed to me with a hurried ‘just sign here’. The no explanation of any of the costs was a big red flag I should have paid attention to. Customer service ignored the first and second ticket filed about the ‘special deal’.

Montenegro airport:
We were informed when we picked up the car that they could not rent us a car for the amount confirmed and that we have to pay an additional €281 for additional insureance. The earlier paid sum would not have been refunded because the cancellation period had expired.

Reservation document stated that no additional insurance needed and no payment at the airport desk - the reservation was paid in full beforehand.

Scam. Don't use Payless Car rental!

4 hours before we received the car. 2 times in the appointed, but wrong, lane.
Dublin Airport.
Car with lot of defect.

Last week, my wife and I rented a car during a week’s holiday in Croatia. We rented a car through booking.com at about 173 EUR, but the car rental company was Payless Car Rental. During pick up, the car rental company covertly added an additional fee of 277 EUR for an ‘optional’ ‘vehicle coverage +’, without informing us or asking us if we wanted this ‘optional’ ‘service’, which more than doubled the rental price. I should of course have noticed this before signing the pamphlet, during which the employee focused on the 500 EUR security deposit and examination of any preexisting damage to the car. Still, adding an ‘optional’ fee without asking for the consumer’s consent is just shady business practices.

Rented a car in St. Louis Mo. Payless employee told me since I had insurance with Alliance when I booked my flight, their insurance will be refunded to me after I returned vehicle. Call customer service to inquire about refund and they did help in getting insurance refund. DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT USE THIS CAR RENTAL COMPANY EVER!!!

I reserved a midsize car, "Toyota Camry or similar," at Payless at San Diego airport. When I arrived, late at night after a delayed flight, I was told that I had reserved a Honda Fit, which Honda classes as a compact car. As a tall person, the FIT was too small for me. When I pointed out that the FIT was NOT a midsize car by any description, I was told that "we size cars differently" and that by their standards, the FIT was midsized.
Then the counter agent made a big presentation about how he would give us a larger car at a discounted price. Which then nearly doubled our bill. When I pointed this out, he went into a song and dance about how our $250 deposit would be subtracted from the bill, trying to make it sound like our final bill would be $250 less than was shown on the rental agreement. When I pointed out that what he said was not what was on the paper, he just doubled down on his double-talk.
The next day, I called the manager to try and resolve the situation. She was completely unhelpful. She defended her unscrupulous employee. She also blamed the vendor's ad for her agency's deceptive practices. Which told me that this type of unethical behavior was engrained in the corporate culture. AVOID PAYLESS CAR RENTALS!!!

Absolutely horrible company. The counter staff will add optional services without telling you when you pick up the car. If you try to argue with this shit company afterwards, they will just pass the buck to each other.

I had a terrible experience with Payless Car Rental In Albuquerque and would strongly advise others to avoid them at all costs. I was returning a rental to the airport and, due to a freeway accident, was running tight on time. I pulled up and asked the check-in staff how much it would cost for them to fill the gas tank. He told me he didn’t know and said I should go inside to ask.
Inside, I was met by an incredibly rude agent who told me it was $10 per gallon—which is outrageously overpriced. I immediately told them I’d prefer to fill the tank myself, as I was being told the charge only after already arriving. But they refused to allow it. They claimed the car had already been “checked in” and wouldn’t give me the keys back, even though I had just walked inside.
To make matters worse, the tank was almost half full when I returned it (it’s a RAV4 with a 14.5 gallon tank), but they charged me $107 to top it off. That math doesn’t even come close to adding up, and it felt completely predatory.
It felt like a total scam. There was zero transparency, no customer service, and absolutely no flexibility. I got overcharged for gas in a way that felt dishonest and predatory. I will never rent from Payless again—and I recommend others don’t either. There are plenty of rental companies that won’t treat you like this.

Dishonest and deceiving business.

Their cancellation policy is written intentionally to screw unsuspecting consumer. I guess a fool and their money soon part ways, but it's obvious they do this just to be slimy and deceptive. Oh well, I guess every business can choose its own ethical standards. Gross! Would never rent from them again.

Got scammed by the payless desk in Split Croatia, when i arrived late, the checking in clerk said.

"oh good news your full insurance is included" i thought i may have just added this when booking but couldn't remember.

He then rushed through the paperwork, saying its only a £400 deposit, i thought this is great and off i went.

when returning the car and checking it back in to drop off, i got them to sign off the car to say it was in good condition which it was as i didnt use it much.... BUT there was an additional 450 euro bill??? i questioned this as the hire was just £119 he said i needed to go to the desk to sort it out.

turned out that the insurance wasnt included, and in fact they had added absolutly every insurance upgrade they could, personal accident insurance, upgraded cover and various others.

total scam, the worst part about it was that because they tricked me into signing, i have no way of arguing it as i had signed.....VERY bad practice, i will NEVER use them again

The Worst Rental Experience I’ve Ever Had – Avoid Payless at All Costs

I don’t usually write reviews, but this experience deserves to be shared.

I rented a car through Payless via Expedia, and what followed was a complete disaster:
• Upon arrival, I had to wait over an hour with no explanation.
• The car I had booked wasn’t available. I was given another vehicle with the excuse: “same price, bigger car.” Not true.
• The next day, the car broke down with a check engine warning light. Mechanical failure.
• I contacted support. It was a nightmare—long calls, no answers, no responsibility.
• They sent a tow truck but told me I had to go with the tow truck for 40+ minutes to get a replacement. Absurd. I refused.
• No replacement car was provided. I had to use Uber at my own expense and cancel important meetings.
• They promised a refund for one day. Never delivered.
• Then they had the nerve to send me a coupon. I will never rent from them again.
• Worst of all: no one communicates internally. I had to explain my case to three different agents and still got generic answers.

⚠️ I lost time, money, peace of mind, and received no fair solution. This is the most disorganized, irresponsible company I’ve dealt with.

If you’re thinking of renting from Payless—don’t. You’ll regret it.