Payless Car Rental

Horrible experience with Payless. I reserved a car from them with Expedia. Today February 15, 2016 at 7:00 PM, I showed up to pick up the car at this location at the Fort Lauderdale airport and the lady asked me for a second identification with my name and address besides my driver’s license. I asked her are you serious, like what? She replied like an utility bill. I said who carries a utility bill to go and rent a car? So I asked the woman at the counter, do you have one on you? She said those were the rules. I said my car insurance with my address should be enough then and she said okay. Then she said that my credit history wasn’t long enough to qualify for the rental. I couldn’t believe it. I said fine, I don’t need you rent from you. I spoke to the manager and my friend I was with said if he could rent it instead and if we could use the reservation we had and she said no, that I need to do it on line again to get same rate and wait one hour to show up in the system. I couldn’t believe it, I asked you rather let me walk away while you don’t have another soul waiting to rent a car, and she didn’t say a thing. Whatever you do stay away from this company. I had a second reservation through Sixt outside the airport and boy what a pleasure doing business with them. We were taking care of in about 8 minutes and they didn’t ask for all the crap Payless asks for.

This car rental place was terrible and, had possibly the worst customer service we’ve ever experienced. We rented a car for a week and had to return it after 12 hours because it was not safe.
Wheel alignment was poor and the car was shaking. The car was dirty and the tires were balled.
The supervisor did not believe us — he was extremely rude and nasty. Instead of apologizing and offering to replace it with no questions asked, they made us take the car out again to fill it with gas or we’d be charged 9.00 per gallon!
Eventually we got another car and, shocker, car was dirty… Terrible — don’t go there — cheap really does mean cheap!

Trouble-​free experience. I reserved a Kia Forte for four days for $ 92.50 total. No trouble checking in or out. I really liked the car, too. Would definitely use them again.

This is by far the worst company I have ever dealt with. We rented a car for 4 days and my total was $ 136. At check in I was offered «optional» coverage which I declined clearly. Two days after I returned the car I received a new invoice for $ 312 with all the charges I declined. The company told me they couldn’t refund me because they had signed agreement accepting these add on but when I request that they show me the agreement I supposedly signed it doesn’t appear and they cease all communication with me. They are theifs. I checked the consumer affairs site and they have 384 complaints filed against them for the same exact thing. Stealing from their customers is common practice from this company. They might appear to have cheaper rates than others but in the end you will end up paying the price of a Bently rental on a kia. Stay away!

If I could give this place ZERO stars I would (the Ft. Lauderdale Airport location to be clear). The worst car rental experience! They are scammers and charge you for things you do not agree to such as daily insurance when you clearly told them you do not want as well as misrepresent their classification of car types and what you have reserved prior to your pick-​up.
Nelson who is at that location is a bully and refused to correct the charges that he put on our account. He is an outright liar and will try to steal your money. CONSUMER BEWARE!!!

DONOT rent from this company. I rented a car for 20 dollars a day and returned the car with a full fuel. They charged me a 100 refueling fee which I just saw on my credit card statement. Do they think I am stupid that I would return the car with an empty fuel! I was about to rent with this company again but its better to stick with big rental companies.

I recently rented a car from Payless on our trip to visit family in Miami. I had gotten a great deal ($ 80 for a week) on their website. When I get to the counter, everything was going smoothly until the rep reached for the keys and mentioned that the car I had rented was a 2 door. I specifically needed a 4-​door car (the pictures of the cars on their website were all 4-​door cars), so she «sneakily» upgraded me to a larger car for $ 15 more per day. I say sneakily, because when we went to get our car (which, by the way, was a brand new Hyundai Sonata… with XM radio… no complaints at all about the actual car-​it was great), I noticed the car I had originally reserved (according to the rep, a VW Jetta) was actually a 4-​door, instead of the 2-​door she had said it was. I should’ve gone back at that moment and had them change my reservation back, but we were in a hurry.
Another point of contention was the toll charge. On the contract it clearly states that if you use a toll, you’ll be charged $ 3.95 per day as a convenience fee, plus the actual toll, up to $ 16.95 per week. We avoided toll roads all week except for one day (so we should’ve been charged $ 3.95 plus $ 2.00 in toll charges). When I returned the car, I was told that I’d be charged the entire $ 16.95 fee because I had the car for a week. That’s not what the contract states. When I mentioned this to the person at the counter, they said it had nothing to do with them and that I should call the Florida highway toll division and take it up with them. They’re the ones charging the convenience fee, not the state. $ 16.95 is not a huge amount of money, but if your contract states one thing, and you tell me another, how is that not a huge red flag? The whole rental ended up costing around $ 260, not including the toll charges. Not bad for a week, but definitely not the $ 80/​week deal I thought I was getting.
I don’t like writing semi-​negative reviews, but this whole issue has been bothering me for a while. I’m used to problem-​free rentals from companies like Enterprise, not the bait-​and-​switch I experienced with Payless. While my experience did have some positive aspects (the gentlemen at the car lot were very friendly and accommodating, and the car itself was great), I don’t think I’ll be doing business with them again, no matter how cheap their rentals are.

Read many of the mixed posts here and almost didn’t rent from Payless. However the price was so low thought I’d try the weekly rental. I heard some other renters at the counter showing utility bills etc. found out that if you have a Florida driver’s license you have to provide this info. Apparently they have had some issues with cars disappearing from local renters.
The car was clean and in good shape. Kept waiting for the «catch» for my $ 13/​day mid size rental and it never showed up. When I returned the vehicle there were no surprises and my receipt matched my rental agreement exactly.
Can’t speak to all the negative reviews but my experience was good (I’m a Hertz 5 star gold member). I would still recommend caution and diligence but the price may be worth it.
Safe travels!

You get what you pay for! I rented a car from the airport location and it was awful, from beginning to end. When I picked up the car the very rude agent told me she needed a utility bill or something else (other than a drivers license) to show my address… what? Who carries that? Not sure if it’s a Florida rule or a Payless rule, but my current address is in Texas and my license is still Florida… took me five minutes to finally get her to figure out that I didn’t live in Florida anymore! She eventually just looked at my return flight info and let me rent the car. The car was awful. Had a horrible odor, like someone had smoked in it and it was dirty… the console definitely had some caked on dirt and who knows what else. The passenger side mirror didn’t work at all… could not move it to see anything… good thing it was a tiny Mazda 2. The last day of renting, the emergency light went on – it did manage to get me to the airport though… I was dreading having to go through customer service to get another car. I always thought car rental companies were the same… a car is a car. But I rent a few times each year and I’ve never been so disappointed before. Next time I will pay more and forget Payless! Yuck.

This location is horrible. The cars are dirty and very unreliable. I had to return the first car I rented since the air conditioning stopped working after half a day. It also smelled atrocious. The representative when I brought it back never apologized or anything. The representative who originally gave me the car was rude and trying to sell upgrades in an ugly way. He must have said at least five time that if they had to put gas it was nine dollars a gallon. When I brought it back I told someone about how filthy the car was. Again no one cared. They ran to the computer to check that the filth was there before. Just to make sure that I did not do it. Horrible experience.

Got a great deal this past saturday. Even though they were busy, the staff got us out pretty quickly. All the cruise people come down on Saturday so the airport was swamped. Took the car back with no hassle. Got a Jetta (mid-​size) for $ 35 a day.

What a great experience from beginning to end! We arrived on a Thursday evening, no line at all and got our car after about 10 minutes. It was a small car but exactly what we needed to get around and a great price. Our flight back was early on Sunday morning. We were running late and didn’t pass a gas station on the way so decided to return it with a half a tank and face the consequences. The extremely nice man (wish I got his name) at the booth when we returned it said he would help us out and only charge us the regular rate for gas had we pre-​purchased it. So it turned out to be something like $ 15 instead of the $ 50ish they normally charge for not filling up. Also, the process was very quick. What amazing customer service! I would highly recommend this company to anyone looking to rent a car in the area. Especially compared to Budget which I rented a car from a few weeks later by LAX– waited over an hour for a car, charged for things we didn’t do, etc.

I’ve used this car rental service about three times. Always great cars always great service. Especially the time I kept the key for the car (because these cars don’t use keys) and someone was kind enough to pick it up for me.

Their moto should be «Pay less now, but believe me we’ll make you pay later.» I booked with Payless online cause they had the cheapest price. Went I picked up the car at the airport, I thought it was odd they asked me for a utility bill since no other rental company has ever asked me for that before. When I saw the car they gave me (2013 Hyundai Elantra), I was pleasantly surprised, or so I thought!
I picked up my car on ¾/​15. On 3÷5÷15, I was down in Kendall (Miami area) and pulled over onto a side street to check my gps. I turned off the car. When I went to turn the car back on, it would not start. 6:29 pm — I called Payless in FLL and they told me to call Payless in MIA because it was closer. They advised me to try to jump the car. I spent an hour hailing down 2 passersby to ask them for a jump. Tried to jump the car 2 times, with 2 separate batteries and nothing.
Close to 8 pm, I called Payless in MIA and told them what the situation was. Marlon (sp) told me that a tow truck would come and pick up a car, bring me the car at my location, and then take the car that did not function. 45 mins later, I receive a call from Roadside assistance telling me they were going to send a tow truck to come and jump start the car. I explain to the person on the phone that I already tried to jump the car, and that they person at Payless told me they were going to bring me another car. And I explained that I was alone, in a dark street and was concerned for my safety.
I call the Payless in Miami and Marlon explained that he was unable to send me a car and to call the Payless in FLL. 3 separate calls to Payless FLL and I am able to speak to Jose. And he informs me that roadside assistance is sending a tow truck who will try to jump the car, and if still no resolution, the driver will take me and the car to the Payless MIA facility. Then someone from the Payless facility will come and get me to get me another car. Again, I reiterate that I’m alone in a dark spot and concerned for my safety.
Roadside assistance calls me a few minutes later and says the tow truck driver will call me shortly and provides the address of the facility in which I will be taken.
Tow truck driver calls me 30 minutes later, and arrives 30 minutes after that. He attempts to jump the car multiple times and the car still does not start. I explained to the driver what Jose and roadside assistance told me and he said that it was too late for him to take me or the car to the Payless facility and that he would take it to storage and take it to the facility tomorrow.
I call the Payless FLL, very frustrated with the situation because no one knows what we are supposed to do and I ask Jose to please have the tow truck take the car wherever it needs to go and I just want to be free from the responsibility of the car. I don’t want another car; I just want to be able to leave this dark spot! He informs me that he will refund my payment (minus the use of 1 day) tomorrow (Friday morning) and he would call me. By the time the tow truck left, it was after 10 PM. By the time my family came to get me, it will almost 11 pm. I was left there for 5 hours, in the dark dimly lit street, by myself.
It’s been 1 week and I have not received the refund, or any calls from Jose in Payless FLL. I have called multiples times and the hold times can drive anyone insane. I opened a ticket with their corporate office and got a response, but a week has passed and no refund. I opened a dispute with my credit card company.
The thing I can’t get over is the fact that the tow truck driver (contracted by Payless) said that out of the 20 – 25 cars he picks up a day, at least 4 – 5 of them are the Hyundai Elantra’s from Payless. If Payless knew these cars had mechanical failures, how can they continue to rent them to their customers? And after I told the Payless personal multiple times I was in a dark street by myself, and concerned for my safety, how could you leave me out there for 4 – 5 hours? Would you want your wife, mother of your children, sister out there by herself?

I rented a full-​size car from Payless. They did not have one when I arrived and tried to give me a minivan. My only other option was to go down a level to an economy car, which I chose to do because it was 11pm. I ended up with a Ford Focus hatchback.
Unfortunately, as I realized later, the transmission was a lemon. (
) Off the line in first and second gear, the transmission would slip or hesitate, which can be very dangerous especially in an unfamiliar car.
Ultimately, I decided to put up with the issue because taking the car back to the airport would have eaten into our free time on our weekend away. It was awful to drive though.
When I returned the car, I let the person know that even though I had not returned the car, I considered it to have a serious defect that should be repaired immediately. The person just laughed and said that they knew about the issue. And they continue to rent the cars.
I think that’s unconscionable and likely illegal.
Save yourself a headache and rent from someone else.

I rented a car from payless on January 25, 2015 and I was a little skeptical due to the reviews. I had no problems renting from this company. They were friendly and prompt. I was in my car driving away within 20 min. I didn’t take their insurance and had no problems with that. They charge you a $ 200 deposit because of not taking their insurance. I had no problems getting my $ 200 back. The car was in great shape. I will definitely rent from this company again.

Payless at Ft. Lauderdale airport was fantastic! My flight arrived late, and all rental car desks close at 12:30am. I called Payless at 12:05am and they reassured me that they would wait for me and I’d have a car. The front desk guy was absolutely professional and didn’t do a hard sell for insurance or upgrades. It was actually one of the easiest rental car check in’s that I’ve experienced. Returning the car was just as easy. I arrived with a full tank, and was charged the same amount I booked.
People who complain about «extra taxes and fee’s» obviously do not have a lot of experience renting cars. Anyone who rents cars from any company knows that $ 20 per day easily gets doubled by those taxes and fees. I’ve rented from Hertz to Thrifty, same deal each time. Also, most companies will place a credit card «hold», so just come prepared for that. Especially with the «lower cost» rental car companies… do you really blame them for placing a hold? I don’t!
I booked my Payless car direct on the payless website, and «prepaid». Perhaps that secure myself a better experience, I don’t know. But I would absolutely rent from them again. I saved about $ 75 compared to Hertz and other major companies!!!

I would have given this place 0 starts if possible. I rented a car from them at the Fort Lauderdale airport. I got fooled by the low price, but ended up incurring a charge that was almost four (!) times as much.
The car was reserved online through a travel site at $ 22 a day. Payless charged me $ 90 instead. When I contacted them for an explanation, they pointed the finger at the travel site. When the travel site contacted Payless, they said I was the one who had changed the reservation, which was a bold-​faced lie.
It seems that this company has made dishonest business practices their habit. Their rates are deceitful and their representatives are unwilling to explain the charges or correct their mistakes. They are lying their way out of responsibility and I doubt they will stay in business much longer with such terrible customer service.
I would avoid this place at all cost.

DO NOT RENT FROM THESE CROOKS!
While renting a car from payless I was pulled over by the cops and informed that the tags on this car were registered for a different car. I got a ticket for $ 116 in my name for the wrong tags. After calling no short of 10 times and dealing with the worst customer service imaginable I was slapped in the face with a $ 27.00 deduction from my original rental. They reassured me multiple times they would pay the ticket but in the end I paid the ticket which was wrote in my name for their mistake.
I spent 40 minutes at the FLL airport trying to get it settled, they assured me they would «take care of the ticket.» The ticket was never paid and they didn’t even bother following up with me.
DON’T WASTE YOUR TIME!!!

Paid $ 180 with taxes and full tank fill up for 4−5days. No issues, no pushy sales staff, very professional, very straight foward, explained possible upgrades, explained all the fees and very fast to get in/​out.
Walked to the back of the magic door that led to the parking garage. The key were given to me at the desk and told the space # to find my car. I was responsible to mark scratches/​damages on a ticket, then I had to give the ticket to the cashier/​tell when departing the lot. The company already had made notation of scratches to the car and I just concurred and went about my business.
To be honest, I was leary because it was my first time renting from a company other than Enterprise or Budget. However, everything turned out fine. It was kindof funny to see EZ Car Rental was being operated by Payless… FYI: They shared the same counter but with different logos behind their respective sides.