Payless Car Rental

I wish I could give this place 0 stars. DO NOT RENT HERE!!! Worst customer service I have ever experienced, they WILL try to scam you. Again, DO NOT RENT HERE!

Made us wait for more than ten minutes for a shuttle. Told us it was on its way and it wasn’t. Poor customer service too.

This is literally the worst car rental place I’ve ever experienced. I’ve rented here several times and will not again. Woman is not often at counter, today she was outside on her personal cell phone when I walked in and I had to go back outside after a few minutes to ask her to let me check out. No one there to check me out when I pulled in either. When you arrive to get your car, again people are never at the counter. And they don’t get the car for you or walk out with you to check car condition. Last car I got was in such poor condition I had to almost circle the whole car to indicate damage. I would definitely recommend another rental agency… anything would be better.

These guys are scam artists. Rented a compact car and the lady tried talking me into a midsize for $ 16 weekend upgrade. I maintained the small car was fine. She was relentless, but I kept saying «I’ll take the small car I rented please». Finally she gave in and told me she’d give me the bigger car anyway for the same price. Turned out she didn’t have the smaller car to rent, yet she kept trying to get me to pay for the larger car. It got worse on the pressure she gave me to take the insurance, which I also declined regardless of her high pressure and lie filled sales pitch. Next time I’ll probably pay the extra money and go with a name brand.

A coworker and I recently rented a car from Payless for a one day business trip right next to the airport. The whole experience was definitely «meh,» but with the plethora of rental car companies in the area, we would have both much rather gone to a different company.
We waited outside the airport for about 15 minutes and watched multiple shuttles pass by before we realized that the Payless shuttle is the same shuttle as the Budget shuttle (the Payless logo is underneath the giant Budget shuttle, so if you’re not looking closely, you’d just assume that it’s just the Budget shuttle).
Payless shares the same office as Budget, and the Budget line moved significantly faster. After we processed at the counter, we had to go out to the parking lot to find our car, do a walk around, note any dings on the slip, and return the slip to the counter. (Definitely an easier process at Hertz where we rented the day before in another city).
We rented a Hyundai Elantra that smelled terribly like smoke (and since it was 10 °F outside, we weren’t keen on opening the windows). We noted this on the slip since there is a fine for smoke smell. My coworker said that if we were renting the car for more than one day, he’d go back to the counter, but for just one day it wasn’t worth the hassle.
For the return, we drove into the lot, parked in a random lane, and looked around for a few minutes wondering what to do. We were finally greeted by a man in a Budget uniform. While Budget cars can be checked in right at the car, we had to go back to the counter to check out.
All in all it wasn’t a terrible experience (especially for one day), but i’m sure that there are better cars and easier experiences at other rental companies.

I went to Hartford, CT for a work and I had the weekend open so I decided to rent a car for a last minute trip to Boston and I used Payless Car Rental.
Payless was not my first choice. I went through four other rental companies (all in the same area) and all the attendants were very rude. It was a last minute trip and I didn’t have a reservation, so I didn’t expect a great selection from the other companies. They didn’t have to be jerks about it. I walked out of four car rental companies before I got to Payless.
When I arrived at Payless (it shared the building with another rental company) I was pleasantly surprised to be greeted with a smile. The attendant was very helpful and nice. She gave me a list of all of all the prices and options. She did try to upsell me (I feel that all rental companies do that) but if you say no, they are not pushy about it.
I got a fair price and the attendant gave me a bunch of recommendations for my trip (it was my first time in Boston) and even looked up some great information for me.
I really enjoy giving my business to companies that still treat their customers with respect.

This is the Payless Car Rental at the airport (BDL).
We rented from Payless for the first time because rental rates seemed to be very high with everyone else. Payless was cheaper, especially if you paid in advance (which we did).
First, Payless is the no-​frills division of Budget. You right the Budget bus to the remote lot and then you go to the Payless counter inside the Budget office. Everything about the Payless experience is worse than Budget. Payless has only one counter and you have to wait longer. When you return the car, the Budget people can get a receipt outside and get on the bus. Payless renters have to wait in line inside again. Seems frustrating…
The worst part was the upwell when we picked up the car. The Payless rep repeatedly tried to upwell us on upgrades, insurance, pre-​paid gas, etc. The «upgrade» car was twice the price of what we had already chosen. When we said no, the price kept coming down and she kept finding additional discounts to get the price down until we said «yes.»
Interestingly, she sold us on the upgrade to a Jeep Cherokee by telling us it was a 7 passenger vehicle — which would have been useful to us. We threw our luggage in the back and only after we were at our destination did we realize there was no third seat and it was only a 5 passenger vehicle. Too late to fix it, and very frustrating… The upgrade was a waste.
She also misrepresented the local gas prices when she tried to sell us the pre-​paid fuel. She told us gas «outside» was $ 4.10 per gallon. We never saw prices that high, and actually filled the car for only $ 3.35 per gallon just outside the airport.
The car itself was fine, but not exactly what I would call clean. I guess there is a reason why you pay less for Payless. You need to decide whether the tradeoffs are worth the price. I think I’m going back to a premium company next time.