Payless Car Rental — Local services in Kansas City

The worst customer service experience I have had in some time. I rented the vehicle online and everything seemed to be easy and great process. However once I got to the location. They were short staffed and had kept me waiting at the counter as the attendant was trying to take care of all the drop offs and answering the phone multiple times. After I stood there listening to another customer yell about his experience I started to think this company was a bad decision to go with. However, I continues because the attendant Vickie was very nice and helpful. As was the owner, Dan, initially when they engaged in conversation with me about the reason for my trip. I paid for a full size vehicle and they tried to first give me a standard and I requested a full size. Not a big deal. But I paid for a full size. The owner had offered a “upgrade” which was a Nissan Rogue. One that drove a little rough than what I know them nissans to drive.

Anyway I took the vehicle and after 4 hours I realized that I no longer needed the rental and called to find out what the return policy was. They explained that I would just pay for the time using the vehicle.

As I returned the vehicle the owner was running around trying to assist the customers as well as myself. As he was checking me out I asked if he would be willing to listen to my concerns on my experience that I had. From this point he seemed to get irritated and took offense on a personal level of what I was trying to address.

As he tried to rush me out I requested a receipt for the remaining reservation on the refund. He got angry and said I wasn’t getting a refund. I proceeded to tell him there was no need to get angry and that he was making me feel uncomfortable. We continued inside as I explained further my experience and even had Vickie still there and as I applauded her for having to man all the business at the front desk. But the way the owner treated me was unacceptable. There was no reason for many of the comments he said as I was just trying to calmly explain my experience and from an owner perspective, there was some things that I thought he should know. I wasn’t expecting a full refund. (Even though he kept asking if I wanted the vehicle for free. When I explained to him that I no longer needed a rental for my stay here in KC)

I hope this location gets better staffing and that owner, Dan utilizes a little more emotional intelligence when it comes to managing and...

STAY AWAY FROM THESE PEOPLE! YOU COULD GET HURT OR EVEN KILLED!

It rained in Joplin, MO and their vehicle's windshield wiper blades and windshield were so bad we were stuck for over an hour until the rain let up. Then we called in at 9:09 AM on August 15, 2024 and their guy claims he set up a switch near by.

Read this text: Payless Notification: A replacement vehicle is waiting for you at Avis - Joplin Mo - Jp6, 2109 E 7th St, Joplin, MO 64801, USA. Proceed to the Rental Car Return area. Present this SMS message to the Return Agent for guidance, or proceed directly to 'Vehicle Exchange Counter' identified with a sign at most locations. Do not wait in line. Your Rental Agreement number is U337446944. Your current MVA number is 51456112.

LIAR! There was NO CAR WAITING! The Avis guy said Payless sent us to what is an independent and doesn't deal with those people. The airport where I rented and needed to return the car to was 2 1/2 hours away. So here we are tuck in a car way too dangerous to drive in the rain but then we noticed the aliments out and it vibrates terribly at 60 MPH and wants to swerve. A guy at a local shop said we should park it and make Payless's people go get it. I wish we would have because that very night another storm hit and this time we were almost hit by a downed tree and could have died.

I filed a complaint demanding my money back and Cynthia emails with a bunch of apologies and claims they are compensated us but then wants some profile number? WOW! I don't have a "Profile number". So I respond back with the invoice and get these weird auto generated emails:

Thank you for your follow-up email.

We would like to confirm that the provided additional information has been recorded under your existing case with unique reference “A151D122”.

Sincerely,

Avis Budget Group

These people are not right for sure and apparently the fact that they could have killed us doesn't mean much to them either.

If we don't hear from a real human being with in the next few days we're going to file...

No contract, no paperwork, no documentation of any sort. It was late at night so I assumed - with it being 2025 - that all of this would come electronically, at least via email. I signed NOTHING, received nothing. The next morning I got a text asking what vehicle I drove out of the lot, as the one I "rented" was still there. I had to text a pic of the license plate to the rental agency to confirm. I then asked for a copy of the rental agreement, and they did not have my email on file after asking for it 3 different times the night before. Not at all surprisingly the price had now risen by almost 100% (almost doubled). Several phone calls & emails back and forth seemed to sort that out and we were back at the quoted price. A week later when I return the car, my emailed invoice was still significantly higher than my quote, but now I'm a thousand miles away and it's not worth the hassle. Which seems to be what they count on. And for what it's worth, there was NO opportunity to look over the car for damage before or after, so no assurance that damage was there before I picked it up, or any claimed damage occurred after I dropped off the car. In the end, VERY SHADY and sketchy. A lot of blind faith here that you're not getting screwed in the end by Payless Car Rental. I strongly suggest...