Payless Car Rental — Local services in New York

I rented a car from Payless LGA location on September 1st, 2018 at 11:30am. I drove off towards Vermont at about 11:45am. Within less than an hour, the car front right tire had a severe blowout and put my life at risk. After the accident, I contacted the roadside emergency number listed on my contract, but all the representative told me was for me to return the car at the closet rental location, which was 50 miles away. A road assistance service by NY State Department of Transportation passed by and helped me changed the spare tire. However, there was low tire pressure warning on the car so I didn't feel safe driving the rental for 50 miles back to the rental location. Therefore I called the roadside assistance at Payless to request a tow truck. The truck driver ended up dropping me off at EWR airport, which is dozens of miles away from LGA airport where I originally got my car. I went to the rental counter at EWR and asked for proper solution and compensation for my accident. The counter manager dropped any charge from renting the car itself, but refused to help me with anything else or any compensation. All I requested was a ride home to Queens, because I was not supposed to be dropped off at EWR. I then called the Payless customer service number and was connected to the call center. I wanted to make sure that I won't be charged for the towing fee because the accident was entirely due to lack of inspection of my rental car, and that I will be reimbursed for my cost to get home. The call receiver said all he could do was to open a service ticket for me and there was nothing else he could do. I asked him to transfer me or to give me a number to management who can help me with my questions but he kept responding me with "there's nothing I can do". I called the customer service line again today, and was connected to the same call center. The person who answered my call was extremely rude and refused to explain why I need to wait for my response or why I have received an email notification saying I have a response yet there has been none on his side. He gave me the number of Payless LGA, but it ended up connecting me to the same call center again. My experience with Payless is extremely disappointing and the accident put my life to severe danger. I do not think a integrated business should treat customers in this way. It's been more than 48 hours since the accident and I still have not heard back...

I do not recommend. Their prices are roughly equivalent to any other company at laguardia, so take your business elsewhere. I have had positive experiences with Hertz and Budget in the past.

Payless does not inspect the cars prior to rental, as mine had a leaking tire which put me at serious risk. When I called customer service to ask about switching the car halfway through my trip, they rudely transferred me to the roadside assistance number. That number hung up on me twice, each time after more than 30min on hold, they answered and then immediately cut the line.

I managed to get safely to another airport nearby and switch the car out. However, once I got home I noticed that payless had billed me twice for all tolls on the route. I used my own ezpass and opted out of their ezpass per their instructions (leave the toll box closed, it isn't rocket science). When I contacted customer service they stated that they cannot do anything. They refuse to acknowledge the issue of their own opt out procedures not working. They refused to accept evidence that I paid the tolls already. They simply reiterated that the rental agreement includes a clause that I consent to be billed for unpaid tolls. Yes, "unpaid" being the operative word. They refuse to discuss further, and gave me an obscure highway authority email to reach out to. They have not responded for weeks and with each email Payless becomes more and more rude.

This company has caused so many unnecessary headaches, cost me so much additional money, and put my life at risk. Now I have to dispute the charge with my credit card company and report them for fraudulent billing, which are additional headaches. I have never dealt with so much drama with any car rental. Steer clear, seriously. I'm always skeptical of negative reviews because people are dramatic but this is just outrageous and unnecessary, and straight up fraudulent. If you've rented from them before, go check your credit cards because I'd be willing to bet they double bill everyone hoping we don't...

I had the worst experience with the LGA store representative when I went to get my car. She did not even tell me anything and just told me "put the credit card in the scanner" and then I had to be like "ok what are you charging?" Then she is like "Um, it's the hold amount." And then she just prints out the paperwork and just hands it to me without explaining anything. She does not even explain anything about the EZPass or even what kind of car I am driving or anything at all. I had to ask "what kind of car is this?" and she responds "a car." I ask "what does that mean?" to which she says "um...not a truck or SUV." Then I go to get my car and it turns out to be a small SUV. I did not have time to ask any questions because my flight had been delayed getting in and I just left with what I was given because I had to get to my hotel.

A few days after returning my car. I called Payless to ask for a receipt because they never provided me one at the drop off location. It took forever to reach an agent and the claim to send my receipt over email multiple times and I never received it. When I go to their website and attempt to "Request a Receipt" - there is no way to access your account even after you create an account and reset your password multiple times it keeps saying "email or password not recognized." The person on the phone is like "is there anything else I can help you with?" and I say "I never received my receipt and you haven't resolved my issue but you want to leave? The phone agent responds "well I sent you multiple emails and you tried to access the online portal so I do not know what else I can do for you."

This is terrible customer service both in person and on the phone. It felt like Avis may be intentionally providing a low grade "coach/lower caste" service with their Payless business since the rentals are cheap perhaps? I'm not sure what is going on - having a functional website in 2022 is not to much to ask, essentially it is the...