Payless Car Rental
 | |
| Subsidiary | |
| Industry | Car rental |
| Founded | Spokane, Washington, U.S. (1971) |
| Founder | John Les Netterstron |
| Headquarters | St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. |
Number of locations | 167 (as of 2015) |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Owner | Avis Budget Group |
| Website | Official website |
Payless Car Rental, Inc. is a car rental company owned by Avis Budget Group and headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. While mainly a franchise system, the company owns and operates several corporate locations. Payless Car Rental, Payless Car Sales, Payless Parking and REZlink International are sister companies under the umbrella of Avalon Global Group.[1]
The Payless brand operates in North America, South America, and Europe. The company has 167 locations worldwide.[2]
Payless was acquired by Avis Budget Group in 2013.[3]
History
In 1971, John Les Netterstron opened the first Payless Car Rental location in Spokane, Washington. Under the direction of Netterstron, the company grew from a local car rental store to a franchise system with over 100 car rental offices throughout the United States. By 1987 the company acquired the U.S. portion of Canadian-based Holiday Rent a Car, at which time the company built its first automated central reservation system.[4]
The first Payless image was created in 1989, which has endured to the present day with only minor changes. Payless opened its first two corporate stores in 2002, adding 4 more between 2004 - 2006. The company currently has corporate locations in Denver, Ft. Lauderdale, Las Vegas, Orlando, Phoenix and Tampa.[5] In March 2009 Payless Car Rental was added to the Expedia Preferred Vendors view. Payless also offers rates through travel portals such as Orbitz, Priceline.com, and Travelocity.
Today, Payless provides car rental services in over 80 locations in 20 countries operating over 10,000 vehicles.[5] Most recently the Avis Budget Group has acquired Payless for reported cost of 50 million dollars. Despite the acquisition, Avis has not been successful with improving Payless' reputation of sour customer experience.[6]
Warnings
Most recently the Avis Budget Group has acquired Payless for reported cost of 50 million dollars. Despite the acquisition, Avis has not been successful with improving Payless' reputation of sour customer experience.[6]
Payless also hides fees when customers book rentals online. Their Terms & Conditions list a $200.00 deposit when using a credit card, and does not distinguish that there is a different fee when using a debit card, but there is a separate policy section that states the debit card deposit is actually $350. By not including this in the provided Terms & Conditions, they bank on the customer not discovering the additional fee until the arrive at the counter to receive their vehicle. By that time, the customer either has to pay the additional deposit or cancel the reservation. If the customer chooses to cancel, they lose the entire amount of the rental that they paid online, since the Terms & Conditions state that any cancellations within less than 48 hours will result in a forfeit of prepaid fees.
Customer service is a joke. You call the number and the customer service person can only "file a ticket" which will be answered in "24 to 48 hours". No guarantee the answer has anything to do with the complaint.
Payless also routinely charges for extra insurance even when the customer does not agree, then says later the customer did agree.
https://www.consumeraffairs.com/travel/payless_car_rental.html?page=2 http://www.bbb.org/denver/business-reviews/auto-renting-and-leasing/payless-car-rental-in-denver-co-18451/
Vehicles
In order to keep costs low, Payless typically shares a fleet with Avis in many locations. Payless does utilize sales techniques to maintain profitability. In years past they may have had various issues however since Avis purchase these issues seem isolated.
Payless Car Rental rents these vehicles:
Economy: Hyundai Accent Compact: Nissan Versa Intermediate: Hyundai Elantra Standard: Dodge Avenger Full-Size: Hyundai Sonata Premium: Toyota Camry Luxury: Chrysler 300 Van: Dodge Grand Caravan Sport Utility: Hyundai Santa Fe Convertible: Chrysler Sebring / Chrysler 200
See also
References
- ↑ "Avalon Global Group Website". Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ↑ "Payless Car Rental Website". Retrieved 2008-01-10.
- ↑ Ring, Niamh. "Avis Budget Acquires Payless Car Rental for $50 Million". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2016-08-24.
- ↑ "Payless Car Rental Media Kit" (PDF). Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- 1 2 "Payless Car Rental Website". Retrieved 2008-01-11.
- 1 2 Segal, David (16 January 2016). "What's Harder Than Renting a Car? Filing a Complaint". New York Times.