SFO Payless car rental a scam
 

People, do not even consider or allow your friends to think about renting a car from Payless near the airport in SFO. these people have attempted to and even succeeded once, to rip me off for car rental. last september they ended up holding $200 for my entire stay in SFO(5 days) as well as almost tripling the "reservation" quoted price.it does not matter what you bring in off the internet as far as prices go, they will double or triple it by the time your finished. <BR><BR>this past trip, in march, we decided at the very last moment, having had to trust my past experiences, to not rent a car even though we had a reservation and they had ran our card already. They held over $250 for four days for absolutly no services rendered. we called a day or so later and they said that the charges would be removed by the end of the day and it still took two more days to drop. the snide little mexican girl who works the counter looks as if she sees sucker after sucker walk in and ask to get ripped off.<BR><BR>this low class business attempts to burn weary travelers off at every turn! (pardon the pun) We returned to SFO airport and found another rental but please don't put yourself through the trouble.<BR><BR>and for gods sake TELL YOUR FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!<BR>

I hate to break this to you but rental car companies ALL hold a certain amount ABOVE your prearranged charges when you rent a car. When you return the car, this amount is released from your card within a day or two. It's not an actual charge, but merely a preauthorization in case the car is damaged. This does go against your "available credit" so make sure you have enough credit on tap when you travel!

I also did Payless once in MCO, never again...

I posted this about Payless a couple months ago. I rented a car out od Orlando(convertable) and they asked me for my insurance card. I did not have it with me and they charged me an addittional 22.99 a day for insurance. I rent cars about 4 times a year for the past six years and that was the only time I was EVER asked for proof of insurance.

maybe they held it because you decided AT THE VERY LAST MOMENT (your words exactly) not to rent a car. If car rental companies acted like hotels and airlines, this wouldn't be allowed. Perhaps Payless pre-authorized your card thinking you were going to honor your reservation? seems very reasonable, huh?

You really could have skipped the "snide little Mexican girl" line. If she had been white, would you have said "snide little white girl"? If you have any class, you'll apologize in another post. (Let me guess: no way.)

How do you know she's Mexican, anyway? Couldn't she be from another Latin country?<BR><BR>At any rate, this entire thread is silly. I wouldn't avoid Payless just based on this. I've got PLENTY of stories about Hertz and National that make this one PALE by comparison.

Thanks, Sam, I agree. I've used Payless in San Francisco and don't recall much about it, which I think means it was a pretty smooth transaction!

Dale and others, i will say that when i wrote this thread i was a little upset with the unprofessionalism of this Payless. the snide mexican girl was just that, sorry if you dont like my choice of words. and yes, if she had any other distintive trait i would have mentioned that. hopefully, the management will be aware of this messageboard and of the person i speak of and change what needs to changed. <BR> "At the last moment" because i saw others in the store complaining about the overcharges they were being forced to pay and remembering my last experience with this person and this company i decided not to do any business there. if they would have honored their online reservation rates i would have no problem honoring my reservation. i am a reasonable person and dont feel as if i should spend my money with a company that has no regard for value or service. this is a "travel rant and rave" isnt it? my thread was meant to warn other travelers of questionable business practices, poor service and unresponsive management. i'm glad that i've possibly helped someone save some money and trouble by letting them know about my unpleasant experience. just that. benefit from it if you like.

Geekie dearest-<BR>First, take a deep, cleansing breath... then let it go to the universe.<BR>I, too, have gone around with SFO Payless. The wort incidnt was when they tried to retrospectively charge me for "damage" to a vehicle I rented and returned several weeks prior. I had my check-in paperwork showing no damage; they tried to say they just didn't see it until later. I asked to speak with a manager, said they could take it up with my lawyer if they wanted to pursue, and they agreed to remove the charge. On another occasion when I had reserved a midsize they tried to put me in a minivan. They said it was an "upgrade", that they were out of midsize vehicles. I insisted I did not want a minivan (bulky, gas gizzler, hard top park) and said that if they had to upgrade me, make it a car as I had reserved, not a van. It took persistence on my part - repeatedly declining the van - but lo and behold, they came up with a car. Then they had the gall to ask me to pay an additional amount! I refused, again cited my confirmed reservation and rate. At length - becasue they saw I wasn't backing down, stayed calm and just kept restating my case - they gave in and provided a substitute vehicle at the originally confirmed rate.<BR>That's two strikes against SFO Payless in my book, and I don't intend to let them try for a third!

Wine Geek-you know exactly why you used the phrase "snide Mexican girl". You're a bigot. Simple as that.

Why would anyone want to rent from Payless? They sell SHOES, for God's sake!<BR>Epa! Andale, andale!