Payless Car Rental

I prepaid for a rental car in Cincinnati through Expedia, which only showed Payless as available. When I arrived that evening, I was told they had no cars at all and to come back after 6 a.m. Apparently the location wasn’t even supposed to be taking reservations. Because I prepaid, I couldn’t easily book elsewhere without risking losing my money. I returned the next morning and asked for a discount since I lost half a day. No adjustment. The agent told me my contract was emailed and sent me alone to the garage — 4th floor, space K19. There was no email. Upstairs there was no employee, no paperwork — just an unlocked car with the keys inside. That’s it. The car reeked of heavy cigarette smoke, but we had limited time and couldn’t waste more hours fighting it. I tried calling afterward

The wait to get our reserved vehicle on June, 24, 2025 was 2 & 1/2, almost 3 hours!! The lines are absurdly, frustratingly long! This is the worst customer service we've ever encountered, anywhere. Alamo, National, Enterprise, Avis, Budget, Payless, Hertz, & Styx. The few people at the desk worked for multiple companies. Completely unprepared and entirely unprofessional and unacceptable! No explanation, just stay in line. 😱

Had a quick visit to Cincy on October 4. It was crowded when we got in but the team was so nice and helpful and the line went super fast. Jason was who helped us and he was so friendly and helpful and made the experience very simple. Probably one of the best customer service experiences I’ve had at a rental car counter.

Biggest ScAM rental!! They charge your card saying they did not recieve car back!!!! When we have pictures of picking up and returning the car the day it was supposed to be returned. Such a scam! We booked through expedia but extremely bad customer service and they will charge your car without no explanation! DO NOT RENT! Beware or them

They gave me a car I can’t drive because it has been smoked in. I am allergic to cigarettes. They lied to me and said it had not been smoked in and covered it up with scent. Now I am sick and stuck and need to get to my son’s wedding. I have spent over an hour trying to get them to exchange the car for one that is safe to drive. They tried to make me pay $600 to get one. I will never rent from Payless again.