Car Rental Company Allegedly Added Fees Without Consent of Customers
Greater than 800 complaints in the last three years pertaining to questionable issues of sales practices, contracts and billing were sent to the greater Business Bureau about Payless Car Rental – along with a proposed class action lawsuit might be filed from the car rental company because of questions about added fees, based on this Facebook Internet web site.
Car Rental Company Allegedly Added Fees Without Consent of Customers
“Payless has utilized deceptive business practices in order to lure customers into their shop to rent their vehicles”, said Greg Kohn – who's one of the lawyers from the plaintiffs who filed this lawsuit against Payless Rental car and it is parent company, Avis Budget Group – according to this article compiled by Sandra Temko of ABC News. “They use low rates online to get individuals to rely on them over other rental agencies, but when you get there, they slam you with a lot more fees.”
In one example by which one of the plaintiffs from the lawsuit was expecting to pay $217.00, the final bill was $528.00 with charges for insurance and roadside service protection, which the plaintiff didn't want or need because he already had his own coverage.
In an investigative report, producers for ABC News rented four vehicles from Payless Car Rental in Ny and New Jersey – and although two four rentals didn't have fees put into the final bill, their findings included:
- One car whose four tires considered dangerous throughout a standard inspection from the vehicle, because they were bald coupled with holes; and one of the tires was deemed “a blowout waiting to happen” – a complete refund of the rental rate was offered by the rental facility
- Despite asking for a car without any extra charges, an agreement that included electric power charge of $29.00 per day for loss damage waiver insurance and $5.99 per day for roadside service protection; and also the producers were advised by a representative behind the counter “You accepted the total” and “It comes with it” although the fees are optional – plus they were also told when the insurance is removed, the rate increases by triple the amount
Not the First Time?
“Some plaintiffs, according to the Nj lawyers who brought the case, were charged around $185 for fuel, even after bringing the vehicle back with a full tank of gas”, based on this short article written by David Segal of The New York Times. “When these and other renters complained, these were told to a Payless number and open a ticket house desk. But here's the one thing about Payless's help desk: It doesn't help. The lawyers say Payless representatives routinely sent a perfunctory message saying, in effect, Tough luck: Your debt the money. Pay it.”
Jonathan Weinberg – who's the founder of AutoSlash, which is a service that looks for lower rental car rates on which When i first reported when it premiered in 2010 – tends to concur in this article: “The class action lawsuit certainly has merit in line with the extensive negative feedback we've caused by Payless customers over the years. One of the challenges facing the plaintiffs will be that the signed contract is usually hard to dispute. While the lawsuit makes numerous claims that optional services were added without customer authorization (claims we've absolutely no doubts about), the fact remains the rental contracts do show the client having signed for said services as evidenced within the filing. The important thing is to prove that customers were intentionally misled in order to get these to sign the contracts as written, an assertion that the lawsuit clearly alleges.”
Coincidence?
As with Payless Rental car, Avis Budget Group can also be parents company of Budget Rent A Car, which was charged with overcharging its customers in Bc for minor harm to vehicles in 2012; and customers of Budget Rent an automobile were left feeling deceived and misled in 2020 after being billed for the full cost for harm to their rental vehicles despite for sale coverage with a franchise group in British Columbia in the event their rental vehicles are involved in an accident – totaling in some cases 1000s of dollars.
13 Tips on What You Can Do to avoid From Falling for another scam by a Rental Car Company
In accessory for comparison shopping when hiring a car and ensuring to reserve the automobile you want to rent in advance for the best rate, please be sure to read this short article I wrote pertaining to 13 Tips about What You Can Do to avoid From Being Scammed with a Car rental Company to best protect yourself later on when renting a car – which includes:
- Do You have to Purchase Insurance?
- Ensure That You Are Covered
- Check the Policies of the Facility That You Rent
- Inspect the Vehicle
- Check the Vehicle for Any Damage – No Matter How Minor
- Report Any Potential Anomalies that you Might be Charged
- Get Official Acknowledgement of the Findings
- Avoid Cleaning Fees
- Thoroughly Test the Equipment of the Vehicle
- Obey All Traffic Laws
- Report Damage as Soon as Possible
- Stand Your Ground and Do Not Waiver
- Routinely Look at your Credit Card Statement
