Payless Car Rental Class Action Says Customers Charged for Add-Ons

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A group of plaintiffs claim that Payless Car Rental Inc. unlawfully charges renters for fuel, insurance, and other add-ons that they had expressly declined.

The class action lawsuit filed in New Jersey alleges that Payless and its parent company Avis Budget Group Inc. unlawfully upcharge customers for their car rentals by tacking on charges for add-ons like insurance, roadside assistance, and fuel options – even after the customers specifically declined those add-ons.

All the named plaintiffs in this Payless class action lawsuit allege they were hit with extra charges for gas service plans, roadside assistance plans, or loss damage waivers, all of which they say they expressly declined.

The plaintiffs say these charges were assessed at Payless locations across the country and overseas.

Plaintiff Arcadia Lee says a Payless representative in Costa Rica told her the extra charges were only “deposits” that would be returned – a statement she says turned out to be deceptive.

The plaintiffs also take issue with what they say are fraudulent fuel charges, assessed when customers return the vehicles to Payless.

Some customers complain they were charged a “fuel surcharge” as high as $185, even after returning their car with a full tank of gas.

Complaints made directly to Payless got no results, the plaintiffs allege. They say Payless directs complaining customers to open a ticket with its help desk.

The plaintiffs allege that once they open this ticket, Payless responds with a form message essentially telling the customer that they did indeed authorize the charges and that Payless refuses to give them back their money.

In addition to the allegedly unauthorized add-on and fuel charges, plaintiffs quote online customer complaints alleging other underhanded dealings by Payless.

Customers report Payless charged their credit cards as much as three or four times for the same transactions or failed to return hundreds of dollars’ worth of security deposits.

One complainant alleges she lost a $175 rental fee she had already paid when Payless cancelled her rental supposedly because she failed a credit check.

Still others complain that when the specific car they had a prepaid reservation for was not available, Payless refused to refund their money and instead proposed to charge them for an upgrade to a more expensive vehicle.

The plaintiffs propose to represent a few specific plaintiff Classes. The Nationwide Unauthorized Add-Ons Class would encompass all persons who rented a vehicle from Payless and were charged for add-ons they specifically declined or that were otherwise unauthorized.

They also propose three unauthorized add-on subclasses consisting of Class Members from the states of New Jersey, Nevada and Florida, respectively.

Their proposed Nationwide Fraudulent Fuel Charges Class would represent all Payless renters who declined to have Payless refuel the vehicle, returned the vehicle with a full tank, and were charged by Payless for refueling.

They seek an injunction barring Payless from misinforming renters about the nature of their add-on fees and from charging credit and debit cards without notice and specific authorizations for the charges to be imposed.

They also seek awards of damages, restitution, court costs, attorneys’ fees, and applicable pre- and post-judgment interest.

The plaintiffs are represented by attorneys Bruce H. Nagel and Greg M. Kohn of Nagel Rice LLP and David J. DiSabato and Lisa R. Bouckenooghe of DiSabato & Bouckenooghe LLC.

The Payless Unauthorized Charges Class Action Lawsuit is Bacon, et al. v. Avis Budget Group Inc., et al., Case No. 2:16-cv-05939, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.