I rented a 4x4 vehicle from Payless in San Jose, Costa Rica. I spent the extra cash on full insurance coverage for my 5 day trip. Just to be safe, I went ahead and took pictures of every dent, scratch, cigarette burn, etc, on the vehicle. Not to my surprise, I returned the vehicle at the end of my trip and Payless demanded that I fill out a form to report damage to the vehicle on the rear bumper. The representative told me, "don't worry, you have full coverage so it does not matter, we just need you to fill out this waiver."

I immediately grabbed my camera, flipped to the photo, zoomed in on the bumper, and showed the representative that the damage existed BEFORE I RENTED THE CAR. Again, he assured me it did not matter because i had full coverage insurance.

MY POINT IS - WHAT IF I DID NOT HAVE FULL COVERAGE INSURANCE. Payless would have screwed me just as they have screwed most people in this forum. I refused to fill out the form and went on my way.

Upon return from the trip, my credit card was charged $1,220 instead of $341. I immediately called Payless and reported the issue and was told to wait 48 hours for a manager to contact me. No one from Payless ever called back to apologize for the mishap or let me know that it had been taken care of. Within a few days, the overcharge was corrected.

DO NOT RENT FROM PAYLESS. IF SO TAKE PICTURES OF EVERY SINGLE INCH OF THE VEHICLE, INSIDE AND OUT.