PAYLESS CAR RENTALS

Stood in wrong line at counter with about 26 other people only to be told 25 minutes later that we might be in the wrong line. Car that we reserved was not available-would have gotten much better gas mileage. Van we got had considerable front end damage to both sides of front bumper. After filling out paperwork on damage, drove out of darkened garage to see that the van was absolutely filthy. Stopped and bought Lysol to spray steering wheel before going further down road to an appointment. Could not take back at this point because of appointment. Noticed that cruise control wasn't working-maybe I was doing something wrong, this was a van I was not used to driving. Called office in Phoenix to complain about dirtiness of van. Was promptly told that I was not telling the truth because they never let a vehicle leave their garage dirty. Explained I would like to have the van washed and they could pay for it. Still called a liar and I said, "Okay, I'll bring it back just as dirty as it is now and let her tell me that it was clean." She agreed after much arguing to pay for a car wash. Drove to Yucca Valley, CA-continuing trip from Kingman, AZ. Unsuccessfully tried to get cruise control to work. Noticed 3 orange lights on dash. Attempted to locate an owner's manual for van. None found. Car wash performed-none found in Kingman, AZ. At 10:00 pm saw my brother who works for a car dealership in Palm Springs. He told me the orange lights had to do with the braking system. This was probably why the cruise control would not work. Damage to front end could have damaged a sensor or caused a wire to come loose. He checked under the hood. Found an unknown fluid had leaked all over the fire wall under the brake master cylinder system. Probably not brake fluid but could be a serious problem. Called Phoenix office 6 times and left messages to have someone call me regarding this problem. Could not get a call back, so I called my husband back in Kansas and asked him to call. He left 6 messages also. No other phone numbers but the two listed were on the rental folder. Luckily I wasn't on side of road. Two hours after the first initial call, received an irate call from Phoenix. "Carol" (who turned out to be Tara) proceeded to chew me out about leaving so many messages, that my husband had called and left about 125 messages (her exaggeration, not mine), that they were very busy because only two people showed up. At this point I tried to interrupt her and she yelled at me to be quiet, she wasn't finished telling me her problems. I told her that those weren't my problem, she needed to help me. She became very rude and abusive. I asked to talk to a supervisor. She told someone near by about me. New woman, supervisor, proceeded to blame the damage to van was my fault. They never let them leave that way; told me to shut up. Told me I was rude. Too much abuse to list here now-needless to say, don't rent.