How to Cash In Your Avis and Payless Refund Before It Expires August 13

If you rented a car from Payless anywhere in the United States between January 1, 2016, and November 25, 2023, and paid a gas or roadside protection charge, a settlement check could already be sitting in your mailbox. It expires August 13.

Avis Budget Group and its Payless brand agreed to pay $19 million to settle a class action lawsuit accusing the companies of charging customers for a Gas Service Option and a Roadside Protection add-on even when renters declined those products at the counter. A federal judge in New Jersey gave the deal final approval in December, and the settlement administrator mailed payments starting May 15. Anyone who does not cash their check by August 13 forfeits the money for good.

What the Settlement Covers

The case, Bacon et al. v. Avis Budget Group Inc. et al., was filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey. Renters accused Payless of automatically applying GSO and RSP charges to bills regardless of whether the customer selected them, a practice commonly described as drip pricing or a junk fee.

Class members are U.S. or Canadian residents who rented from Payless in the United States within the class period and paid for a Gas Service Option, a Roadside Protection charge, or both. Under the settlement terms, members with GSO charges can recover up to $20 per rental, and members with RSP charges can recover up to $12 per rental. Payments went out automatically to everyone who did not exclude themselves from the settlement. No claim form was ever required.

Why the Check Has a Deadline

Class action settlements routinely include a void date for uncashed checks so the case can close and any unclaimed funds can be redistributed or returned according to the settlement agreement. For this case, that date is August 13, 2026. A check that sits uncashed past that point simply stops being valid, and the settlement administrator, Kroll Settlement Administration, is not required to reissue it automatically.

Renters who believe they qualify but never received a check, or who lost the one they were mailed, can contact Kroll directly at (833) 621-8397 or through the official settlement website before the deadline. The court-approved site warns that it is the only authorized source of information on the case, a distinction worth noting given how often scam texts and emails piggyback on real class action settlements to phish for bank details.

The case moved through the standard class action timeline. The exclusion and objection deadlines both closed in early November 2025, giving anyone who wanted to pursue an individual lawsuit against Avis or Payless instead of taking the settlement payment a chance to step outside the class. A federal judge held a final approval hearing on December 9, 2025, in Newark, and signed off on the deal after reviewing objections and confirming the payment structure was fair to the class covered by the case. Kroll Settlement Administration, the court-appointed firm handling notices and payments, began mailing and issuing electronic payments on May 15, 2026, giving class members roughly three months to deposit or cash what they received before the void date arrives.

How Much Money Is Actually at Stake

The math behind the $19 million fund breaks down per transaction rather than per person, as many renters used Payless more than once within the seven-year class period. A frequent renter who paid the Gas Service Option on several trips and the Roadside Protection charge on others could be entitled to multiple payments, each capped at $20 for GSO and $12 for RSP per rental. Someone who rented from Payless five times within the class period and paid both fees each time could see a payment in the hundreds of dollars, while an occasional renter who paid one charge on a single trip receives a smaller amount.

Court filings in the case describe the GSO and RSP charges as add-ons that Payless counter staff sometimes applied automatically to rental agreements without customers actively selecting them, or presented in a way that made declining the charge unclear. Avis Budget Group did not admit wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which is standard in cases resolved before trial.

Part of a Wider Pattern in Rental Car Fees

The Payless settlement lands alongside a string of similar cases against rental companies. Sixt is distributing payments in 2026 after thousands of customers accused it of tacking on undisclosed charges for damage waivers, fuel service and insurance. Drive Sally faces a proposed class action alleging it advertises a fixed weekly rate while adding charges for early termination, tolls and vehicle reactivation that were never clearly disclosed. Consumer group Travelers United has separately sued Avis Budget Group in Washington, D.C., accusing the company of what it calls bait and switch pricing on top of advertised rental rates.

Regulators have taken notice too. The Federal Trade Commission and the Arizona Attorney General secured a $2.6 million settlement from an Arizona dealership over unwanted add-ons, and state attorneys general in Maryland and Rhode Island have pursued separate junk fee cases against auto dealers and rental firms this year. The Federal Trade Commission’s rule targeting hidden fees across travel and live event ticketing took effect in May, and rental car pricing has increasingly come under the same scrutiny as concert tickets and hotel bookings.

How to Protect Yourself on Future Rentals

Renters can avoid a repeat of the Payless situation by reading the counter agreement line by line before signing, and by explicitly declining any add-on verbally and asking the agent to confirm it was removed from the total. Screenshotting the online booking confirmation before arriving at the counter creates a record of what was actually agreed to, which is useful if a dispute comes up later.

Renters who spot an unauthorized charge on a final bill should dispute it directly with the rental company first, in writing, and keep records of that correspondence. If the company does not resolve the dispute, a chargeback through the credit card used for the rental is often faster than waiting on a company’s customer service line, and it preserves a paper trail if the charge turns out to be part of a broader pattern that later becomes a class action.

What to Do Before August 13

Anyone who rented from Payless in the 2016 to 2023 window and paid for gas service or roadside protection should check their mail, email and bank statements now for a settlement payment. Physical checks need to be deposited or cashed at a bank before the deadline. Renters who chose electronic payment options should confirm the funds actually posted rather than assuming a payment notification means the money already landed.

Those who never received anything but believe they qualify have a narrow window left to reach Kroll Settlement Administration and ask about their status before the case formally closes out unclaimed funds.

Sources:

• Official Settlement Website: Bacon et al. v. Avis Budget Group Inc. et al.
• ClassAction.org: $19M Payless Car Rental Settlement Ends Class Action Lawsuit
• ClassAction.org: Drive Sally Hit With Class Action Lawsuit Over Hidden Fees
• Ginsburg Law Group: Hidden Fees Are Finally Under Fire in 2026