Budget Rental Location at Citadel Mall in Charleston SC charged me for an extra day! I rented a van on April 14 and returned the van two days later per the contract. The line for service was out the door when returning so the agent asked for rental returns so I gave her the keys and contract. Next thing I know they didn't record the return until the next day and charged me for nearly $200. I have attempted to have this changed but to no avail. Use another rental company as this is a very dishonest practice. At the very least have a photo or written proof of time and day of return. read more

Holy god TRASH. THE WORST PEOPLE EVER! I have rented twice here and the Avis/budget rental area has a woman named lashawnda or Something similar. A no nothing rude person. Both times I have ever come in here she is on a personal call chatting up a storm and has people in line while she is doing it. This is the honest truth. She is hands down the worst human when it comes to customer service ever I have ever seen ever in life and since customer service was introduced in this world. The car was not washed at all. She came with me twice thus far to "clean" the car during covid and she wipes the steering wheel and then is done. Which SC law for covid needs a complete clean. Don't you worry I have already contacted the state of South Carolina for not abiding by state mandates Covid Law. I have an interview today with them to give names and send the pictures I took of the whole ordeal. I personally have to bring my own cleaning supplies to clean the car. There was still trash in the car. I asked about it and she just says "that's wear and tear during someone there" so they don't clean or wash or prepare the car at all. Don't go here! I can't wait till the state shuts you down for violations on covid as well. We have 3 witnesses too read more

So where do I begin? Reserved a car weeks ahead. We get to the airport and the wait is an hour, ok we suck it up and go to get our car. When we get there the line is so long because the don't have enough cars to go around that are ready for rental. It's hot, people are mad since they already waited an hour. Mind you your are being charged if you bring it back late but this is ok. The attendant with the nose ring was just flat snotty and rude. Saying she's waiting too and she works there. Never ever again. I ask for an SUV and got a crappy Kia as well. Bad Bad Bad! read more

I had ridiculously good service from this tiny Budget location, and it's all thanks to the friendly man that seems to be the only person that works here. His name is Leonard Oliphant, and he was really helpful. I originally rented a car one way from Orlando airport to this location, as it was close to my friend's apartment. When I originally went to return the car, he helped me figure out how to extend my rental. I came back again the following week and we changed the return location to Charlotte airport. Leonard and this location didn't make any money off of me or even end up receiving the rental car from me, but that didn't stop him from helping me out and having a smile while doing it. I wish all Budget locations were like this! read more

We were supposed to go to Charelston, SC for my husband's military reunion. I reserved car through the budget website several weeks prior to the event not knowing that a hurricane was going to form. I opted to pay for the reservation in advance to "save" a little money. Well, we were at our airport in Denver, CO when United Airlines informed us that all the flights were canceled due to hurricane Ian. Budget refused to refund our money. LET ME SAY ONE MORE TIME...IT WAS NOT OUR FAULT. Budget could care less about their customers. It's all about their money. I can promise you this...we will NEVER use or recommend Budget to anyone. read more

Do NOT rent from this place (Citadel Mall Budget Car Rental) unless you are into filthy cars caked with embedded horse hair that cannot even come up with tape...or with dirt all over the place. Clearly has not been vacuumed and the staff obviously does not care. This is pathetic. Guess we won't be wearing black on this trip. Sad world we live in these days. Customer service is obviously a thing of the past. read more

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Watch budget when you rent a car with them, when I talked with them on the phone I told them I wanted a small car and good on gas. I got a bigger one and bad on gas read more

My experience with budget was excellent. They allowed me to rent a quality car with no hassle. I recommend it to everyone.

If I could give less than a star I would. I rented a 26' truck and a hand truck. The hand truck didn't come with the rental, the truck was on a 1/4 tank of gas, the bed/cargo area of the truck was full of trash and clearly smelt like it had been used for multiple dump runs. You can never reach them on the phone. Absolutely horrible. read more

the worse counter person (Lisa, I think was her name). First, I got a call the night before that the vehicle I reserved, and was confirmed, was not going to be available. The message was garbled and could not be understood. So the next morning I go there and there is another vehicle available (which is fine). I rented a hand truck for moving and when I attempted to put boxes on it, it was obvious the tires were flat. They didnt bother to check it out before renting. So when I returned the truck and hand truck, I mentioned that the tires were flat. Lisa tells me she cant take if off the bill and I should have check it. I did not ask her for a refund but she become very nasty and proceeded to yell and tell me I think I am better than her. All I was looking for was an apology and some respect as a customer. I walked out and later called and asked for a receipt. She hung up on me. My guess is she feels she is protected from being fired for whatever reason. The worst place I have ever rented a truck/car from read more

If I could leave zero stars I would. We sat on hold forever trying to make a reservation, finally got a hold to someone and made a reservation. We get to this location and they have ZERO cars available to rent after our reservation was already confirmed. We called again and were transferred to a national number service that was located in Mexico and had NO way to contact other carriers to ensure that the vehicles were in stock. This was an awful experience and I advise anyone to save your money and rent elsewhere read more

i would give a zero star if i could. they misbilled me for and extra day and gas. i returned on a sunday (early) and put keys in drop box. i also filled gas before returning! but got nowhere trying to explain this to manager. my credit card opened a case with them, and after investigating it, did not pay the extra charges. now budget sending charges to collections. they either confused my rental for another, or they are just scammers and had no interest in helping me fix the problem!!! also management was rude when i tried to rectify situation before getting credit card company involved. read more

The car I rented here was fiftly. The floors were caked with mud. The service was poor. I had to drive up and down the parking lot aisles pressing the key fob to locate the car. I returned the car before my final destination a mere 100 miles away at Hilton Head Savannah Airport. A month later Budget sent me a letter saying there was tire damage. No one told me that when I returned it. I am wondering if the tire was damaged before I rented it. I will never rent from Budget again. read more

I hate to do this but this story was too horrible not to share. I rented a car today from Budget Car Rental in Charleston (Sam Rittenberg location) and have never had such a poor experience. The car I received was clearly not cleaned at all. I went inside to ask for a new vehicle. I was told none of the countless other vehicles in the lot were available. I was offered a $10 discount if I cleaned the car myself and told that the car was "as clean as it's going to get" (multiple times). So many companies are taking the extra, necessary precautions to disinfect their vehicles in the midst of COVID-19, and yet, Budget couldn't even pick up a crayon out of the back seat or use a vacuum. I spoke to the manager, who told me the car was "not bad" and I could either take the car or cancel the contract, but could not use that car to get to another Budget location to exchange. However, when speaking on the phone to customer service, that is exactly what they recommend I do, as it is their policy you can exchange vehicles at any location for mechanical or cleanliness concerns. I am simply blown away and will be exchanging this car and speaking with customer service further. Please do not give this location your business! read more

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I will not book with Budget, ever again in life.... first and foremost, I reserved my truck online, only to receive a call the morning of my scheduled pick up informing me that the pick up location I chose did not have the size truck I reserved. Well, why the hell was I able to reserve a truck that wasn't there.... So, my reservation was transferred to the location on Sam Rittenburg. Well, the guy at the counter was a total asshole of a jerk to my friend, and ultimately refused to rent of the truck. Had the nerve to have a smart mouth and got upset when we used the same tone back with him. He called security of course... So then after to transferring my reservation to two more locations I said to hell with Budget as a whole, and paid the extra $150 for a Uhaul truck. read more

We won't even bother with these guys next time we move. I reserved a truck online, but when my husband went to pick it up the next day, they said no trucks were available. None. Okay, so how why bother with reserving a truck, if there will be no truck? We had the house packed up and friends ready to help load stuff, but we had to put everyone out while we scrambled to get another truck elsewhere. Thanks, Budget. But stay with me, it gets worse. So weeks later, we check our bank statement and see a charge from Budget for a truck we did not rent. My husband called Budget to dispute the charge. This salty dude on the phone said, "Well, you should have canceled your reservation when you came in to pick up the truck." I'm sorry, what? There was no truck! We figured it was canceled right there when he left with nothing. My husband had to talk to three different people to finally get refunded. For the truck we did not get. read more

Have been renting with budget mainly due to their policy that both spouses can drive without an additional cost. Nice perk. We rented on Saturday and Saturday night the transmission broke. The next morning they picked up the car and dropped another off. All very easy. Good thing we broke down in a garage and not the highway. Second car had a bad wheel bearing. My auto mechanic husband was ready to get another vehicle. Long story short, we kept the car. My husband told someone at check in to take this car out of circulation. It was dangerous. Budget remember Safety First. read more

I would like to rate this business lower but 1 is the lowest available. The person who signed me in (evidently the owner) pulled the bait and switch on me with the waiver that I did not agree to and that he never explained. He indicated I was initialing for a damage review of the tuck. This is by far the most dishonest transaction I have ever been a part of. The truck ran awfully, was dirty and the check out process took over 45 minutes. I emailed them to lodge my complaint and waited 10 days until inquiring again. The owner finally stated there he is nothing he can do. I am contacting several commerce associations in the area so others are not treated so unscrupulously. . read more

This is the absolute worst customer service that I have EVER seen in my 44 years. First, they are very much understaffed. Second, to say that the woman who seemed to be the manager was rude is an understatement. The way she treated the poor woman in front of me was abominable. She had proof of her moving truck reservation, had arrived when the store opened, and was told there was no truck for her. She was obviously upset and there was no effort for a solution and not even an apology. The manager even went so far as to say, "I won't be giving you one of my trucks because you are not on the list. You can be sure of that." Unbelievable. As for my reservation, no one ever looked over the car with me before I left and it smelled like old urine. DO NOT rent from this place. You will be sorely disappointed. read more

Beware of this company. Proceed with caution if renting from this location. Budget Rental has really dropped the ball on the management of this location. Had a reservation scheduled for pick up. Called ahead to make sure vehicle was ready. Was told by manager Yolanda that our truck was not available. Our house was packed up (beds, everything) and we had friends who'd arrived to help load on their day off. Asked about a solution and was told that there was nothing she could do for us, sorry, etc. I explained that, like Budget says on their phone greeting, we also record customer service conversations (to keep the record straight & perfectly legal). She immediately began to backtrack and offered a replacement in another city. However, its a Saturday, traffic is bad, and I was not going to have someone drive me to another city just so I could pick up a truck that they neglected to stock at this location. So, I requested that one of their employees drive the truck from the other location to the one in our city. She refused and said that was all she could do. We received no notice that the vehicle was not available (no email, no phone call) and was treated very disrespectfully by the manager when we asked for the vehicle to brought here from the other location. Yolanda eventually just hung up on us when we asked to speak to her supervisor. Called the corporate number in hopes of resolving the issue there and learned that in addition to them offering no help, no solution, that they are ranked on the Better Business Bureau as an "F" with hundreds of complaints. Very poor service from top to bottom. Avoid if at all possible is my advice and experience with this poorly ran company. Hopefully this review will save someone else the enormous amount of time we've just had wasted. read more

My fiance rented a 16 ft Budget truck for a one-way rental on a Saturday in February. We were a little surprised to find this tiny location tucked inside the sears auto department. However we soon learned that good things DO come in small packages! Dispite the fact that they were extremely busy, the staff was very attentive and patient when answering all of our questions. They were also professional and efficient as well as being very friendly. Charlotte the lady helping us did a thorough walk-around on the truck and explained what we should do with our paperwork,gassing the truck, and returning the furniture pads we rented.Our truck was clean and in great shape. We actually enjoyed the ride. Overall, we had a great experience renting from this location! read more

What a nightmare! We booked a car months in advance and even gave flight info at the Budget rental car at the Charleston Airport. We flew from Baltimore to SC in 1 hr 30 min and it took almost 2 hrs to pick up a rental car (longer than flying). There were 14 renters in line. We were 10th. It was obvious they did not have the cars available. An hour and 20 minutes later we were told car was being cleaned. Told to go to pick up area in the parking lot where the people in front of us were now waiting. Finally the only intelligent person there made the decision to have one person from each party get in her van and drive to pick up our own cars from their lot. 1 hr and 50 minutes later we left the airport. The other companies Enterprise, National etc. got their renters out in minutes. Do not use Budget or their other agency Avis, unless you enjoy spending your time standing in line at an airport. They acted as though 2 hrs was no big deal waiting for a car. read more