Finally off Maximus/Restart... it was awful
I would not wish this programme on my worst enemy. I'm sure some people have had fine or even great experiences with them but my local branch at the very least has been absolutely useless.
My supervisor was frequently late for calls, would call early (on days where I asked for a very specific time slot to fit around work and my volunteer shifts), or just wouldn't call at all and gave me no notice that they'd need to reschedule.
I got a text 30 minutes before one in-person session telling me to do it over the phone instead, when I was already halfway to the centre on the bus. The advisor was in the office and puzzled that I showed up despite giving me nowhere nearly enough notice.
On a similar occasion I got a snotty call/text from the same advisor asking me if I would be coming to the appointment, once again when I was travelling to it. I wasn't even running late nor had I ever been late or missed an appointment... the whole thing had a bizarrely accusatory tone.
I attended a group session and was the only client to show up, which the Maximus employee in charge thought would be a great opportunity to spend the time showing me his amateur music videos.
During in-person meetings, the other advisors in the office talk loudly amongst themselves about football scores and nights out.
And once I did find work (paid and voluntary) I felt pestered about it and my advisor wanted to take credit for having found me both of them despite the fact it was all off my own back with zero input from Maximus whatsoever. I was told it was the least I could do because everyone at Maximus "has been really nice to [me]". Which is itself debatable, let alone the fact I was apparently supposed to owe them something because they feel they showed a base level of customer service. Humiliating and quite deceitful.
Maximus itself is an American contractor, something they are not upfront about unless you Google them and in the current climate especially this is not an organisation I think many people would trust with sensitive personal information, and the information of employers they pressure you into handing over. I'm freelance so I used that as a reason to not fork anything over about the person I'm currently working for.
To add insult to injuy, I was taken away from my local council's work search programme to go on Restart, which was a massive setback because I had a great rapport with my advisor there (someone who'd worked in recruiting for years and knew what he was talking about, not a telemarketer like Maximus uses) and he was really encouraging me to push myself and get out of my comfort zone. I know Restart is mandatory after a certain amount of time on UC, but some people might actually be making progress until they're railroaded onto it :/
I don't work enough at the moment to be off UC at least that's given me the opportunity to complain to my advisors there. Fortunately my Job Centre experiences have been mostly positive in comparison :)