The Universal Credit system is such a mess and so autism unfriendly. When I first starting getting it around a year ago I made them aware of my autism diagnosis when asked to disclose health conditions and the first thing the work coach said to me was "it doesn't affect anything". Fortunately I have not been forced to apply for unsuitable jobs such as a waiter in loud cafes or anything else that involves dealing with people in the spotlight which would cause me great anxiety but this may be because of my Masters degree in engineering that they have allowed to search mainly within that field.
I recently just moved area and my previous work coach said I should go to the job centre in the new area, so I done this only to be told that I need to go and book an appointment online. So I went on the website and could not see anywhere to book an appointment, I then sent them a message saying that I was advised to book online and then they replied to me with a phone number. Having to phone is a nightmare for me as I get so anxious and especially with being asked all sorts of questions and given someone with a strong accent from the other side of the country who was struggling to understand me. Anyway I phoned the number and it said invalid as it was 12 digits long, so I sent them another message and they gave me a working number which I phoned and selected the option for booking appointments, only to be told that they do not deal with appointments so couldn't help me and I should be called into the job centre automatically.
It is now 3 weeks I have been here without getting any further forward. Since I had to pay 6 months rent in advance + have started getting bills + united utilities sent me a ridiculosuly high £716 water bill for 13.75 months which I am also going to need to challenge it is so annoying that the system is so incompetent. It really annoys me that no one can do anything right yet people like me with a good attention to detail to do things right are automatically discarded at interview for being socially awkward.
