iFood went to court last week to try to annul a R$ 2.5 million fine imposed by Procon-SP in 2020 in the wake of cases of scams practiced by alleged deliverymen to customers.
In the action, the company speaks of abuse of power by Procon-SP for fundraising and media purposes. He says that, instead of analyzing the arguments presented by iFood at the time, Procon-SP dedicated its efforts to publicizing the fine in the media and publishing a series of sensationalist videos and content on social networks, negatively exposing the application.
Sought by Panel SA, the director of Procon-SP, Fernando Capez, claims that iFood violated the consumer’s right by not preventing cases of scams upon delivery. “Wanting that this remain confidential is not knowing that we live in a democracy”, says Capez. According to him, the application refused to compensate affected consumers. The company denies it.
“Procon will continue to monitor the actions of all suppliers, punishing those who violate consumer rights and giving the necessary publicity according to the seriousness of the fact. If iFood had been responsible at the time it was called by Procon and compensated consumers, fact would not have gained publicity. What led to the publicity was not media action, but iFood’s refusal to indemnify consumers,” Capez said.
Lucas Pittioni, legal director of iFood, says that the company filed the lawsuit because it disagrees with the application of the fine by Procon-SP, and that it now prefers to discuss the matter in court. “We understand that iFood takes adequate measures to ensure that users are well informed about the platform’s practices and what is charged,” he says.
According to him, customers who had problems with the application were attended to and had their questions addressed.
“We are questioning the application because the company’s practices are in line with what is expected of the platform, both from the point of view of consumer confidence, as well as what Brazilian legislation requires,” says Pittioni.
The executive also claims that iFood has made efforts to approach Procon-SP, with joint measures, and that the divergence in relation to the fine “does not say anything about the relationship with the agency.”
with Mariana Grazini e Andressa Motter
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I have over 8 years of experience in the news industry. I have worked for various news websites and have also written for a few news agencies. I mostly cover healthcare news, but I am also interested in other topics such as politics, business, and entertainment. In my free time, I enjoy writing fiction and spending time with my family and friends.
