Anahi Martinho
In recent weeks, a campaign caught the attention of followers of several celebrities on social media. Celebrities such as Tata Werneck, Cláudia Raia and Viih Tube appeared in their stories extolling the advantages of Serra Ribeiro, a “maternity salary consultancy”.
According to the company’s official website, Serra Ribeiro Assessoria “develops work to ensure the mother’s right to receive maternity pay”. “Our team is qualified to help you guarantee this right”, completes the page.
It turns out that maternity pay is a benefit granted by the INSS without the need for intermediation. It can be requested by pregnant women and mothers of children up to 5 years old who needed to take time away from their professional activities due to childbirth or adoption.
Serra Ribeiro, a private company in Londrina, Paraná, offers the service of gathering documents and registering on the government website — something that can be done for free and by the beneficiary herself. The advertisement has had negative repercussions on social media, as the company charges a 30% fee on top of the benefit itself.
At the beginning of the month, the company invested heavily in promoting its services via influencers and artists. The list is long: in addition to Tata, Claudia and Viih Tube, the latter’s husband, Eliezer, the duo Maiara and Maraísa, ex-BBB Paula Amorim, influencer Gabriela Morais (ex-Pugliesi), country singer Thaeme, advertised. of the duo with Thiago, Maíra Cardi, Nicole Bahls and others. After criticism on the internet, the stories were deleted from the company’s highlights on Instagram.
Wanted by F5, the INSS said it contacted the Specialized Federal Prosecutor’s Office and asked for action on the use of the brand on platforms, social networks and the like. The agency stated, via press office, that the videos of celebrities who campaigned for the company are included in the request sent to the prosecutor’s office.
“The Specialized Federal Attorney’s Office of the National Social Security Institute (INSS), the executive body of the Federal Attorney General’s Office linked to the AGU, forwarded the request received from the INSS for knowledge and joint action by the Federal Police department, the Special Secretariat of the Federal Revenue of Brazil and the National Data Protection Authority, in addition to adopting other internal measures with the aim of instructing the adoption of appropriate measures in the case”, stated the INSS in a note sent to the report.
Serra Ribeiro continues to operate normally, but has stopped using the “Salário Maternidade Brasil” account on Instagram, which was active until the beginning of this week. The INSS has already carried out campaigns warning against “scams” and “fraud” involving companies that provide this type of service. Although it is not illegal, the so-called consultancies charge for a service that is not necessary, since the beneficiary can register for free on the agency’s platform and application.
The INSS also states that “websites and social networks that offer facilities and present themselves as channels for obtaining maternity pay are not official channels and should be viewed with suspicion, as they may pose a risk to the security of citizens’ data.”
Contacted by the report, Tata Werneck, Claudia Raia, Viih Tube, Eliezer, Gabriela Morais, Nicole Bahls, Maíra Cardi and Paula Amorim preferred not to comment on the matter. Maiara and Maraísa said, via press office, that they did not participate in the campaign and believe it was the use of artificial intelligence. Thaeme confirmed having run the campaign, but said he was not aware of the negative impact from the client.
‘INSS DENIES REQUESTS ARBITRARILY’
Serra Ribeiro’s lawyer, Gabriel Bertin, told the F5 that the service provided by the company is not illegal and that the company does not respond to any lawsuit. “There is nothing wrong with the service. The person can get the benefit alone and they are informed of this”, she says.
According to the lawyer, around 70% of the clientele is made up of mothers who have already made a request on the INSS app and were denied the benefit. “For various reasons: registration, failure in some document or proof, incorrect calculation by the INSS itself”, he exemplifies. “Many requests are arbitrarily denied by the INSS.”
Asked whether the campaign’s stories were taken down after the negative repercussion, the lawyer stated that “these insertions are short-term”. Bertin also highlights that the consultancy has several competitors that provide the same type of service. “The company is convinced that the service provided does not have any type of irregularity and will continue to operate, including customer feedback is very positive”, he says.
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Source: Folha
I am Frederick Tuttle, who works in 247 News Agency as an author and mostly cover entertainment news. I have worked in this industry for 10 years and have gained a lot of experience. I am a very hard worker and always strive to get the best out of my work. I am also very passionate about my work and always try to keep up with the latest news and trends.
