The defense lawyer for the two black women who denounce a case of racism at a Leroy Merlin unit in Belo Horizonte, claims that representatives of the store contacted their customers and said they would call to arrange a meeting, but there was no response.
“They didn’t talk, minimized it, saying that it was all a misunderstanding, perhaps a software defect, that they wanted to have a conversation in person, and that they would speak again this Wednesday, at ten o’clock in the morning, but there was no of return”, said the lawyer Gregório Andrade, in an interview with CNN .
remember the case
The case took place on Monday (13), in Contagem, in the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte, in one of the construction material stores, where educators Marcela Cristina Alexandre and Danielle Fernandes da Silva were shopping.
According to the lawyer, Marcela paid for products purchased using the Pix service. Although the amount was debited from his account, the company’s internal system crashed and did not recognize the payment.
A store employee would have asked the pedagogues to go to the SAC, where they were informed that they would have to wait for 40 minutes.
After half an hour, the pedagogues asked to speak to the store manager, but were informed that the person in charge was not there at the time.
After almost an hour waiting for guidance, the customers had to leave the store, because of an appointment they had.
According to the lawyer, the pedagogues were then instructed to leave the goods at the store. Even after reinforcing that the payment had been made, the two would have been followed through the store, to the parking lot.
In a video that circulates on social networks, it is possible to hear a person questioning the fact that images are being recorded from the customers’ car, but not from the cell phone that had proof of the purchase made by them.
According to the pedagogues’ defense, on the afternoon that the case happened, company representatives called the customers to talk and later refunded Marcela’s purchase. But the lawyer stated that the client will return the products.
He reinforced that the case is not just about the fact that Marcela could not take the items home, even at the first moment. For him, what happened to Danielle and Marcela is a case of structural and institutionalized racism.
“That she [empresa] take actions aimed at combating racism, not sending security guards away. We don’t want that. We no longer want an unemployed black man. The fight is beyond. The struggle is so that a family man can go out to buy things and not be molested. There is a need for an internal policy restructuring for non-racism (…) Maybe this kind of racism is a kind of subtle racism. The question that is asked is the following: ‘Would I, as a white man, in a suit, have this type of treatment’?” stated.
The Civil Police said that the victim filed a police report and that the fact is still being analyzed by the Specialized Police Station for the Investigation of Crimes of Racism, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance.
company note
Leroy Merlin stated, through a note, that at the time of purchase, the customer made payment via Pix, but due to a systemic inconsistency, the action was not completed, which caused an inconvenience.
Instability was identified in other stores in the network and reported to the responsible partner.
As a practice, when the company does not identify the payment, the customer is provided with a receipt guaranteeing the reversal within 48 hours, which was done with other people during this period of instability, however the consumer did not accept the document.
Faced with this refusal, those responsible for Leroy Merlin were contacted and allowed the customer to leave with the product.
The company understands that it must improve dealings and communication to clarify the processes, which apply to all customers, preventing cases like these from happening again.
It also highlights that the reversal was carried out and reiterates that it repudiates any and all acts of discrimination.
The company also stated that it is still investigating the alleged meeting with customers.
Source: CNN Brasil
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