After allegations of irregularities and non-compliance with concession of cemeteries municipalities of São Paulo, the representative of the Consolare concessionaire provided information at the São Paulo City Council, this Tuesday (12). So far, after 21 notifications from city hall inspectors, the company has paid only one of the fines, worth R$9,000.
The fine refers to a case from March last year, in which the family of a stillborn child spent two days trying to obtain a free burial, but their Single Registry was out of date. According to the parents, when looking for the dealership, they were misguided. The situation was resolved after the case was publicized by the press.
The CEO of Consolare, Mauricio Costa, informed that the notifications mostly concern problems related to janitorial services, fire extinguishers and the amounts charged. Of the total notifications, four were converted into fines, and the company is appealing the remaining three.
The price of funeral services passed on to the population was a central issue at the extraordinary meeting held by the Chamber’s Urban, Metropolitan and Environmental Policy Committee.
Consolare is responsible for the administration of the cemeteries of Consolação, Quarta Parada, Santana, Tremembé, Vila Mariana and Vila Formosa I and II.
Since the beginning of the concession, Consolare reported that it provided 33,382 funeral services, 28,881 burials and 9,542 free services.
“What we realize is that it is a big business”, highlighted councilor Sonaira Fernandes (PL), at the beginning of the meeting. She reported that, when she followed some of the cases in cemeteries, the attendants did not inform, on any of the occasions, about the possibility of issuing a bill for payment within 60 days so that people could prove low income”.
The director stated that all agencies and cemeteries have a fixed and easily accessible table of values. However, the councilors pointed out that there is no clarity regarding what would be an essential service and an optional service, in addition to the free benefit and social value.
The councilors cited customer service via WhatsApp, which, according to complaints, does not send the complete and detailed tariff table, only the most expensive package. “I’m here with a message from Consolare talking about burial in Vila Formosa: ‘all services described, average value of R$ 3,800, payment method in up to six installments by card, bank transfer or pix’”, Councilor Silvia from Bancada Feminista (Psol) reported on one of the complaints received by parliamentarians.
“You are failing to communicate. It is not enough for you to set up the tables in the cemetery, you need, when you communicate with the population, to inform all the prices of all services, from the cheapest service to the most expensive service”, he criticized, adding that the case goes against any principle ethical customer service.
At the meeting, there was also criticism regarding the infrastructure and maintenance of cemeteries managed by Consolare. According to the CEO, according to the concession’s investment schedule, the company has until 2027 to carry out all interventions in the cemeteries under its management.
He stated that, to date, expenses include R$155 million in the fixed auction grant; R$6.5 million in variable grants, which is the percentage of revenue; and R$55.79 million in improvements in all managed units.
The forecast is that by 2027 R$200 million will be invested in cemeteries. According to the director, to date, Consolare has recorded an operating loss of R$29 million.
“So, there is nothing to say here that companies do not invest or that they have abusive profits”, said Mauricio Costa. He cited the investment of R$10 million in the Quarta Parada cemetery, which underwent renovations.
The director also said that the Vila Formosa cemetery had an investment of R$19 million, including renovation of the wake rooms, toilets and drinking fountains, in addition to the construction of 11 thousand concrete drawers.
Questioned by councilor Rubinho Nunes (União Brasil), president of the Urban, Metropolitan and Environmental Policy Commission, about the quality of the units managed by Consolare, the director assessed it as “good, heading towards great”, on a scale from terrible to excellent. .
Nunes was the author of the requests to summon representatives from the Consolare and Grupo Mayara concessionaires, in addition to the invitation to SP Regula, the public services regulatory agency in the capital of São Paulo.
The councilor countered the information with photos that showed janitorial problems at the Vila Formosa cemetery, such as lack of paving and holes in the internal circulation roads, tall grass and dirt. “I believe that there would be a series of fines that your company would suffer and perhaps a penalty if there was a little rigor on the part of SP Regula,” said Nunes, adding that the situation demonstrates total disregard for the cemetery.
