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Woman claims daughter coerced into cellphone contract

Rogers Communication is making amends to a Winnipeg woman claims her mentally-challenged daughter was coerced into buying a cellphone.

The telecom company has canceled the contract and cleared the account, calling it an exceptional situation.

But Linda Gabbs is still furious that it happened in the first place, saying her daughter, Jennifer Ring, was strong-armed by a salesman to buy a cellphone.

"They coerced her into it," Gabbs said.

Ring, 27, was with friends at The Forks marketplace on Canada Day when a cellphone salesman convinced her to sign a contract with Rogers Wireless, Gabbs said.

"The guy called her over to the kiosk and said, 'do you want a cellphone?' And Jennifer says, 'is it going to cost me anything?' And he says, 'no.'"

Gabbs only found out about the contract after Rogers called their home looking for a payment. It turns out the phone wasn't free — it costs $79 a month.

Gabbs then went to the The Forks to confront the salesman who sold the phone to her daughter.

"He says, 'she looks normal.' After talking to my daughter for five minutes you'd know she wasn't normal," Gabbs said.

Although Gabbs said she has been trying for months to get the contract cancelled, it wasn't until after CBC News contacted Rogers Wireless that the company took action.

A Rogers spokeswoman said the company is now looking into measures to make sure situations like this don't happen again.

Sara Holland, a senior manager with Rogers, said Gabbs and Ring can be assured they will get no more calls about the payment.

"I have checked with the retail that set up the account and, while we followed all proper procedures when signing up Jennifer (including a credit check) and were unaware of her condition," Holland said.

"We recognize that this is an exceptional situation and we should have taken care of it sooner. We are looking into what took place and taking steps to ensure it doesn't happen again."