It took one modelling gig — a two-hour photo shoot — for Windsor’s Teagan Webb to get her picture in Chatelaine and Canadian Living.
It’s taking much longer, however, for the eight-year-old to receive payment for her work.
Teagan was photographed playing soccer for a Government of Canada ad on Dec. 16, 2010.
Then seven, Teagan was promised $900 for her work, $120 of which would go to Linda Buchanan, her agent with the Halifax-based Strut International Model & Talent Agency.
“I told her she could buy something special,” Teagan’s mother, Shauna Webb recalled during an interview at her home.
Webb says Teagan didn’t accept the modelling assignment for the money. Her main hope was to see her picture in a glossy magazine.
“She didn’t realize she didn’t get paid because it wasn’t about the money. It was just fun for her,” Webb said.
“She was in a magazine. End of story.”
But the experience has been anything but fun for Teagan’s parents. Webb says they have been trying to get Teagan’s money from Buchanan, who received payment for Teagan’s work in March, for months.
“She said Teagan would have her cheque by the end of the week, and then it was the end of the month, and then it was the next month.”
The Webbs filed a complaint to the RCMP when email correspondence with Buchanan continued to yield no results.
“We wanted her charged,” Webb said. “You don’t take that kind of money off a kid.”
Buchanan has been accused of defrauding nine people. The Webbs are among the list of complainants that filed more than a dozen charges against Buchanan in total. None of the charges have been proven in court. She is due in Halifax provincial court Jan. 10.
Attempts to reach Buchanan as of press time were unsuccessful.
In hindsight, Webb wishes she would have gone beyond a simple online search. She says she would have consulted with more industry professionals, and the Better Business Bureau.
As for Teagan, she’s retired from modelling and started focusing on dancing.
With a laugh, Webb explained the rationale behind this change of heart.
“She wanted to be in a magazine and she was in two so, she’s done.”
