Clear Step Finance Terms of Service
Effective date: September 27, 2025
1) Who we are & acceptance
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your use of clearstepfinance.com and related pages, content, tools, and features (the “Service”), operated by Ethetic Marketing (Clear Step Finance) (“Clear Step Finance,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).
By accessing or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.
Contact: Ethetic Marketing (Clear Step Finance), 3774 Belt Line Rd, Unit #2049, Addison, TX 75001, USA • Email:[email protected]
2) Audience & eligibility
The Service is intended for adults 18+ in the United States and Canada. Availability of content, links, and third-party offers may vary by state/province or country.
3) Educational content only — not financial advice
The Service provides general educational information about personal finance. We do not provide financial, legal, tax, investment, or credit-repair advice and nothing on the Service is tailored to your circumstances. You are responsible for your decisions and should consult qualified professionals.
4) Not a lender, broker, or credit-repair organization
We are not a lender or loan broker and do not make credit decisions, originate financial products, or guarantee approvals. We are not a “credit repair organization” under federal or state law and do not remove accurate, timely, or verifiable information from credit reports.
5) Third-party services; affiliate disclosure; link practices
The Service may link to or reference third-party websites, products, or services (“Third-Party Services”). We do not control or endorse Third-Party Services and are not responsible for their content, accuracy, or practices.
Affiliate disclosure. We may receive compensation when you click certain links or obtain a product/service from a third-party provider (including via MaxBounty or direct provider programs). Compensation may influence placement; it does not influence our educational content. Always verify terms on the provider site.
Link practices. Outbound paid/sponsored links may be labeled or technically designated (e.g., rel="sponsored nofollow") consistent with platform guidelines. We may use non-identifying tracking parameters (e.g., click IDs/SubIDs) for attribution and fraud prevention; we do not use them to personally identify you.
6) Accounts & communications
We do not provide user accounts. If you contact us, you authorize us to reply and send transactional communications related to your inquiry. If you opt into newsletters or updates, we may send those via Zoho; you can unsubscribe at any time.
7) Acceptable use
You agree not to (and not to attempt to): (a) use the Service for unlawful, deceptive, harassing, or harmful purposes; (b) access, scrape, or reverse engineer the Service except as permitted by law; (c) submit information that is false, misleading, or violates others’ rights; (d) interfere with or disrupt the security, integrity, or availability of the Service. We may suspend or terminate access for violations.
8) Intellectual property; limited license
The Service (including text, graphics, logos, and design) is owned by Clear Step Finance or its licensors and is protected by law. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Service for personal, non-commercial purposes. Except as allowed by fair use or applicable law, you may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works without our written permission.
9) Feedback
If you submit feedback or suggestions, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use and exploit that feedback for any purpose without obligation to you.
10) Changes to the Service
We may modify, suspend, or discontinue any part of the Service at any time without notice and without liability.
11) Disclaimers
THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.
12) Limitation of liability
TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, CLEAR STEP FINANCE AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, AND AFFILIATES WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, OR GOODWILL, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. OUR AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE WILL NOT EXCEED US $100 OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US (IF ANY) IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, WHICHEVER IS GREATER. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; where they do not, limits apply to the maximum extent permitted.
13) Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Clear Step Finance and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Service or your violation of these Terms.
14) Dispute resolution — least-headaches version
14.1 Informal resolution (required first)
Before filing any claim, you and we agree to try to resolve it informally. Email [email protected] with a brief description of the dispute and your contact information. If we cannot resolve it within 30 days, either party may proceed under the sections below.
14.2 Binding individual arbitration; class-action waiver
Please read carefully. This affects your rights.
Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved informally will be resolved by binding, individual arbitration administered by JAMS or the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under their applicable consumer rules. Arbitration will take place in Dallas County, Texas, or by video/phone if mutually agreed.
No class or representative actions. YOU AND WE AGREE TO BRING CLAIMS ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY. The arbitrator may not consolidate claims or preside over a class/representative proceeding without both parties’ consent.
Small-claims carve-out. Either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court in Dallas County, Texas (or your U.S. county of residence) instead of arbitration.
Injunctive relief carve-out. Either party may seek temporary/preliminary injunctive relief in court to protect intellectual-property rights or prevent unauthorized use or abuse of the Service pending final resolution.
Fees. Filing/administration/arbitrator fees will be governed by JAMS/AAA rules.
Delegation. The arbitrator decides arbitrability except where prohibited by law.
Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing [email protected] with subject “Arbitration Opt-Out” within 30 days of your first use of the Service, stating your name and your request to opt out. Your opt-out will not affect other provisions of these Terms.
14.3 Bellwether / batching for mass filings
If 25 or more similar arbitration demands are filed against us by the same or coordinated counsel or organizations within 90 days:
- The parties will select 10 cases to proceed first as bellwethers (five chosen by each side).
- The remaining cases are stayed, and any related fees and deadlines are tolled until the bellwethers conclude.
- After the bellwethers, the parties will confer in good faith about resolving or efficiently administering remaining cases, including additional staged/batched proceedings as appropriate.
This clause does not waive the individual-only requirement above.
14.4 If the class waiver is unenforceable
If the class-action waiver is found unenforceable, this entire Section 14 (arbitration) will be unenforceable and any claim will proceed in court (see Section 15), without a jury to the extent permitted by law.
15) Governing law; venue
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflicts-of-law rules. Subject to Section 14, the exclusive venue for any permitted court action is the state or federal courts in Dallas County, Texas, and you consent to their jurisdiction.
16) Export & compliance
You must comply with all applicable U.S. and international export, sanctions, and compliance laws relating to your use of the Service.
17) Assignment
You may not assign or transfer these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms in connection with a merger, acquisition, sale of assets, or by operation of law.
18) Entire agreement; severability; waiver; force majeure
These Terms (including the Privacy Policy, incorporated by reference) are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service and supersede prior agreements. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary; the rest remains in effect. Our failure to enforce any right is not a waiver. We are not liable for delays/failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control.
19) Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated Terms with a new Effective date. Your continued use after changes become effective constitutes acceptance.
20) Contact
Ethetic Marketing (Clear Step Finance)
3774 Belt Line Rd, Unit #2049, Addison, TX 75001, USA
Email: [email protected]