No advance fees — ever. It’s federal law, and it’s our policy. See how we charge
About Steadwell
Maya Okafor ran a bank collections department for nine years. She started Steadwell in 2014 with one rule that survives every hire since: say the true thing first, even when it costs the sale — especially then.
People arrive here embarrassed. They shouldn’t be — half the country is one medical bill, one layoff, or one divorce away from the same kitchen-table pile. So the first thing we built wasn’t a dispute engine; it was a room where nobody gets judged and nobody gets sold.
The second thing we built was the “no” list. No guaranteed scores. No advance fees. No disputing accurate history. No CPNs, ever. It turns out a credit-repair firm’s integrity is measured almost entirely by what it refuses to do — so we wrote our refusals down and published them.
The team
Nobody at Steadwell is paid per sale, per dispute, or per “deletion.” Flat salaries, so the advice in the room has no quota behind it.
Founder & lead counselor
Maya spent nine years running a bank collections department and left when the scripts stopped feeling like help. She founded Steadwell on one rule: say the true thing first. She’s a certified consumer credit counselor and has read, by her own count, over six thousand credit reports.
Client advocate — disputes & documentation
Daniel drafts every dispute like it’ll be read by a skeptic, because it will be. Former paralegal; keeper of the documentation checklist; author of the DIY kit’s letter templates — the ones we give away free.
Debt counselor — DMP & settlement math
Priya runs the debt side: budgets, payoff schedules, settlement modeling, and the 1099-C tax conversations nobody enjoys but everyone needs. She has talked more clients out of settlement than into it, and considers that the job.
Financial education & DIY support
Tom teaches the free rebuild workshops and answers the “can I just do this myself?” emails — usually with “yes, and here’s how.” If you never become a paying client because of Tom, that is, in his words, the system working.
Who we turn away
Roughly one in four free reviews ends without a client engagement — on our recommendation. Here is exactly who hears it, and why. If you recognize yourself below, come in anyway: the review and the referral are free.
Disputing accurate items is a treadmill someone else profits from. We’ll show you the rebuild math — most of it free — and offer counseling if you want company for it.
The investigation clock alone is 30–45 days per round. Taking your money against that deadline would be theater. We’ll tell your lender-timeline the truth instead.
Both are fraud. The people selling them rarely face the consequences — their customers do. Hard no, every time.
Then it’s not honest to take it. You leave with the DIY dispute kit and a referral to nonprofit counseling — both free.
When debts dwarf income and assets, two years of settlement pain can be crueler than a legal reset. We refer you to a bankruptcy attorney and don’t charge for the honesty.
Turned away ≠ turned out. Everyone leaves with the written plan, the free DIY kit, and a referral that fits — nonprofit counseling, legal aid, or a bankruptcy attorney.
2214 Hearthstone Avenue, Suite 240 · Columbus, OH 43215 · Evening and Saturday appointments available.
Sixty to ninety minutes, all three reports, every line tagged honestly. You leave with a written plan — and about one in four people leave with our advice not to hire anyone at all.
Free means free — no card, no contract, no “activation.” Charging before work is done is illegal, and we wouldn’t anyway.