In a move that could keep you from running to a credit restoration company for future credit repair, Visa has finally banned data pass marketing. Although the term “data pass marketing” may sound foreign, you’ve probably experienced it at some point in time.

Here’s how data pass marketing works: you make a purchase online, and then the next page that shows up is an offer for a “reward,” “rebate” or “discount club.” If you accept the offer, which can happen by simply leaving a checkmark in a little box, the original merchant forwards your credit card information to the company offering the reward, and your credit card gets charged. Even more troubling is the fact that these charges often recur each month. This is especially disturbing when a debit card is used, and the money comes directly out of your bank, overdrawing your account.

This type of shady data sharing has been on the radar of for quite some time, and it was the subject of a hearing held by the Senate Commerce Committee in November 2009. It’s almost impossible to get the charges reversed, and when they result in overdraft and insufficient funds fees, they can do serious damage to your credit.

Even a solid credit restoration company can have a hard time getting the charges reversed, making credit repair all but impossible. Visa has taken an impressive first step to protect its card users, and hopefully more credit card companies will follow suit. Otherwise, more people will continue to fall victim to these scam-style offers, resulting in the need for even more credit restoration companies offering credit repair.

Credit repair is such a long and involved process, it should be avoided whenever possible. Even if the new Visa policy results in the saving of one person’s financial life, it will be well worth the effort.