Consumer understanding of credit scores continues to be a problem, according to the latest credit score survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America and Washington Mutual. The poor understanding of credit scores by consumers, responding to multiple choice questions which could be correctly guessed, has not improved over the past two years. Here are some of the survey results.

· Knowledge of the meaning of a credit score — that it indicates risk of not repaying a loan — rose only from 27% to 29%
· Knowledge that Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion are the three national credit bureaus rose
only from 45% to 47%.
· Only 24% now know that the lowest score likely to qualify one for a low-cost mortgage was 700, a question not asked in 2005.
· The percentage of those who know that consumers have more than one score fell from 47 to 45.
· The percentage who correctly believe that their scores increase if they pay off a large credit card balance fell from 65 to 62. And the percentage who correctly believe that their scores decline if they make a credit card payment 30 days late fell from 74 to 71.

The good news is that consumers can raise their credit scores a variety of ways, including:

· Paying their bills consistently and on time.
· Not maxing-out their credit cards or other “revolving credit.”
· Paying off debt rather than just moving it around, and not opening many new accounts rapidly.
· Checking their credit reports, which are now free, to make sure they are error-free. Federal law requires the three main credit bureaus — Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion — to make available to consumers on request, at no charge, one credit report per year.