Washington, DC -- Although credit scores have become an increasingly powerful force in the financial lives of Americans, their understanding of these scores is poor and has not improved, according to the latest credit score survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America(CFA)and Washington Mutual (WaMu).

"Consumers who have obtained their credit scores know more than those who have not," said CFA Executive Director Stephen Brobeck. "But overall, consumer understanding of credit scores is poor and has not improved over the past two years," he added.

"By taking simple steps to improve their credit scores, consumers can reduce their credit costs, and the costs of other services, by tens of billions of dollars annually," said Anthony Vuoto, president, WaMu Card Services.  "In fact, just by raising their scores by an average of 30 points, they would save a total of over $20 billion on lower credit card charges," he added.

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.