I&39;ve witnessed big changes in the credit world since I first started in the industry five years ago. At that time, credit reports and credit scores were still pretty new to the internet and very few consumers really had any sort of understanding of the credit system. Heck, the bureaus weren&39;t even required to allow consumer access to their credit data until Fair Credit Reporting Act in 2001.

Fast forward to 2007, we now have commercials for credit reports on TV, personal finance reporters covering credit in major newspapers and a significant increase in the amount of consumers checking their data. The Equifax credit bureau alone made more than $1 billion in revenue in 2006 from their "Personal Solutions" division that markets credit reports, scores and monitoring. Credit reporting has become a huge industry.

So you would assume that consumers are now supremely educated about their credit scores and credit reports, right?  Think again. Numerous surveys indicate that we still have a long way to go. The latest report from TrueCredit found:

• Fully six in ten (63%) do not know their credit score.
• 65% say they have never checked their credit reports for free.
• 47% percent never check their credit reports, and 16% check their credit reports less often than once a year.
• 43% say they have the same amount of credit card debt this year as last, with 11% reporting they have more debt and 29% reporting they have less.

Yikes! I&39;m not happy to hear that 63% of consumers don&39;t know their credit scores. Especially when this is something that can be easily remedied by ordering a free credit report & score trial or using our free credit score compass tool. Having a general understanding of where your credit score ranks is an important tool for making financial decisions, planning credit improvements and negotiating deals on major purchases.

Checking your credit reports for free? It&39;s a snap through www.annualcreditreport.com. This is the official site  for obtaining your absolutely 100% free, no-strings attached credit report from each credit bureau every 12 months.

And getting out of credit card debt? In most cases, it just takes a willpower and planning to reduce your balances. Credit.com has a Do-it-Yourself Debt Reduction worksheet that can help you get started. With credit card interest rates on the rise, this is a great time to focus on becoming debt free.

What do you think about the TrueCredit survey? Do you know your credit score? Have you checked your credit reports recently? Share your feedback in the comments section below.