HERMISTON – Credit cards. They can be your best friends when you’re faced with an emergency purchase or they can be your worst enemy when it comes time to pay the monthly bills.

But help locally and online is available when consumers find themselves in over their heads.

According to CardWeb.com, a leading online credit card news site, the amount of average credit card debt in an American household has more then doubled since 1990.

The numbers are up from $3,000 to $8,000 in accumulated debt. Combined with interest rates it can take years to climb out of debt.

A credit counseling service can give advice on how to handle debt- and in extreme cases can help set up a debt management plan.

If you are looking for a help there are a couple of things that credit counselors say you should do.

“Ask a lot of questions,” said Marilyn Willey, branch manager of Consumer Credit Counseling in Pendleton.

Willey said that it is important to find out as much as you can about the counseling service before you sign up.

Checking to make sure that the counselors are certified with whatever state they are in is also an important step in choosing a good group to work with.

If the people with the organization do not have certification with the state then a consumer may want to try a different group.

Many counseling services are non-profit groups but will still charge a starting fee for a new client.

Some groups will waive the fee if the applicant is in dire enough circumstances concerning their finances but others will not.

A statement made by the Federal Trade Commission in November urged consumers to be wary of groups charging fees or “donations” that may come out of the client’s monthly payment to the group.

The trade commission also urged consumers to be careful about counseling services that offer incredibly low interest rates on credit cards.

Marilyn Dwyer is the manager for the Hermiston based Consumer Credit Counseling service and she urges using common sense when it comes to groups making big promises.

“If it sounds too good to be true it probably is,” Dwyer said.

The great news is that once consumers sign up with licensed credit counseling services in many cases interest rates can be dropped and late charges can sometimes even be canceled out altogether.

It is a good idea to check with local Better Business Bureaus in town to find out if there have been any complaints against a particular group.

Bob Currier of American Consumer Credit Counseling said it’s a good idea to see if a group has a program for learning how to not make the same mistakes that got someone into the debt dog house in the first place.

Financial trouble?

Here are a few signs that you might need financial counseling.

1. Do you pay only the minimum due on your credit cards each month?

2. Are you using one credit card to make payments on another credit card?

3. Do you put off one bill so that you can pay another one?

4. Are you using savings to pay for everyday expenses?

5. Do you depend on overtime to pay your monthly bills?

6. If an unexpected expense comes up do you panic?

7. Do you depend on friends and relatives for “loans” to cover basic expenses?

8. Are you at or near your credit limit? (If you know exactly how far away from your limit you are then you are taking it too seriously)

9. Are you avoiding getting the mail for fear of getting bills?