ORLANDO, Fla. -- If you're drowning in debt, you may need help. But beware of the kind of company that takes a lot of money out of your pocket right from the start.

How can you find a good debt counseling service? Avoid the ones that use telemarkerters to sign you up and keep your first payment. Check with the Better Business Bureau and the FTC Information on Debt.

Many consumers who enroll end up deeper in debt and feel misled by all the company's fees. Action 9 uncovered one such consumer by the name of Barbara Sarayene.

It seems she can master a paintbrush, but Barbara Sarayene hasn't been able to tame her credit card bills, now totaling over $9,000.

TAKE ACTION Do you have a consumer complaint that you can't resolve? Let the Eyewitness News Action Nine office give it a try.

So when she got a call from a telemarketer at National Family Services, inside an Orlando office, offering to consolidate and lower her monthly payments, Barbara signed up.

"They would negotiate with my creditors, and get my interest cut to next to nothing."

But like so many others, Barbara later felt that decision was a huge mistake. "I feel sorta foolish for even doing it."

Many consumers who signed up felt badly misled.

Like other credit counseling services, National Family negotiates lower interest rates, then you pay them once a month, and the company makes your lower card payments.

But the Orlando Better Business Bureau is getting lots of complaints. Dozens from across the country are saying the company is keeping payments from consumers.

"When they do make payments they don't get to the creditors, so the consumers still get those harassing phone calls," said Judy Pepper, President of the Orlando Better Business Bureau.

The Better Business Bureau has suspended the company's membership.

The Bureau did help Barbara get her $208 back. She cancelled within days, but National Family Services pulled money out of her bank account anyway.

Company president Ron Parker denied National Family misled anyone, and blamed computer foul-ups that have been fixed. "We had a three week period where we lost our data in our computer and clients did not have their money paid to creditors."

The company still keeps your first payment as their fee. That can be as much as a $1,000; then there's a monthly $45 fee. A lot of that money could be better used paying off your debt.