MORGANTOWN -- New federal credit card laws went into effect weeks ago, but are they enough to protect consumers? That's what a roundtable talk with Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., centered on Monday.

Rockefeller chairs the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, and he heard from service providers, the attorney general's office, students, and a few people who've fallen victim to heavy credit card debt.

"Desperate, I can't even explain to you what it was like to be that young, that much in debt," said Nicole LaPresta. She collected thousands of dollars of credit card debt with nine credit cards in college. LaPresta said she was forced to drop out of school.

It's not just college kids buying too much pizza or other frivolous item who are racking up credit card debt. More Americans are using their "emergency" credit cards just to get through tough economic times.

"That's what it started out as, an emergency," said Boone County resident William Boyle, "but for me it was a catastrophic medical reason and that kind of put us over the edge and I had no choice."

Boyle is fighting through $27,000 of debt, and Rockefeller said he knows it's not just a West Virginia problem.

"Credit card companies are ruthless," he said. "They will find a way to make money."

And they did, during the year it took new protection laws to take effect.

"Perhaps as many as 25 percent of consumers have had their interest rates raised between enactment of the law and when the restrictions went into effect in late February," said Charli Fulton, who work in the West Virginia Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division.

New restrictions make the billing process more transparent, eliminating fine print and requiring a month or more notice of interest rate changes.

Fulton said it's not enough. National credit card companies are still outside of West Virginia laws, which cap interest rates that can be charged to consumers.

"They can be charged whatever's the maximum interest rate in the state where the bank is located," Fulton said. "And many of them are located in states such as South Dakota and Delaware that have no interest cap.

She said Rockefeller can also work to change the waiver most consumers sign for any credit, which gives away the right to sue.

"A consumer who had a dispute and might want to go to magistrate court and represent themselves can't do it," Fulton said, "because they have to go through this binding arbitration, which may be very much more costly than a lawsuit and doesn't provide as great protection."

Rockefeller told the group he plans to continue waging war to protect their rights.

"You just don't quit," Rockefeller said. "You grab a hold of an issue like this and you just don't quit until you've got it solved."