NEW YORK — Americans still love their plastic, even if they don't trust the credit card companies dishing it out.

A study released this week by CreditCards.com found 58 percent of respondents said they "somewhat" or "strongly" agree with the statement "I don't trust credit card companies."

At the same time, 82 percent think having at least one credit card is essential, and 77 percent said they like the convenience of credit cards over cash.

While seeing the pros and cons of credit cards, some 78 percent agreed with the statement that nobody really reads the terms and conditions when signing up for a credit card.

One reason people don't bother reading the terms is that all the fine print is so difficult to decipher, said Ben Woolsey, director of marketing and consumer research for CreditCards.com, a privately held company that offers consumers comparisons on credit cards.

The result is that people are later "stunned" by fees and penalties, Woolsey said.

Last year, Americans held about $850 billion in credit card debt, according to the Consumer Federation of America. That's about four times the amount of credit card debt held in 1990.

In 2005, 35 percent of credit card accounts — or 242 million cards — incurred a late fee, according to the federation.

The Federal Reserve is reviewing regulations that would curb some of the credit card practices criticized by consumer advocates. The rules are expected to be adopted by the end of the year.

Peter Garuccio, a spokesman for the American Bankers Association, said the results of the study "suggest a need for clearer, more consumer-friendly terms and conditions." Still, he acknowledged that the majority of respondents said people don't really read disclosure forms.

The ABA opposes the Fed's proposed credit card regulations, saying they would result in higher prices and less consumer credit for those with good credit histories because card companies wouldn't be able to fully reflect risk.

The Fed's proposed regulations do not address some industry practices widely criticized by consumer advocates.

One such practice is when interest rates on future balances are increased for reasons unrelated to a particular credit card account. For example, a rate might be raised if a holder is late on a payment for another card or gets a lower credit score.

Some credit card companies also reserve the right to raise interest rates for reasons entirely unrelated to the behavior of the card holder — such as a change in business strategy.

"If you don't know when you're going to be hit with a rate increase, or why, well that's a good, solid reason for mistrust," said Ruth Susswein, deputy director of national priorities for the advocacy group Consumer Action.

Given such unsavory practices in the industry, it's no surprise that so many distrust credit card companies, Susswein said.

Woolsey, of CreditCards.com, said the Fed's upcoming regulations should help restore some level of trust among consumers. He said credit card companies additionally need to make their disclosure forms easier to understand.

"It's essential that things need to be said in really plain language," he said.