A YORK businessman has warned companies they could stand to lose a lot of money if their fuel cards are stolen.

Ken Bell, who owns AK Bell Removals, at Clifton Moor, York, has four Jetcards to allow his drivers to buy petrol or diesel from Jet service stations on the company account. But when one of the cards was stolen, in Goole, he was distressed to find he could not cancel the card for 48 hours.

He said: "I have never heard anything so barmy. There is no limit on the card so the thief can fill up as many times as he wants in 48 hours and I'll have to pay."

He said he had not been aware that he would not be able to cancel the card straight away when he signed up to the Jetcard scheme. He now plans to cancel the cards and replace them with a company credit card.

Roy Roley, a spokesman for Jet, said the delay in cancelling the card was due to technical reasons.

He said: "If a customer rings in to say a card has been lost or stolen before 3pm, the card will be cancelled overnight. But if he rings in after 3pm the details cannot be processed until after 3pm the next day.

"Jetcard has been running for 12 years now and we have very few problems with it. It is a far more secure system than giving cash to drivers."

Updated: 09:35 Tuesday, June 17, 2003