Problems Getting Paid in British Pounds!

Note to self: Don't get paid in British Pounds!

After making multiple phone calls to my bank, and waiting for them to check with superiors and call me back, I was told the tellers at my local branch could handle cashing my check issues by a British magazine, payment for an article I wrote. The only thing was that I had to be there in person.

So I did that. But the teller did not have any idea what to do. I waited until one of the personnel in a private office was done with an appointment She said she just had to make a couple calls, but it could be cashed, after a fee. But then, before all was said and done, she said I had to wait until April to cash it! It was issued with a date of "4/1/2011." I explained that that is the way Europeans write out dates--day of the month first, followed by month. In Europe, that's Jan, 4, though to us it looks like April 1. The bank employee said she did understand that, but their machines would not be able to get around reading that date and would reject the check.

My choices: Ask the magazine to reissue a check with the date written the "American way" or just wait until April first to cash my check.

Note to self: avoid this, and the processing fee, in the future; see if magazines can issue checks written in American dollars.