Go and talk with your CWB branch - They don't put a hold on my checks anymore. Just go and show them some history of checks being accepted in the past.
But lucky if you get away with depositing several checks for a one-off fee! That only worked the first 4 or 5 times until somebody woke them up and spread the word
Can anybody tell us about their experience with an US based account and an attached debit card? Secure? Easy (or difficult) to set up???
BTW: I deposited some of my checks in Germany - that's REALLY expensive = don't moan about 5-7 AUD.