Overdrafts and Banks that hate Zeros

So it seems that my bank doesn't like the way i write my zeros. i write them the british way, as a circle with a line crossing down through it like the "null" symbol. or maybe they just don't like seeing zeros anywhere in the amount for something, so they replace them all with some other number, like "4".

the reason i suspect that they don't like it, is because i check i wrote out recently for my rent was for the amount of $300.00, but they actually took out $344.44. so each "0" they read as a "4". this caused me to go under on my account. things have been rather tight lately and i had calculated my spending very carefully. obviously the extra $44.44 of spending threw that out the window and has stacked with an overdraft charge and whatnot to put me nearly $80 in the hole!

i've talked to my roommate, to whom i wrote out the check and he's going to look into it. i'm hoping he'll be able to send back the 44, then i can call my bank put that in there, see if they'll drop the overdraft charge (about $35) and see if that puts me back into the black... even if just a tiny bit.