Banking in Britain

I got a rebate check in the mail from Canon (not that you need to know this, but it was for my fabulous new camera!) and needed to put it in my account. For some strange reason, you can't deposit anything into ATMs here...maybe that's why they call them "cash machines"?!? So, Ian and I stopped by the bank today. I was just going to cash the check, but apparently it could only be deposited, as it was that "kind of check". What kind of check can only be deposited and not cashed?!? Anyway, we also did not bring a deposit slip with us, which is a big no-no. The lady finally got enough info from us, left her little desk, went behind a locked door for a few minutes before deciding that is was in fact okay for her to deposit the check. Seriously, all this trouble for a check?!? Good thing checks aren't used very often here!