I've never paid for a cheque (PC, TD). I use about one a month, on average, and occasionally a void one. When I opened my Amex account, I had to send them a cheque over $1, which they did cash. Then, Amex credited that $1 to my account. :-) But Canada Post employees were locked out. My cheque was stuck somewhere in the system, and I was travelling without any extras - it slowed my Amex application for over a month. They were unrelenting. :-(

A friend of mine has an account at RBC. She used to get three cheques a month for free. Now, she gets as many for free as she wants, but whenever one of her cheques is cashed, there is a $2 charge. Well, its RBC...