I've worked in banking long enough to know that anyone who takes the word of a CSR as to whether a check
not drawn on that bank is valid or not is skating on very thin ice indeed. I've known plenty of tellers (unfortunately) who would be all too happy to accept a "check" written in yellow crayon on a cocktail napkin. And if you give me a half-hour in front of a computer with a decent scanner and laser printer, I'll produce forgeries that will sail past any teller in the country with ease.
Your advice is the best advice - call the bank that the check is drawn on. Don't rely on your bank to spot forgeries from some other bank - they can't, and you'll be very unhappy with the results, just as this lady above is...
I've known plenty of tellers (unfortunately) who would be all too happy to accept a "check" written in yellow crayon on a cocktail napkin. Back in the long ago, this would actually be accepted.
My grandfather once told me a story about buying a mule with a check written on a torn-off piece of a grocery bag, since he had run out of printed checks. It was a small town, and the seller and banker were both good friends of his, so it was no problem.
You might still be able to do it if you didn't mind the processing being delayed.
-ccm