Cheque clearing time

I had a cheque deposit into my account. The amount showed there is money going into my account however the balance was R0. I then called the call center whereby a consultant was very rude, which i tolerated because i wanted help. I was told the cheque will only clear after 14 working days , which in reality is three weeks. How is possible that one has to wait three weeks for money to be cleared while it takes less than a week with other bank?