My little saga might be coming to an end!
Today i decided to bite the bullet and phone the IRS, determined to sit on hold for however many hours it took, and to hell with the cost of the call.
I was on hold for 25 minutes, then got cut off.
Phoned back and got put on hold for 15 minutes, then after some discussion, was put on hold for another 10 minutes, but luckily the person i was speaking to seemed to be a genuine person who cared about doing a good job and resolving the customer's issue!
She told me that they did receive my 2020 1040 return, but that line 30, where the amount of the stimulus payment should have been entered, was blank. I have absolutely NO IDEA how that is possible, because i am sitting here with photocopies of the 1040 i submitted and it very clearly says on line 30: $1800. HOW on earth could their copy not show it, but my copy does show it? I have decided to let that go, rather than stressing out over the impossibility.
She confirmed that they would send a cheque for the $1800 and i told her that the form 8888 i submitted shows details of a USD bank account to receive the payment electronically, but she advised they could only issue a cheque in this instance. No idea why, but at this stage i am not wanting to argue, so i will just wait 6-8 weeks for the cheque.
The USD account i have is a Wise account, and the reading i have done says that they don't accept cheque deposits. So i guess i will just have to take the hit to have it converted to sterling, bank fees, etc.
Fckin piece of nonsense, but i am glad it's (almost) over and i will end up with *some* money rather than nothing at all.
Thanks to everyone who offered advice or just shared their experience on this thread.