Yanks do it too. One particular frequency we used to handover to at Heathrow seemed to cause them problems - 135.12. American pilots often read it back as "thirty-five twelve" so I started to do that and it worked every time. A friend went to Chicago and heard a controller hand over to "One a quarter, a quarter". When he asked what that was he was told "125.25". All desperately naughty, of course.