<prompt> Human: I just received a 10K collection notice and listed as the creditor is my former employer. When I received this I was quite shocked as my previous company has made no apparent attempt to contact about this amount. I believe that this is a clawback of relocation expenses.Background:I worked for this company for 3 years straight out of college. After performing well they offered me a promotion at their headquarters, but that would require relocating across the country. To help with the relocation they offered a lump sum of 7.5k and took care of the moving truck 2.5K, although it was billed through my employer so I dont have the exact amount.When I accepted the promotion relocation I signed a document stating that if I left the company within 1 year of the relocation I would have to reimburse the company for the full amount, or if I left between 1 and 2 years, I would have to pay back proportionally the amount. Here is the exact timeline:Sign relocation agreement 6152012Actually relocate 7152012Official last day at 522014As you can see, I was pretty damn close to making it past the 2 year mark, but not quite. I naively trusted the HR rep in my exit interview who assured me that they rarely enforce the clause and since I was so close to 2 years they wouldnt bother collecting the amount. But here we are...A few questions to personal finance:Can my employer send this amount to collections with making no attempt to contact me first?Given the fact that this debt is with a collections agency will this adversely affect my credit score or do I have some time to resolve this before it gets sent to the credit bureau as delinquent? I dont agree with the amount that they are quoting as what I owe. At worst I believe I would owe 50 of the relocation expenses since I stayed at the headquarters for greater than the 1 year.How should I proceed? Should I attempt to contact my employer first? Should I proceed with the Debt validation with the collection agency?  <response>: That really sucks, if you still have a good relationship with your former company it is definitely worth contacting them to see if you can get it resolved. 