I finished my MBA in May of this year. My old company gave me tuition reimbursement to the tune of $9,300 or so. I signed an agreement that I would repay that amount if I didn't stay for two years. In June I got an offer from another company that I couldn't refuse, even with the $9,300 repayment calculated in. I left with the assumption that I was going to pay this back in full, even though my buddy with that company said that he "wouldn't be surprised if they forgot to collect, because he knows the process is very manual." I kept my fingers crossed, but sure enough they sent me the letter 3 weeks later asking for their money back. I obliged, and we set up a 12 month interest free payback plan. I could tell the process was very manual because they didn't give me monthly due dates, they don't send me statements, there are no electronic payment options, and I'm mailing checks to some general HR mailbox on the other side of the country. (My thinking is that it's possible the initial demand email is automated but the collection efforts just depend on the individual employee in the Corporate office checking up on it)
All that said, I mailed my first check, took a picture of it, kept a log of the check number, and set recurring reminders for the next 11 checks. When I got the reminder for my second check, my first check had still not cashed. They finally cashed it 5 weeks after I sent it. I sent the second check, and after 6 weeks still nothing cashed. This time, I HAVEN'T sent any emails asking about the status. They are making it incredibly difficult to repay them. I'm considering the pros/cons of just stopping payments, as I think it's 50/50 that they don't even notice and I can just move on with my life. I'm not trying to weasel out of my obligations, but I'm not going to put in more effort to give them my money than they are putting in to let me pay them. (If that makes sense)
The one concern I do have, even if they don't notice, is that they will perform an audit somewhere down the line and send me to collections. (The original demand letter did state I'd be sent to collections if not paid back). My credit score is over 800, and I really don't want to risk that over the $7,800 or so that I still owe them. I've never been sent to collections before. Obviously, if my company or collections came back down the line and said "we noticed we still don't have the money", I would send it. If I was sent to collections, and I explained the situation, and paid them immediately, would it still ding my credit?
Any feedback is appreciated! Am I a dirtbag for even considering this? I've never not paid a debt in full, and on time. But I've also never had a situation with a creditor making it this difficult to pay them.