I think you made the right call; I don't like making life harder for people, but accounts should never change hands, no ifs, ands or buts.
They never seem to learn that posting anything Merit-related gets their account scrutinized

I don't get those people:
Detritus has earned 86 Merit since he gained access to the (Member) account. Even though he's "
nonstop shitposting in very broken English", I've definitely seen worse and
only 3 deleted posts isn't much. If he would have started with a Brand New account, he'd be close to Full Member now.
Allow me to highlight that "broken English" is allowed:
I do want to hear the thoughts of people who can't speak perfect English, people with extreme/offensive ideas, people who are rude while still making legitimate points, etc.