Added them to my ignore list, I remember a similar behavior where the reason was that the first posts get a higher chance of getting merits.
I think I do the same. That account was kind of a high-ranked user, but we are talking about a new account today. The question could be, are they really newbies? They are using both newbie accounts to earn merits, not by sending merits from their accounts, but by manipulating others. This is one kind of red flag of cheating, and I would personally tag them in red. As I can see, the OP asked if they deserve negative feedback. I see no one tagged them in red, so probably not for this reason. But I wouldn't trust this user at all. Even if no red tags, those neutral feedbacks are deserved. I think people are giving them a 2nd chance, considering they are new here.