i got an email from meteo in my personal email account, asking to be an intermediary regarding this transaction.
based on what wes says, and what i've heard from meteo, i'm inclined to say that the issue was primarily caused not by an intention to cheat someone, but rather just meteo's slightly obsessive care that he takes over his money (stemming from aspergers syndrome, which meteo suffers from), and his tendancy to be a bit overbearing sometimes. it can be tough to reason with him when he gets a head of steam. i'm certain that neither party wished ill to the other, though, so i'd suggest just approach transactions with meteo with care, as you would with anyone else you don't know. i'm sure he will do the same in the future - and not use a damn starters check, which was pretty stupid of him
i wouldn't advise against dealing with meteo in the future - just take care to excersize the reasonable restrictions that you would with any third-party transactions.
thanks to both parties for full disclosure by both.
edit: updated to current. let's keep the normal conversation rolling, folks.