Avram: Why aren’t you judging the guy who requested mechila l’kaf zechus that he requested it properly. Especially since no one claimed otherwise. The minyan was, as Sam indicated, per S”A. I don’t think Sam would have invited the minyan into his home if he didn’t want to grant mechila, as he indicated.
My reading of the comment is that he was moida what he did wrong in front of the minyan. (And does S”A require that? Because Sam said he in fact followed what S”A requires.) As far as more time, it was right before Rosh Hashana. And Sam indicated he had already been asking for mechila for eight months.