Buying second hand airpods pro gen 1 - locked by Apple ID

Hello, I just bought second hand airpods pro gen 1 on a Bulgarian marketplace. I read that the previous owner has to remove his Apple ID which he supposedly did. The issue is that he removed them from settings and Find My and that it doesn't show up on his account anymore. However when I connect them to my phone it says that the previous owner: XYZ@gmail.com can access them and see my location. When i connect them I don't have the possibility of transferring ownership and it just worries me that I just called Apple support and they told me there's nothing I can do if the previous owner is being uncooperative. I need some advice if there's anything I can do.

Thanks,

Alex