How to get rid of reactivation lock?

Hi everyone. So I have a galaxy watch that my mother bought. Another person (is not a previous owner, they just used it) was using it and set up an activation lock. That person is no longer using it and is no longer in contact with us.

So now fast forward a few months, I turn on the watch and decide to use it. I factory reset it because all of the previous person's stuff was on it and I didnt want to mess with it. Now I'm on the Welcome/set up screen and stuck on the reactivation lock. There is no way I can contact the previous user.

I contacted Samsung's online support which told me they can get a technician to come and take it to unlock it, but I will need to call Samsung support. I call them and tell them the situation. They told me no to the technician and that I need to take it to our carrier (Verizon).

My mom takes it to Verizon today. The watch was bought in her name. They tell her they cannot help her because they need the previous user's password to unlock it.

Why can't they just unlock it? My mother is the owner and buyer of the watch, they can see from the receipt. Basically it's just useless now. Does anyone know what I can do to get it unlocked?