Apple won't even let you pay the fee in some cases. I've been fighting with them trying to figure out why they won't accept my ID verification since March. They keep saying my devices are linked to another Apple Account, but I purchased them all directly from the Apple Store and none of them have ever touched another account, so what the fuck.
You could try returning them, if apple say they were tampered with before you got them then apple will either have to accept the return or say apple are lying.
Apple says that some device linked to my Apple Account is associated with some other Apple Account already in the Apple Developer Program. They give generic advice like "try removing linked devices and linked phone numbers that are not yours" and "try asking the owner of any other Apple Accounts to unlink your devices". Because of the lawyerish nature of their wording, there is no way to prove they are actually talking about my particular devices or my particular phone numbers, or which ones they are talking about, or what other Apple Accounts they may be talking about, or what types of association they may be talking about. So there is no way to call them out on anything because they haven't actually said anything.
There aren't any devices or phone numbers on my Apple Account that aren't mine, and I have literally no fucking clue who could possibly have my devices or phone numbers linked to their account, given that the devices are my own devices, each purchased in-person at an Apple Store, that I've never even let anybody else hold, let alone link to a different Apple Account, and the phone number is one I've owned for probably close to a decade at this point. I'm at a complete loss.