MacBook Pro free battery replacement program

I have a MacBook Pro (13-inch, 2017, Two Thunderbolt 3 ports) running on MacOS Big Sur 11.2.1, the battery is not charging past 1% and showing the 'Service Recommended' notification. I understand that battery life does/will deteriorate and my battery was already starting to show signs of deterioration but surely it should still charge past 1%?!

I brought it in to an Apple service provider exactly on the day the new support article (https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT212163) was published (February 09, 2021) but didn't get the battery replaced then as I couldn't afford to wait 3-5 business days.

I was told that I will be charged a fee just for the technician to verify if my MBP is eligible for a free battery replacement. Subsequently, I brought it up to Apple support chat online who informed me that a fee will indeed be charged for certain services provided.

I want to know if there is any way that Apple can let us MBP owners find out for sure if we're eligible for the latest MacBook Pro battery replacement program? Or is it dependent on the Apple technician if they do decide/want to charge us for it or not?

When asked, Apple support chat online linked me back to the previous MBP battery replacement program (https://support.apple.com/en-sg/13inch-macbookpro-battery-replacement) where it shows that my MBP is apparently not eligible. And when probed why a new support article had to be published, I was told it was a troubleshooting article.