They told you: "Free domain with your hosting plan"

They told you: "Free domain with your hosting plan"
The domain was free for year one. When the customer tried to leave, the host: (1) wouldn't release the auth/EPP code for 7 days, (2) charged a $15 "transfer-out fee," and (3) revealed the "free" domain was registered to the host, not the customer, until a $20 "ownership transfer" was paid. Total cost to move a free domain: $35 and two weeks. Registering it independently for $11 would have avoided all of it.
Follow the money: a free domain registered in their name is a leash, not a gift.
Reality: "free domain" means free to use while you stay — own your domain at a registrar instead.