Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy explains how Hitch A Bike collects, uses, stores and protects personal information when you visit our website, contact us, create an account, place an order, sign up for marketing or use our online services.

We have written this policy in plain language so you can understand what information we collect, why we need it, who we may share it with, how long we keep it, and the choices you have.

Hitch A Bike is a UK online specialist retailer focused on bike trailers, cargo trailers, dog bike trailers, child trailers, trailer accessories and a practical car-free lifestyle guide. We use customer information only where it helps us operate our website, process orders, provide support, improve our service, meet legal obligations, or communicate with you where permitted.

1. Who We Are

For the purposes of UK data protection law, the data controller is Hitch A Bike Ltd.

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or how your personal information is handled, you can contact us using the details below:

Website: www.hitchabike.co.uk
Email: support@hitchabike.co.uk
Contact page: Contact Us

2. Information We May Collect

We collect information in different ways depending on how you use our website and services.

Information you provide directly

This may include:

Your name, billing address and delivery address.
Your email address and phone number.
Order details, product enquiries and customer service messages.
Account login details if you create an account.
Newsletter or marketing preferences.
Information you provide when you contact us through forms, email, live chat, WhatsApp or similar communication channels.

Information collected when you use our website

When you visit hitchabike.co.uk, we may collect technical information such as:

Your IP address.
Browser type and version.
Device type and operating system.
Pages viewed, time spent on pages and referral sources.
Approximate location based on technical identifiers.
Cookie identifiers and website interaction data.

Payment information

Payments are processed through secure third-party payment providers. We do not store full card numbers on our own systems. We may receive payment status, transaction reference and fraud-check information needed to confirm and manage your order.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use personal information for the following purposes:

To process, confirm and deliver your order.
To provide customer support before and after purchase.
To manage returns, refunds, exchanges, warranty enquiries and delivery issues.
To operate and improve our website.
To maintain website security and reduce fraud risk.
To send service messages such as order confirmations, dispatch updates and support replies.
To send marketing emails where you have subscribed or where we are otherwise permitted to do so.
To understand website performance, product interest and customer journeys.
To comply with tax, accounting, legal and regulatory obligations.

4. Our Lawful Bases for Using Personal Information

Under UK data protection law, we must have a lawful basis for using personal information. Depending on the situation, we rely on one or more of the following lawful bases.

Contract

We use your information where it is necessary to fulfil a contract with you, such as processing your order, arranging delivery, managing payment status, or handling a return.

Legal obligation

We may need to keep or disclose certain information to meet legal duties, including tax, accounting, fraud prevention, consumer law and regulatory requirements.

Legitimate interests

We may use information where it is necessary for our legitimate business interests and does not override your rights. This may include improving our website, responding to enquiries, preventing fraud, maintaining records, improving customer service and understanding how customers use our store.

Consent

We rely on consent for certain activities, such as sending some marketing communications and using non-essential cookies where consent is required. You can withdraw consent at any time.

5. Marketing Communications

If you sign up to receive emails from Hitch A Bike, we may send you product updates, buying guides, useful content, offers or store news. You can unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in our emails or by contacting us directly.

We may still send important service messages relating to your order, delivery, account, return, refund or customer service enquiry. These are not marketing emails and are necessary to provide our service to you.

6. Who We Share Information With

We do not sell your personal information. We only share information where it is necessary to operate our store, provide our services, meet legal obligations, or work with trusted service providers.

We may share relevant information with:

Website hosting and ecommerce platform providers.
Payment processors and fraud prevention services.
Warehousing, fulfilment, courier and delivery partners.
Customer service, email, communication and live chat providers.
Analytics and advertising partners, where permitted and subject to your cookie choices.
Professional advisers such as accountants, legal advisers and insurers.
Public authorities, regulators or law enforcement where legally required.

These providers may only use personal information for the services they provide to us, unless they act as an independent controller under their own privacy terms.

7. International Transfers

Some of the systems and service providers we use may process information outside the United Kingdom. Where this happens, we expect appropriate safeguards to be in place so that personal information remains protected in line with applicable data protection requirements.

8. How Long We Keep Information

We keep personal information only for as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, including order fulfilment, customer support, warranty handling, accounting, legal, security and dispute-resolution purposes.

Typical retention periods depend on the type of information:

Order and transaction records are kept for as long as needed for accounting, tax and legal purposes.
Customer service messages are kept for as long as needed to manage the enquiry and maintain a useful support history.
Marketing preferences are kept until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove them.
Technical and analytics information is kept according to the relevant cookie duration or service provider setting.

9. How We Protect Your Information

We take reasonable technical and organisational steps to protect personal information against unauthorised access, loss, misuse, alteration or disclosure.

No online system can be guaranteed as completely secure, but we work with reputable ecommerce, payment and service providers and limit access to personal information to those who need it for legitimate business purposes.

10. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on your circumstances, you may have the right to:

Ask for access to the personal information we hold about you.
Ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
Ask us to delete your information in certain circumstances.
Ask us to restrict how we use your information.
Object to certain types of processing.
Ask for a copy of certain information in a portable format.
Withdraw consent where we rely on consent.
Complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office if you are unhappy with how your information has been handled.

To exercise your rights, contact us at support@hitchabike.co.uk or through our Contact Us page. We may need to verify your identity before responding to certain requests.

You can also contact the UK Information Commissioner’s Office through its website: ico.org.uk.

11. Cookies

We use cookies and similar technologies on our website. Some are needed for the website to function, while others help us understand website performance, improve customer journeys or support marketing activity where permitted.

You can read more in our separate Cookies Policy.

12. Children’s Privacy

Our website is intended for customers who are able to make purchases or enquiries about cycling equipment and related products. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children without appropriate permission. If you believe a child has provided personal information to us, contact us and we will review the matter.

13. Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to third-party websites, including manufacturers, payment providers, delivery partners, social media platforms or other external services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices, cookie practices or content of those third-party websites. You should review their privacy policies before providing information to them.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our website, services, legal requirements, ecommerce platform, service providers or internal processes.

When we update this page, we will change the “Last updated” date at the top of the policy. The version published on this page applies from the date shown.