Privacy Policy

The Hitch Man, Inc. (“The Hitch Man,” “we,” “us”) operates the website thehitchmaninc.com (the “Site”) and two retail locations: 115 York Street, Taneytown, Maryland and 820 Conchester Highway, Boothwyn, Pennsylvania. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through the Site, how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

1. Information we collect

Information you give us

• Contact and service requests: name, email address, phone number, message, and vehicle or trailer details you enter in our contact and Schedule Service forms.
• Online orders and accounts: name, billing and shipping address, email, phone, and order details when you buy through our online shop or create a customer account.
• Financing, lease-to-own, and payments: our financing, lease-to-own, and checkout pages use a secure application and payment widget provided by Transax, Inc. Information you enter in that widget (such as name, contact details, and financial or payment information) is collected and processed by Transax and its lending partners under the Transax Privacy Policy, not this policy.
• Newsletter sign-ups: your first name, last name (optional), and email address when you subscribe through a form or pop-up on the Site.

Please do not send us Social Security numbers, payment card numbers, or bank account details through contact forms or email. Payments and financing applications are handled by Transax; we do not store full card numbers, Social Security numbers, or bank account details on our servers.

Information collected automatically

• Device and browser type, IP address, pages viewed, referring pages, and time spent on the Site.
• Approximate location from your IP address. We use this to show region-specific content, for example showing a newsletter invitation for our Boothwyn, PA location only to visitors outside the Taneytown, MD area. The lookup is performed when you visit by a geolocation service provider and is not stored by us as part of a profile.
• Cookies and similar technologies (see Section 4).

We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal data such as health information, precise geolocation, or government ID numbers through the Site.

2. How we use information

• Respond to your inquiries, quotes, and service requests.
• Process and fulfill orders, manage customer accounts, and provide customer support.
• Send our email newsletter and marketing messages if you have subscribed (Section 5).
• Show content relevant to your region.
• Operate, secure, and improve the Site, including analytics and preventing spam and abuse.
• Comply with legal obligations and enforce our terms.

We collect only the information reasonably necessary for these purposes.

3. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only with:

• Service providers that help us run the Site and our business: web hosting (WP Engine), website management and forms (TrailerFunnel), email newsletter delivery (Mailchimp, an Intuit company), analytics and advertising (Google Analytics and Google Ads), spam protection (Google reCAPTCHA), financing applications and payment processing (Transax, Inc.), and IP geolocation (GeoJS and ipapi). These providers may use your information only to provide services to us.
• Transax and its lending partners, when you choose to apply for financing or lease-to-own, or pay through the Transax widget.
• Legal and safety purposes, when required by law or subpoena, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of The Hitch Man, our customers, or others.
• Business transfers, if The Hitch Man is involved in a merger, sale, or transfer of assets.

4. Cookies and tracking

• Essential: keeping you logged in, remembering your shopping cart, and remembering whether you have already seen or closed a pop-up.
• Analytics: Google Analytics helps us understand how visitors use the Site. Google’s use of data is described at policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. You can opt out with the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Advertising: Google Ads may use cookies to measure our ads and to show ads based on prior visits to the Site (targeted advertising). You can manage this at adssettings.google.com or contact us to opt out.
• Spam protection: Google reCAPTCHA protects our forms and is subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.

Most browsers let you block or delete cookies. Blocking essential cookies may prevent parts of the Site from working.

5. Email marketing

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we will send you emails about special pricing, promotions, subscriber-only offers, and trailer and snow equipment information. We use Mailchimp to send these emails; Mailchimp may record whether emails are opened and links are clicked.

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any email or by contacting us. In line with the CAN-SPAM Act, every marketing email includes our physical mailing address and a working unsubscribe link, and we honor opt-out requests promptly. Subscribing is optional and is not required to buy from us or use the Site.

6. Your choices and rights

• Marketing emails: unsubscribe via the link in any email.
• Cookies and ads: use your browser settings and the Google opt-out tools above.
• Account information: log in to your account to update your details, or contact us.
• Access, correction, deletion, and portability: you may ask us to confirm what personal information we hold about you, provide a copy, correct it, or delete it, subject to legal record-keeping requirements.
• Opt out of targeted advertising: contact us and we will exclude you from ad audiences we control.

To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 10. We will respond within 45 days. If we deny a request, you may appeal by replying to our decision, and we will explain the outcome in writing.

Maryland residents

The Maryland Online Data Privacy Act gives Maryland residents the rights listed above, including the right to a list of the categories of third parties with whom we have shared your personal data. We do not sell personal data and do not collect sensitive data through the Site. We honor these rights for Maryland residents whether or not the law’s business-size thresholds apply to us.

Pennsylvania residents

Pennsylvania does not currently have a comprehensive consumer privacy law in effect. We extend the same rights to Pennsylvania residents on request. If Pennsylvania enacts such a law, we will update this policy.

Other states

Residents of other U.S. states with privacy laws may exercise the rights those laws provide by contacting us.

7. Data retention

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purposes above: for example, order and service records for as long as required for tax, warranty, and legal purposes, and newsletter subscriptions until you unsubscribe.

8. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including HTTPS encryption on the Site, to protect your information. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If a data breach affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by Maryland and Pennsylvania breach-notification laws.

9. Children

The Site is intended for adults and is not directed at children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with information, contact us and we will delete it.

10. Contact us

The Hitch Man, Inc.

Taneytown, MD
115 York Street, Taneytown, MD 21787
(410) 756-2430 · taneytown@hitchman.com

Boothwyn, PA
820 Conchester Hwy., Boothwyn, PA 19061
(484) 480-6346 · pa@hitchman.com

For privacy requests, email either location or write to the address above.

11. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The effective date at the top shows when it was last revised. Continued use of the Site after changes are posted means you accept the updated policy.