diff --git a/error.go b/error.go
index 860a390..478c57b 100644
--- a/error.go
+++ b/error.go
@@ -1,7 +1,6 @@
 package jira
 
 import (
-	"fmt"
 	"net/http"
 
 	"gopkg.in/Netflix-Skunkworks/go-jira.v1/jiradata"
@@ -10,10 +9,12 @@ import (
 func responseError(resp *http.Response) error {
 	results := &jiradata.ErrorCollection{}
 	if err := readJSON(resp.Body, results); err != nil {
-		return err
+		results.Status = resp.StatusCode
+		results.ErrorMessages = append(results.ErrorMessages, err.Error())
 	}
 	if len(results.ErrorMessages) == 0 && len(results.Errors) == 0 {
-		return fmt.Errorf(resp.Status)
+		results.Status = resp.StatusCode
+		results.ErrorMessages = append(results.ErrorMessages, resp.Status)
 	}
 	return results
 }