diff --git a/helpdesk/settings.py b/helpdesk/settings.py
index ce00fded..22e185bd 100644
--- a/helpdesk/settings.py
+++ b/helpdesk/settings.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ from django.core.exceptions import ImproperlyConfigured
 
 try:
     DEFAULT_USER_SETTINGS = settings.HELPDESK_DEFAULT_SETTINGS
-except ImproperlyConfigured:
+except ImproperlyConfigured, AttributeError:
     DEFAULT_USER_SETTINGS = None
 
 if not isinstance(DEFAULT_USER_SETTINGS, dict):