diff --git a/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py b/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py
index 6be78d1a..be59be3c 100755
--- a/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py
+++ b/helpdesk/management/commands/get_email.py
@@ -179,7 +179,8 @@ def process_queue(q, logger):
             if six.PY2:
                 full_message = encoding.force_text("\n".join(server.retr(msgNum)[1]), errors='replace')
             else:
-                full_message = encoding.force_text(b"\n".join(server.retr(msgNum)[1]), errors='replace')
+                popmsg = server.retr(msgNum)[1]
+                full_message = encoding.force_text(b"\n".join(popmsg), errors='replace')
             ticket = ticket_from_message(message=full_message, queue=q, logger=logger)
 
             if ticket: