diff --git a/utils/src/error.rs b/utils/src/error.rs
index 2c9bc30..0f2502b 100644
--- a/utils/src/error.rs
+++ b/utils/src/error.rs
@@ -25,8 +25,9 @@ impl ResponseError for Error {
         use reqwest::StatusCode;
         use Error::*;
         match self {
-            // 503 Service Unavailable
-            Reqwest(error) => error.status().unwrap_or(StatusCode::SERVICE_UNAVAILABLE),
+            // Theoretically could be 503 Service Unavailable in case remote is actually down,
+            // but will also throw for network errors, so a generic 500 Internal Server Error is more appropriate.
+            Reqwest(error) => error.status().unwrap_or(StatusCode::INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR),
             // 403 Forbidden
             #[cfg(feature = "nothuman")]
             NotHuman { .. } => StatusCode::FORBIDDEN,