diff --git a/webservice/xmlrpc/locallib.php b/webservice/xmlrpc/locallib.php
index fb888d9d8a0..92203e70eb0 100644
--- a/webservice/xmlrpc/locallib.php
+++ b/webservice/xmlrpc/locallib.php
@@ -133,8 +133,9 @@ class webservice_xmlrpc_server extends webservice_base_server {
      * @param Exception $ex
      */
     protected function send_error($ex = null) {
+        $this->response = $this->generate_error($ex);
         $this->send_headers();
-        echo $this->generate_error($ex);
+        echo $this->response;
     }
 
     /**