diff --git a/services/real-time/app/js/Errors.js b/services/real-time/app/js/Errors.js
index 57190b75e5..5b41334fb3 100644
--- a/services/real-time/app/js/Errors.js
+++ b/services/real-time/app/js/Errors.js
@@ -39,11 +39,18 @@ class UpdateTooLargeError extends OError {
   }
 }
 
+class WebApiRequestFailedError extends OError {
+  constructor(statusCode) {
+    super('non-success status code from web', { statusCode })
+  }
+}
+
 module.exports = {
   CodedError,
   DataTooLargeToParseError,
   MissingSessionError,
   NotAuthorizedError,
   NullBytesInOpError,
-  UpdateTooLargeError
+  UpdateTooLargeError,
+  WebApiRequestFailedError
 }
diff --git a/services/real-time/app/js/WebApiManager.js b/services/real-time/app/js/WebApiManager.js
index 62020a98ab..dffcca51c8 100644
--- a/services/real-time/app/js/WebApiManager.js
+++ b/services/real-time/app/js/WebApiManager.js
@@ -4,7 +4,7 @@
 const request = require('request')
 const settings = require('settings-sharelatex')
 const logger = require('logger-sharelatex')
-const { CodedError } = require('./Errors')
+const { CodedError, WebApiRequestFailedError } = require('./Errors')
 
 module.exports = {
   joinProject(project_id, user, callback) {
@@ -57,11 +57,7 @@ module.exports = {
             )
           )
         } else {
-          err = new Error(
-            `non-success status code from web: ${response.statusCode}`
-          )
-          logger.error({ err, project_id, user_id }, 'error accessing web api')
-          callback(err)
+          callback(new WebApiRequestFailedError(response.statusCode))
         }
       }
     )
diff --git a/services/real-time/test/unit/js/WebApiManagerTests.js b/services/real-time/test/unit/js/WebApiManagerTests.js
index 52c6da137a..4435bc14f9 100644
--- a/services/real-time/test/unit/js/WebApiManagerTests.js
+++ b/services/real-time/test/unit/js/WebApiManagerTests.js
@@ -106,7 +106,10 @@ describe('WebApiManager', function () {
       return it('should call the callback with an error', function () {
         return this.callback
           .calledWith(
-            sinon.match({ message: 'non-success status code from web: 500' })
+            sinon.match({
+              message: 'non-success status code from web',
+              info: { statusCode: 500 }
+            })
           )
           .should.equal(true)
       })