diff --git a/src/caosdb/common/models.py b/src/caosdb/common/models.py
index 8522f14c9ec902675e9c63d63d4b92ee1c106655..ab8e9f06c3590e1f01fc3700bd364395686b0d24 100644
--- a/src/caosdb/common/models.py
+++ b/src/caosdb/common/models.py
@@ -1040,15 +1040,12 @@ class Entity(object):
 
             if len(c) == 1:
                 c[0].messages.extend(c.messages)
-
                 return c[0]
-            else:
-                # TODO: This has to be chnaged once ambiguous
-                # retrievals are delat with server-side.
-                raise QueryNotUniqueError("This retrieval was not unique!!!")
-        else:
-            return Container().append(self).retrieve(
-                unique=unique, raise_exception_on_error=raise_exception_on_error, flags=flags)
+
+            raise QueryNotUniqueError("This retrieval was not unique!!!")
+
+        return Container().append(self).retrieve(
+            unique=unique, raise_exception_on_error=raise_exception_on_error, flags=flags)
 
     def insert(self, raise_exception_on_error=True, unique=True,
                sync=True, strict=False, flags=None):
@@ -2238,14 +2235,19 @@ def _basic_sync(e_local, e_remote):
 
 def _deletion_sync(e_local, e_remote):
     if e_local is None or e_remote is None:
-        return None
+        return
+
     try:
-        _basic_sync(e_local, e_remote)
-        e_local.is_valid = lambda: False
-        e_local.is_deleted = lambda: True
-        e_local.id = None
+        e_remote.get_messages()["info", 10] # try and get the deletion info
     except KeyError:
+        # deletion info wasn't there
         e_local.messages = e_remote.messages
+        return
+
+    _basic_sync(e_local, e_remote)
+    e_local.is_valid = lambda: False
+    e_local.is_deleted = lambda: True
+    e_local.id = None
 
 
 class Container(list):