diff --git a/electrum b/electrum
index 6c1691be7..b9ab19648 100755
--- a/electrum
+++ b/electrum
@@ -353,6 +353,7 @@ if __name__ == '__main__':
             sys.exit(1)
         config_options['url'] = uri
 
+    # todo: defer this to gui
     config = SimpleConfig(config_options)
     cmdname = config.get('cmd')
 
diff --git a/lib/simple_config.py b/lib/simple_config.py
index c77d7e630..748702aff 100644
--- a/lib/simple_config.py
+++ b/lib/simple_config.py
@@ -161,6 +161,8 @@ class SimpleConfig(PrintError):
         # default path
         dirpath = os.path.join(self.path, "wallets")
         if not os.path.exists(dirpath):
+            if os.path.islink(dirpath):
+                raise BaseException('Dangling link: ' + dirpath)
             os.mkdir(dirpath)
 
         new_path = os.path.join(self.path, "wallets", "default_wallet")