diff --git a/service/ExceptionService.go b/service/ExceptionService.go
index 3d8a484..68f2f4d 100644
--- a/service/ExceptionService.go
+++ b/service/ExceptionService.go
@@ -15,6 +15,7 @@ import (
 	"encoding/json"
 	"fmt"
 	"github.com/gin-gonic/gin"
+	"go.uber.org/zap"
 	"gorm.io/gorm"
 	"net/http"
 )
@@ -117,6 +118,11 @@ func (exceptionService *ExceptionService) CatchErrors(c *gin.Context) {
 
 	var jsonData Payload
 
+	//ensure we are processing a valid payload
+	if len(lines) <= 2 {
+		exceptionService.logger.Error("payload is not valid", zap.Strings("payload", lines))
+		c.JSON(http.StatusOK, gin.H{"status": "payload is not valid"})
+	}
 	err := json.Unmarshal([]byte(lines[2]), &jsonData)
 	if err != nil {
 		c.JSON(http.StatusBadRequest, gin.H{"error": "Second line is not valid JSON"})