diff --git a/harvest/harvest.py b/harvest/harvest.py
index 9f4d8a0..cec3a07 100644
--- a/harvest/harvest.py
+++ b/harvest/harvest.py
@@ -1021,8 +1021,9 @@ def _request(self, method='GET', path='/', data=None, files=None):
             del(kwargs['headers']['Content-Type'])
             kwargs['files'] = files
             kwargs['data'] = data
-        else:
+        if data is not None:
             kwargs['data'] = json.dumps(data)
+            
 
         requestor = requests
 
@@ -1084,4 +1085,4 @@ def _request(self, method='GET', path='/', data=None, files=None):
             return resp
 
         else:
-            raise HarvestError('Unsupported HTTP response code. {0} {1}'.format(resp.status_code, resp.url))
+            raise HarvestError('Unsupported HTTP response code. {0} {1} {2}'.format(resp.status_code, resp.url, resp.text))