diff --git a/user/store.go b/user/store.go
index 53598b14..0784ae42 100644
--- a/user/store.go
+++ b/user/store.go
@@ -269,8 +269,12 @@ func (s *commonStore) MarkUserRemoved(userID string) error {
 		return err
 	}
 	defer tx.Rollback()
-	// Get username for deleteUserAccess query
-	user, err := s.UserByID(userID)
+	// Get username for deleteUserAccess query (must be inside tx for consistency)
+	rows, err := tx.Query(s.queries.selectUserByID, userID)
+	if err != nil {
+		return err
+	}
+	user, err := s.readUser(rows)
 	if err != nil {
 		return err
 	}
diff --git a/user/store_sqlite.go b/user/store_sqlite.go
index c90a533e..57c61f0c 100644
--- a/user/store_sqlite.go
+++ b/user/store_sqlite.go
@@ -2,8 +2,12 @@ package user
 
 import (
 	"database/sql"
+	"fmt"
+	"path/filepath"
 
 	_ "github.com/mattn/go-sqlite3" // SQLite driver
+
+	"heckel.io/ntfy/v2/util"
 )
 
 const (
@@ -200,6 +204,10 @@ const (
 
 // NewSQLiteStore creates a new SQLite-backed user store
 func NewSQLiteStore(filename, startupQueries string) (Store, error) {
+	parentDir := filepath.Dir(filename)
+	if !util.FileExists(parentDir) {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("user database directory %s does not exist or is not accessible", parentDir)
+	}
 	db, err := sql.Open("sqlite3", filename)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err