diff --git a/src/Model/User.php b/src/Model/User.php
index d162b27b6a..aef4bcbfc2 100644
--- a/src/Model/User.php
+++ b/src/Model/User.php
@@ -799,7 +799,7 @@ class User
 		DBA::insert('userd', ['username' => $user['nickname']]);
 
 		// The user and related data will be deleted in "cron_expire_and_remove_users" (cronjobs.php)
-		DBA::update('user', ['account_removed' => true, 'account_expires_on' => DateTimeFormat::utc(DateTimeFormat::utcNow() . ' + 7 day')], ['uid' => $uid]);
+		DBA::update('user', ['account_removed' => true, 'account_expires_on' => DateTimeFormat::utc('now + 7 day')], ['uid' => $uid]);
 		Worker::add(PRIORITY_HIGH, 'Notifier', 'removeme', $uid);
 
 		// Send an update to the directory