diff --git a/lib/paperclip-meta/attachment.rb b/lib/paperclip-meta/attachment.rb
index fea51e5..3e020ee 100644
--- a/lib/paperclip-meta/attachment.rb
+++ b/lib/paperclip-meta/attachment.rb
@@ -93,6 +93,8 @@ def meta_decode(meta)
         def merge_existing_meta_hash(meta)
           return unless (original_meta = instance.send("#{name}_meta"))
           meta.reverse_merge! meta_decode(original_meta)
+        rescue TypeError
+          meta.reverse_merge! eval(original_meta)
         end
       end
     end