diff --git a/trashcli/fs.py b/trashcli/fs.py
index 68e1a20a..9ad8404a 100644
--- a/trashcli/fs.py
+++ b/trashcli/fs.py
@@ -134,6 +134,12 @@ def remove_file(self, path):
 
 class RealRemoveFile2(RemoveFile2):
     def remove_file2(self, path):
+        # first ensure everything is writeable
+        for dirpath, dirnames, filenames in os.walk(path):
+            os.chmod(dirpath, 0o755)
+            for filename in filenames:
+                os.chmod(os.path.join(dirpath, filename), 0o755)
+
         try:
             os.remove(path)
         except OSError: