diff --git a/tests/test_utils_config.py b/tests/test_utils_config.py
index 37601139..a99a6ffd 100644
--- a/tests/test_utils_config.py
+++ b/tests/test_utils_config.py
@@ -108,7 +108,8 @@ def test_config_with_strange_and_edge_keys():
 
         # Check that dot-access fails for bad names
         for key in ["", "spaces in key", "[]", "class", "user.name", "hyphen-key", "123"]:
-            assert not hasattr(cfg, key), f"Key {key!r} should not be accessible via dot"
+        with pytest.raises(AttributeError):
+            _ = getattr(cfg, key)
 
     finally:
         os.remove(path)