diff --git a/Essentials/Patches/ChatMessagePatch.cs b/Essentials/Patches/ChatMessagePatch.cs
index 07135c4..b4eb2fa 100644
--- a/Essentials/Patches/ChatMessagePatch.cs
+++ b/Essentials/Patches/ChatMessagePatch.cs
@@ -44,13 +44,16 @@ public static void Patch(PatchContext ctx) {
         }
 
         private static bool OnChatMessageReceived_Server(ref ChatMsg msg) {
-            var Account = PlayerAccountData.GetAccount(msg.Author);
-            if (Account != null) {
-                var Rank = RanksAndPermissions.GetRankData(Account.Rank);
-                if (Rank.DisplayPrefix) {
-                    msg.Author = 0;
-                    msg.CustomAuthorName = $"{Rank.Prefix}{Account.Player}";
+            if (EssentialsPlugin.Instance.Config.EnableRanks) {
+                var Account = PlayerAccountData.GetAccount(msg.Author);
+                if (Account != null) {
+                    var Rank = RanksAndPermissions.GetRankData(Account.Rank);
+                    if (Rank.DisplayPrefix) {
+                        msg.Author = 0;
+                        msg.CustomAuthorName = $"{Rank.Prefix}{Account.Player}";
+                    }
                 }
+                return true;
             }
             return true;
         }