A past critic of Purplebricks and its founders the Bruce brothers has unexpectedly praised their portal, Boomin.

Robert May, who runs property search platform Rummage4, says Boomin should be “given praise when praise is due” after its customer service turned out to be exemplary.

May is not one to praise any portal easily and has previously been a thorn in the side of them for allowing agents to game their properties to keep them at the top of sales and lettings listings.

He has also criticised Purplebricks and the Bruce brothers for making over-optimistic claims about its sales volumes when they were in charge of the hybrid agency.

But May says Boomin is due praise after it sorted out a technical issue for his client Ryder & Dutton, which uses both Rummage4 and Boomin.

“I’m not vindictive and I don’t bear grudges but if a company is not doing things correctly or not being truthful in my opinion then I will point it out,” says May.

“But if a company is doing something right then I think they should be praised for their efforts even if, like Boomin, they come with a certain among of baggage.”

Ryder and Dutton boss Richard Powell, who is a vocal supporter of May’s firm, discovered that Boomin was blocking his agency putting its Rummage4 ‘showcase’ links onto the portal.

But, after Powell and May reached out to Michael Bruce, the matter was resolved and the links will soon be working again.

“That is such a refreshing attitude to have these days – wanting to sort a problem out for a customer – something not all the portals have,” he says.