A friend of Princes William and Harry is taking on ;rip-off High Street giants by selling hearing aids for 99 which he says is a tenth of the usual price.
Jamie Murray Wells, 26, has already become a multi-millionaire by selling prescription glasses online for 20.
Now he is challenging chains such as Specsavers and Boots again by selling cut-price hearing aids and offering hearing tests online.
Up for a fight: Jamie Murray Wells examines one of his 99 hearing aids
;When I looked at the hearing aid market, I saw people were being ripped off, said Mr Murray Wells.
;The average spend on a device is more than 1,000 and there is scamming going on whereby adverts placed in magazines offer inferior products for 20, knowing that the consumer will come back and tell them that its no good.
;The company will then send someone round to sell the customer a 2,000 device instead. Its equivalent to going into an old peoples home and mugging them.
;Im up for a fight. Specsavers and the others arent giving consumers the deal that they should.
Mr Murray Wells is a close friend of both Prince William and Harry
He launched HearingDirect.com this month, aiming it at the eight million Britons with mild to moderate hearing loss who, he said, do not need a specially programmed device fitted by a professional, which raises the cost dramatically.
His online hearing test involves picking out a series of numbers spoken against varying levels of background noise.
The hearing aids cost between 99 and 249 and Mr Murray Wells said his profit margin is still about 50 per cent a device.
He set up Glasses Direct in 2004, sparking outrage as he undercut established opticians.
In one publicity stunt, he sent sheep into Specsavers stores in Newcastle upon Tyne to illustrate his belief that customers were being ;fleeced.
High Street opticians claimed Glasses Direct was not providing quality products. But Mr Murray Wells now sells a pair of glasses every eight minutes.
Last night Specsavers denied charging over-inflated prices for hearing aids.
A spokeswoman said: ;Our aim is to provide customers with the best value-for-money solution to their hearing loss, which means low prices without compromising on the professionalism and quality of the service provided.
;As a result, we are always happy and confident to compare ourselves against other providers who offer a like-for-like service.
Boots refused to comment on Mr Murray Wells allegations about the industry.
A spokeswoman said: ;With more than 40 years experience in providing expert hearing care, Boots offers a large range of products in varying styles and price.
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