[Nextgrid]

Problem is that court action, even small-claims-court where lawyers don't need to be present (and may specifically be disallowed) is still significantly more effort than disputing a bank transaction.

Courts could be a useful substitute if the actual penalties were high enough that no merchant would dare even try a scam (then it doesn't matter if legal action is hard work, because the mere deterrent effect means you will never actually have to do it), but that's not the case.