One in five Brits (22%) have asked their bank for a refund within the past 12 months for legitimate items and services purchased, new research has found.

While more than half (58%) of customers said they returned the money after realising their mistake, 36% ended up keeping the refund.

Younger consumers were found to be far more likely to have filed false chargeback claims, with two in five people (40%) aged 16–24 admitting to doing so within the past year.

Shockingly, the majority of Brits who had knowingly asked for refunds felt happy (30%) and/or satisfied (27%) with receiving their refunds. Just 8% felt guilty about leaving retailers to absorb the costs.

Commissioned by European fintech and card acquirer PAYSTRAX, the survey of more than 1,000 UK consumers highlighted the growing impact of customers claiming refunds through their banks despite making legitimate purchases.

While the survey showed a quarter (26%) of consumers believe banks are responsible for verifying fraudulent transactions, liability is currently passed down to merchants and retailers to solve the problem, with customers able to raise fraud claims with little or no evidence.

The scale of the problem is accelerating, with Visa estimating that friendly fraud now accounts for up to 75% of all chargebacks globally, costing merchants billions each year and labelling them as fraudulent businesses.

Respondents were divided on who should be responsible for making sure transactions were fraudulent. A quarter (26%) said it was the responsibility of the banks to verify transactions, compared to 19% who said it was the cardholders’ responsibility and 10% who said it should be up to the retailers.

“Friendly fraud is anything but friendly. It’s one of the most damaging factors facing retailers today,” said Johannes Kolbeinsson, CEO and co-founder of PAYSTRAX. “Knowingly claiming a refund for a legitimate purchase is stealing, plain and simple, and even unknowingly claiming chargebacks can have huge consequences for retailers.

“Card schemes currently encourage cardholders to press the ‘fraud’ button, while merchants are left to pay the price. If we want a fair system, we must stop equating these disputes with criminal fraud and start holding the correct parties accountable,” Kolbeinsson added.