Told you I haven't been back for a while!

I had a similar situation where I jumped on the train expecting to be able to pay at the other end at London Victoria as I had done before and was fined while I was waiting in the queue at the booth while other people were sold tickets and let through. It didn't make any sense to me that they have a booth on the platform to sell tickets, but they won't let you purchase a ticket there. I didn't pay the £20 but was forced to buy a single ticket to get through the gate and then a travelcard to get on the tube so it cost me twice as much as it should have done anyway. I sent a letter of appeal against the ticket saying that I had been treated unfairly and inconsistently, and as expected I got a bog standard reply saying that they must insist on payment as I should have purchased a ticket before getting on the train. I sent another letter back saying that I didn't think my concerns had been adequately addressed and I remained of the opinion that I shouldn't have to pay the fine. I never heard from them again. I now live in Spain so I'm not sure if that had anything to do with their decision not to pursue it. Incidentally, when I gave my Spanish address to the ticket inspector he called the police as I was "refusing" to provide a proper address, they sent 3 officers from British Transport Police who confirmed that if I didn't provide a UK address I would be arrested! I asked if this was a good use of resources when there are people getting mugged on trains and I think the officers felt a bit embarassed about it by the end of it. They basically told me to give any old address and not worry that I didn't come up on the electoral roll there. The jobsworth ticket inspector was trying to justify it saying that the reason he didn't let me buy a ticket was because he recognised me from a previous occasion, which is rubbish because I have been living in Spain for 4 years and I can't remember the last time I took a train into London. It seems the British Rail inspectors are the new traffic wardens!