I seem to remember that this is cheaper than it was one year ago for this route - there used to only be an "any permitted" single of about £3.50 with Railcard
Correct. There have been strange goings on with fares for this journey.
From January 2010 until January 2011, the "Any Permitted" was £4.75 with railcard, and the "FCC only" was £3.65 (sensibly it was the cheaper fare). This was a slight increase on the fares for the previous year.
In January 2011 the "Any Permitted" came down sharply to £3.50 with railcard. There was a more expensive (and hence daft) "FCC only" fare of £3.95.
In January 2012, the "Any Permitted" went from £3.50 to £3.75 and the "FCC only" went down to £3.30. So there was a saving to be had with "FCC only".
In May 2012, the "Any Permitted" went down to £3.25 and the "FCC only" stayed unchanged at £3.30 so it became daft again.
(These railcard fare changes are just reflecting changes in the full price fares, of course.)
But let's not complain too much as passengers are getting Gatwick to/from East Croydon "Any Permitted" journeys for less than was possible on any ticket three years ago.