Hi Alan,
Do you know what route R40232 says?
When the travelcard is issued on paper it is shown as Amersham to zones 1-6 and the route description is AAA zones 7-9. I’m not aware of anywhere where a ticket says zones 1-9. They are, however, supposed to work throughout zones 1-9.
In terms of your failed travel I would be asking TfL to refund the PAYG charged for Chesham to Harrow on the Hill and ask them whether there was a problem at Chesham that day. You clearly had a valid ticket on your smartcard.