"Then I'll decide what to do about it."

If he's wrong, Ford will still go to the Authority for answers about the Barge. Shake them down a little, if that's what it takes. If it really is an incompetent redemption ship that clumsily grants wishes, well, Ford can work with that.

And if Bill is right, about everything, then...Ford is going to have a lot of reframing his understanding of existence to do. A whole whole lot. And then he'll have to figure out what's next -- for himself, and for his family.