God knows plumbing

As per the previous post, our plumbing blocked up on Sunday and the plumber came out and had a look at it. He cleaned out a blockage with the high pressure hose and found a problem in the pipes and organised for the pipe to be dug up so it could be fixed. His rough estimate of the price was going to be $2K to $5K. Now we don't have that sort of money and we are trying to save up to go to Krissy's wedding next year in London. So Sunday night we were fairly stressed and prayed about it.

Monday and Tuesday they came and dug a big hole in our carport down to the offending pipe. They came back this afternoon to quote on fixing the problem. Imagine you're staring down the barrel of a $2K to $5K plumbing bill. You've already been charged $4K and the plumber comes and finds further problems in a pipe that is under the deck and specifically under the spa under the deck. The original quote is looking "conservative". What is the best thing that can happen in that situation?

There is a curious quirk which states that once your plumbing meets the main, it is no longer your problem, it is Sydney Water's problem. The plumber has found that the problem isn't in our pipes it is in the main which just happens to run through our backyard and under the carport, they have incorrectly dug a hole and we wont be charged for it. They will be coming back to fill it in. Furthermore we can request repayment for some of the fee from Sunday Water for cleaning out the pipe in the first place. What an amazing answer to prayer.