Although i can understand your situation I also think there is some holes in your story. I am an x-employee of mediacom. So I know for a fact we dont disable/disconnect people for being a week late. In fact if it was only a week from your due date, you wouldn't even be charged a late fee. There's a 10 day grace period. You get 43 days from the due date before they shut down the equipment . So the bottom line is no matter how long you've been a customer/or given the circumstances, no matter what company you do business wth, will hold every customer to the same policies.
SO seriously, don't lie about it!
