LG electronics LG won't make good on warranty for LG esteem mobile phone. Huntsville, Alabama

Update for anyone having their SIM card destroyed. In march 2012, I filed a BBB complaint against LG and within a week they finally called, after months of saying they are working on it. They don't have replacement sim cards and that is a fact. They did admit their mistake, and they DID REPLACE MY PHONE after a long fight and after i filed a complaint against them. Do not give up, make your complaints official, fight LG, they messed up, and admitted it to me, they need to make good for all!

How much more clear can I be! LG has ADMITTED THEIR MISTAKE! I have a phone recording of them telling me they have made a mistake. They told me they have even changed their instructions because of all these problems.  THE SIM IS NOT REPLACABLE WITH METROPCS and the LG ESTEEM. LG is AWARE OF THIS AND THEY STILL CHOOSE TO DESTROY THE SIM CARD, WHIC IS SOME SORT OF A UICC CARD WHICH IS  A CARD WICH IS LOCKED WITH THE PHONE. 
 
I have proof and they did not tell us to remove it. MetroPCS do not sell sim/uicc cards for this phone and this is not like other sim cards. It is LG's fault for destroying our sim and they need to replace it. IN addition, there is a class action suit against LG for their poor excuse of service and phones. Google it.
 
Google LG esteem and metropcs sim card and you will clearly see, it is NOT FRICKIN REPLACABLE and I have a paperweight.

SIM cards can be replaced, so it makes no sense why they are telling you that you phone is now worthless and can't be re-activated.  Is that ALL they said?  Because they are right without a SIM card they can not activate it, but all you need to do is purchase a new card.  A new SIM card should be around $30-$40.

As to what a SIM card is, it is basically the ID for your phone.  It contains various bits of information that identifies the phone to the service provider.  Because it identifies your phone on the carriers network, you need to get a new SIM card from your carrier..LG has NOTHING to do with this.

As to the complaint that they didn't tell you to remove your SIM card.  They did tell you to remove any chips..etc.  You seem to know what a SIM card is by saying you removed it, which doesn't go with your later comment that you didn't know what a SIM card was.  But anyways with that it is hard to tell if it was their lack of information and thinking you knew that they were talking about a SIM card, or you not getting clarification on exactly what they wanted you to remove. 

So your "best" course of action is to call your provider and get a new SIM card.

" LG instructed me to remove my personal property such as any chips etc. "

A sim card is a chip, and it is your personal property. The sim card is not part of the phone. I've had the same sim card now through 4 different phones the last 6 years. The sim card is YOUR property that you take from phone to phone just like an SD card. You admit they told you to remove any chips from the card, but you didn't think you shoudl remove the SIM card. Maybe you should have called them and verified they meant the SIM card too instead of just making an assumption?

There's nothing to sue over. Let us know how your lawsuit goes.

This also happened to me! AND the FACt IS, lg did not tell ME to remove my sim card, they were not telling anyone to remove the sim card. That is what THEY told me. I have proof that they didn't tell me to remove my sim card, because I set it up via an online chat. LG is causing many LG esteem customers to be out 400 bucks because they screwed up, not the consumer. I am trying to start a law suit. Follow up with your info. !

You had a warranty claim on your phone. The company instructed you to remove the card. You decided not to remove the card and sent in the phone for repairs. They repaired the phone and sent it back to you without the sim card, which they instructed you to remove. They filled their end of the bargain, they are not refusing to honor their warranty in fact what they did is precisesly the definition of fulfilling a warranty. You need to take your phone to your carrier and explain what happened and get a new sim card from your carrier and reactivate your phone. It will probably cost you an activation fee.

"not even sure what a sim card was"

You would have if you had read the operator's manual.

"what is my best course of action?"

Get in the habit of reading supplied documentation.