diff --git a/docker/spring-cloud-contract-docker/project/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties b/docker/spring-cloud-contract-docker/project/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
index 949819d28a..2c2bbe5f9a 100644
--- a/docker/spring-cloud-contract-docker/project/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
+++ b/docker/spring-cloud-contract-docker/project/gradle/wrapper/gradle-wrapper.properties
@@ -2,4 +2,4 @@ distributionBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 distributionPath=wrapper/dists
 zipStoreBase=GRADLE_USER_HOME
 zipStorePath=wrapper/dists
-distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-4.9-bin.zip
+distributionUrl=https\://services.gradle.org/distributions/gradle-4.4.1-bin.zip
diff --git a/docs/src/main/asciidoc/verifier_setup.adoc b/docs/src/main/asciidoc/verifier_setup.adoc
index ec5394fcad..d755b539ee 100644
--- a/docs/src/main/asciidoc/verifier_setup.adoc
+++ b/docs/src/main/asciidoc/verifier_setup.adoc
@@ -261,8 +261,6 @@ closure to set it up.
  separated. Otherwise, it scans contracts under the provided directory.
 * *contractsMode*: Specifies the mode of downloading contracts (whether the
 JAR is available offline, remotely etc.)
-* *contractsSnapshotCheckSkip*: If set to `true` will not assert whether the
-downloaded stubs / contract JAR was downloaded from a remote location or a local one(only applicable to Maven repos, not Git or Pact).
 * *deleteStubsAfterTest*: If set to `false` will not remove any downloaded
 contracts from temporary directories
 
@@ -610,8 +608,6 @@ the following options:
 * *contractsPath*: The path to the concrete contracts in the JAR with packaged contracts.
 Defaults to `groupid/artifactid` where `gropuid` is slash separated.
 * *contractsMode*: Picks the mode in which stubs will be found and registered
-* *contractsSnapshotCheckSkip*: If `true` then will not assert whether a stub / contract
-JAR was downloaded from local or remote location
 * *deleteStubsAfterTest*: If set to `false` will not remove any downloaded
 contracts from temporary directories
 * *contractsRepositoryUrl*: URL to a repo with the artifacts that have contracts. If it is not provided,
@@ -945,27 +941,6 @@ For example, you might decide to have no dependencies at all.
 As a consumer, if you add the stub dependency to your classpath, you can explicitly
 exclude the unwanted dependencies.
 
-=== CI Server setup
-
-When fetching stubs / contracts in a CI, shared environment, what might happen is that
-both the producer and the consumer reuse the same local Maven repository. Due to this,
-the framework, responsible for downloading a stub JAR from remote location,
-can't decide which JAR should be picked, local or remote one. That caused
-the `"The artifact was found in the local repository but you have explicitly
-stated that it should be downloaded from a remote one"` exception
-and failed the build.
-
-For such cases we're introducing the property and plugin setup mechanism:
-
-- via `stubrunner.snapshot-check-skip` system property
-- via `STUBRUNNER_SNAPSHOT_CHECK_SKIP` environment variable
-
-if either of these values is set to `true`, then the stub downloader will not
-verify the origin of the downloaded JAR.
-
-For the plugins you need to set the `contractsSnapshotCheckSkip` property
-to `true`.
-
 === Scenarios
 
 You can handle scenarios with Spring Cloud Contract Verifier. All you need to do is to
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherFactories.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherFactories.java
index aa9245c334..39f5707026 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherFactories.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherFactories.java
@@ -17,7 +17,12 @@
 package org.springframework.cloud.contract.stubrunner;
 
 import java.io.File;
+import java.io.IOException;
+import java.nio.file.Files;
+import java.util.Random;
 
+import org.apache.commons.logging.Log;
+import org.apache.commons.logging.LogFactory;
 import org.eclipse.aether.DefaultRepositorySystemSession;
 import org.eclipse.aether.RepositorySystem;
 import org.eclipse.aether.RepositorySystemSession;
@@ -41,10 +46,14 @@ import shaded.org.eclipse.aether.transport.http.HttpTransporterFactory;
 
 class AetherFactories {
 
+	private static final Log log = LogFactory.getLog(AetherFactories.class);
+
 	private static final String MAVEN_LOCAL_REPOSITORY_LOCATION = "maven.repo.local";
 	private static final String MAVEN_USER_SETTINGS_LOCATION = "org.apache.maven.user-settings";
 	private static final String MAVEN_GLOBAL_SETTINGS_LOCATION = "org.apache.maven.global-settings";
 
+	private static final Random RANDOM = new Random();
+
 	public static RepositorySystem newRepositorySystem() {
 		DefaultServiceLocator locator = MavenRepositorySystemUtils.newServiceLocator();
 		locator.addService(RepositoryConnectorFactory.class, BasicRepositoryConnectorFactory.class);
@@ -60,14 +69,34 @@ class AetherFactories {
 			session.setUpdatePolicy(RepositoryPolicy.UPDATE_POLICY_ALWAYS);
 		}
 		session.setChecksumPolicy(RepositoryPolicy.CHECKSUM_POLICY_WARN);
-		LocalRepository localRepo = new LocalRepository(localRepositoryDirectory());
+		String localRepositoryDirectory = localRepositoryDirectory(workOffline);
+		if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+			log.debug("Local Repository Directory set to [" + localRepositoryDirectory + "]. Work offline: [" + workOffline + "]");
+		}
+		LocalRepository localRepo = new LocalRepository(localRepositoryDirectory);
 		session.setLocalRepositoryManager(system.newLocalRepositoryManager(session, localRepo));
 		return session;
 	}
 
-	private static String localRepositoryDirectory() {
+	protected static String localRepositoryDirectory(boolean workOffline) {
 		String localRepoLocationFromSettings = settings().getLocalRepository();
-		return readPropertyFromSystemProps(localRepoLocationFromSettings);
+		String currentLocalRepo = readPropertyFromSystemProps(localRepoLocationFromSettings);
+		if (workOffline) {
+			return currentLocalRepo;
+		}
+		return temporaryDirectory();
+	}
+
+	private static String temporaryDirectory() {
+		try {
+			return Files.createTempDirectory("aether-local").toString();
+		}
+		catch (IOException e) {
+			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				log.debug("Failed to create a new temporary directory, will generate a new one under temp dir");
+			}
+			return System.getProperty("java.io.tmpdir") + File.separator + RANDOM.nextInt();
+		}
 	}
 
 	private static String readPropertyFromSystemProps(
@@ -87,16 +116,19 @@ class AetherFactories {
 		return System.getenv(prop);
 	}
 
+	private static File userSettings() {
+		String user = fromSystemPropOrEnv(MAVEN_USER_SETTINGS_LOCATION);
+		if (user == null) {
+			return new File(new File(System.getProperty("user.home")).getAbsoluteFile(),
+					File.separator + ".m2" + File.separator + "settings.xml");
+		}
+		return new File(user);
+	}
+
 	private static Settings settings() {
 		SettingsBuilder builder = new DefaultSettingsBuilderFactory().newInstance();
 		SettingsBuildingRequest request = new DefaultSettingsBuildingRequest();
-		String user = fromSystemPropOrEnv(MAVEN_USER_SETTINGS_LOCATION);
-		if (user == null) {
-			request.setUserSettingsFile(new File(new File(System.getProperty("user.home")).getAbsoluteFile(),
-					File.separator + ".m2" + File.separator + "settings.xml"));
-		} else {
-			request.setUserSettingsFile(new File(user));
-		}
+		request.setUserSettingsFile(userSettings());
 		String global = fromSystemPropOrEnv(MAVEN_GLOBAL_SETTINGS_LOCATION);
 		if (global != null) {
 			request.setGlobalSettingsFile(new File(global));
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloader.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloader.java
index 2206af6d9b..fef67e6742 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloader.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloader.java
@@ -57,7 +57,6 @@ public class AetherStubDownloader implements StubDownloader {
 	private static final String ARTIFACT_EXTENSION = "jar";
 	private static final String LATEST_ARTIFACT_VERSION = "(,]";
 	private static final String LATEST_VERSION_IN_IVY = "+";
-	private static final String STUBRUNNER_SNAPSHOT_CHECK_SKIP_SYSTEM_PROP = "stubrunner.snapshot-check-skip";
 	// Preloading class for the shutdown hook not to throw ClassNotFound
 	private static final Class CLAZZ = TemporaryFileStorage.class;
 
@@ -65,7 +64,6 @@ public class AetherStubDownloader implements StubDownloader {
 	private final RepositorySystem repositorySystem;
 	private final RepositorySystemSession session;
 	private final boolean workOffline;
-	private final boolean snapshotCheckSkip;
 	private final boolean deleteStubsAfterTest;
 
 	public AetherStubDownloader(StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions) {
@@ -92,8 +90,6 @@ public class AetherStubDownloader implements StubDownloader {
 		this.repositorySystem = newRepositorySystem();
 		this.workOffline = stubRunnerOptions.stubsMode == StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.LOCAL;
 		this.session = newSession(this.repositorySystem, this.workOffline);
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip =
-				stubRunnerOptions.isSnapshotCheckSkip() || skipSnapshotCheck();
 		registerShutdownHook();
 	}
 
@@ -118,7 +114,6 @@ public class AetherStubDownloader implements StubDownloader {
 			log.error("Remote repositories for stubs are not specified and work offline flag wasn't passed");
 		}
 		this.workOffline = false;
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip = skipSnapshotCheck();
 		registerShutdownHook();
 	}
 
@@ -150,28 +145,24 @@ public class AetherStubDownloader implements StubDownloader {
 
 	private File unpackedJar(String resolvedVersion, String stubsGroup,
 			String stubsModule, String classifier) {
-		log.info("Resolved version is [" + resolvedVersion + "]");
-		if (StringUtils.isEmpty(resolvedVersion)) {
-			log.warn("Stub for group [" + stubsGroup + "] module [" + stubsModule
-					+ "] and classifier [" + classifier + "] not found in "
-					+ this.remoteRepos);
-			return null;
-		}
-		Artifact artifact = new DefaultArtifact(stubsGroup, stubsModule, classifier,
-				ARTIFACT_EXTENSION, resolvedVersion);
-		ArtifactRequest request = new ArtifactRequest(artifact, this.remoteRepos, null);
-		if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
-			log.debug("Resolving artifact [" + artifact
-					+ "] using remote repositories " + this.remoteRepos);
-		}
 		try {
+			log.info("Resolved version is [" + resolvedVersion + "]");
+			if (StringUtils.isEmpty(resolvedVersion)) {
+				log.warn("Stub for group [" + stubsGroup + "] module [" + stubsModule
+						+ "] and classifier [" + classifier + "] not found in "
+						+ this.remoteRepos);
+				return null;
+			}
+			Artifact artifact = new DefaultArtifact(stubsGroup, stubsModule, classifier,
+					ARTIFACT_EXTENSION, resolvedVersion);
+			ArtifactRequest request = new ArtifactRequest(artifact, this.remoteRepos, null);
+			if (log.isDebugEnabled()) {
+				log.debug("Resolving artifact [" + artifact
+						+ "] using remote repositories " + this.remoteRepos);
+			}
 			ArtifactResult result = this.repositorySystem.resolveArtifact(this.session, request);
 			log.info("Resolved artifact [" + artifact + "] to "
 					+ result.getArtifact().getFile());
-			if (!this.snapshotCheckSkip && resolvedFromLocalRepo(result) && shouldDownloadFromRemote()) {
-				throw new IllegalStateException("The artifact was found in the local repository "
-						+ "but you have explicitly stated that it should be downloaded from a remote one");
-			}
 			File temporaryFile = unpackStubJarToATemporaryFolder(
 					result.getArtifact().getFile().toURI());
 			log.info("Unpacked file to [" + temporaryFile + "]");
@@ -189,10 +180,6 @@ public class AetherStubDownloader implements StubDownloader {
 		}
 	}
 
-	private boolean skipSnapshotCheck() {
-		return StubRunnerPropertyUtils.isPropertySet(STUBRUNNER_SNAPSHOT_CHECK_SKIP_SYSTEM_PROP);
-	}
-
 	private boolean resolvedFromLocalRepo(ArtifactResult result) {
 		return result.getRepository() instanceof LocalRepository;
 	}
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptions.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptions.java
index eb8511445f..b7569140f5 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptions.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptions.java
@@ -101,12 +101,6 @@ public class StubRunnerOptions {
 
 	final StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode stubsMode;
 
-	/**
-	 * If set to {@code true} will not assert whether the downloaded stubs / contract
-	 * JAR was downloaded from a remote location or a local one(only applicable to Maven repos, not Git or Pact)
-	 */
-	private boolean snapshotCheckSkip;
-
 	/**
 	 * If set to {@code false} will NOT delete stubs from a temporary
 	 * folder after running tests
@@ -118,13 +112,12 @@ public class StubRunnerOptions {
 	 */
 	private Map<String, String> properties = new HashMap<>();
 
-
 	StubRunnerOptions(Integer minPortValue, Integer maxPortValue,
 			Resource stubRepositoryRoot, StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode stubsMode, String stubsClassifier,
 			Collection<StubConfiguration> dependencies,
 			Map<StubConfiguration, Integer> stubIdsToPortMapping,
 			String username, String password, final StubRunnerProxyOptions stubRunnerProxyOptions,
-			boolean stubsPerConsumer, String consumerName, String mappingsOutputFolder, boolean snapshotCheckSkip,
+			boolean stubsPerConsumer, String consumerName, String mappingsOutputFolder,
 			boolean deleteStubsAfterTest, Map<String, String> properties) {
 		this.minPortValue = minPortValue;
 		this.maxPortValue = maxPortValue;
@@ -139,7 +132,6 @@ public class StubRunnerOptions {
 		this.stubsPerConsumer = stubsPerConsumer;
 		this.consumerName = consumerName;
 		this.mappingsOutputFolder = mappingsOutputFolder;
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip = snapshotCheckSkip;
 		this.deleteStubsAfterTest = deleteStubsAfterTest;
 		this.properties = properties;
 	}
@@ -167,7 +159,6 @@ public class StubRunnerOptions {
 				.withStubPerConsumer(Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getProperty("stubrunner.stubs-per-consumer", "false")))
 				.withConsumerName(System.getProperty("stubrunner.consumer-name"))
 				.withMappingsOutputFolder(System.getProperty("stubrunner.mappings-output-folder"))
-				.withSnapshotCheckSkip(Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getProperty("stubrunner.snapshot-check-skip", "false")))
 				.withDeleteStubsAfterTest(Boolean.parseBoolean(System.getProperty("stubrunner.delete-stubs-after-test", "true")))
 				.withProperties(stubRunnerProps());
 		String proxyHost = System.getProperty("stubrunner.proxy.host");
@@ -277,14 +268,6 @@ public class StubRunnerOptions {
 		this.mappingsOutputFolder = mappingsOutputFolder;
 	}
 
-	public boolean isSnapshotCheckSkip() {
-		return this.snapshotCheckSkip;
-	}
-
-	public void setSnapshotCheckSkip(boolean snapshotCheckSkip) {
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip = snapshotCheckSkip;
-	}
-
 	public boolean isDeleteStubsAfterTest() {
 		return this.deleteStubsAfterTest;
 	}
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilder.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilder.java
index 8c03973b01..5d60221106 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilder.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilder.java
@@ -48,7 +48,6 @@ public class StubRunnerOptionsBuilder {
 	private String consumerName;
 	private String mappingsOutputFolder;
 	private StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode stubsMode;
-	private boolean snapshotCheckSkip = false;
 	private boolean deleteStubsAfterTest = true;
 	private Map<String, String> properties = new HashMap<>();
 
@@ -133,10 +132,9 @@ public class StubRunnerOptionsBuilder {
 		this.consumerName = options.getConsumerName();
 		this.mappingsOutputFolder = options.getMappingsOutputFolder();
 		this.stubConfigurations = options.dependencies != null ?
-				options.dependencies : new ArrayList<StubConfiguration>();
+				options.dependencies : new ArrayList<>();
 		this.stubIdsToPortMapping = options.stubIdsToPortMapping != null ?
-				options.stubIdsToPortMapping : new LinkedHashMap<StubConfiguration, Integer>();
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip = options.isSnapshotCheckSkip();
+				options.stubIdsToPortMapping : new LinkedHashMap<>();
 		this.deleteStubsAfterTest = options.isDeleteStubsAfterTest();
 		this.properties = options.getProperties();
 		return this;
@@ -147,11 +145,6 @@ public class StubRunnerOptionsBuilder {
 		return this;
 	}
 
-	public StubRunnerOptionsBuilder withSnapshotCheckSkip(boolean snapshotCheckSkip) {
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip = snapshotCheckSkip;
-		return this;
-	}
-
 	public StubRunnerOptionsBuilder withDeleteStubsAfterTest(boolean deleteStubsAfterTest) {
 		this.deleteStubsAfterTest = deleteStubsAfterTest;
 		return this;
@@ -166,7 +159,7 @@ public class StubRunnerOptionsBuilder {
 		return new StubRunnerOptions(this.minPortValue, this.maxPortValue, this.stubRepositoryRoot,
 				this.stubsMode, this.stubsClassifier, buildDependencies(), this.stubIdsToPortMapping,
 				this.username, this.password, this.stubRunnerProxyOptions, this.stubsPerConsumer, this.consumerName,
-				this.mappingsOutputFolder, this.snapshotCheckSkip, this.deleteStubsAfterTest, this.properties);
+				this.mappingsOutputFolder, this.deleteStubsAfterTest, this.properties);
 	}
 
 	private Collection<StubConfiguration> buildDependencies() {
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRule.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRule.java
index eb62e0bcde..6e440b3537 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRule.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRule.java
@@ -154,11 +154,6 @@ public class StubRunnerRule implements TestRule, StubFinder, StubRunnerRuleOptio
 		return this.delegate;
 	}
 
-	@Override public StubRunnerRule withSnapshotCheckSkip(boolean snapshotCheckSkip) {
-		builder().withSnapshotCheckSkip(snapshotCheckSkip);
-		return this.delegate;
-	}
-
 	@Override public StubRunnerRule withDeleteStubsAfterTest(
 			boolean deleteStubsAfterTest) {
 		builder().withDeleteStubsAfterTest(deleteStubsAfterTest);
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRuleOptions.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRuleOptions.java
index 90bc1fecc7..4981ca334d 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRuleOptions.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/junit/StubRunnerRuleOptions.java
@@ -95,12 +95,6 @@ interface StubRunnerRuleOptions {
 	 */
 	StubRunnerRule withMappingsOutputFolder(String mappingsOutputFolder);
 
-	/**
-	 * If set to {@code true} will not assert whether the downloaded stubs / contract
-	 * JAR was downloaded from a remote location or a local one(only applicable to Maven repos, not Git or Pact)
-	 */
-	StubRunnerRule withSnapshotCheckSkip(boolean snapshotCheckSkip);
-
 	/**
 	 * If set to {@code false} will NOT delete stubs from a temporary
 	 * folder after running tests
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/AutoConfigureStubRunner.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/AutoConfigureStubRunner.java
index 6ea080971e..c5aba14dd0 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/AutoConfigureStubRunner.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/AutoConfigureStubRunner.java
@@ -109,12 +109,6 @@ public @interface AutoConfigureStubRunner {
 	 */
 	StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode stubsMode() default StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.CLASSPATH;
 
-	/**
-	 * If set to {@code true} will not assert whether the downloaded stubs / contract
-	 * JAR was downloaded from a remote location or a local one(only applicable to Maven repos, not Git or Pact)
-	 */
-	boolean snapshotCheckSkip() default false;
-
 	/**
 	 * Properties in form {@literal key=value}
 	 * @return the properties to add
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerConfiguration.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerConfiguration.java
index 0fe7249658..af6db728e1 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerConfiguration.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerConfiguration.java
@@ -94,7 +94,6 @@ public class StubRunnerConfiguration {
 					.withStubPerConsumer(this.props.isStubsPerConsumer())
 					.withConsumerName(consumerName())
 					.withMappingsOutputFolder(this.props.getMappingsOutputFolder())
-					.withSnapshotCheckSkip(this.props.isSnapshotCheckSkip())
 					.withDeleteStubsAfterTest(this.props.isDeleteStubsAfterTest())
 					.withProperties(this.props.getProperties());
 	}
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerProperties.java b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerProperties.java
index 9b6fcc6146..926ad8486a 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerProperties.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/spring/StubRunnerProperties.java
@@ -99,12 +99,6 @@ public class StubRunnerProperties {
 	 */
 	private StubsMode stubsMode;
 
-	/**
-	 * If set to {@code true} will not assert whether the downloaded stubs / contract
-	 * JAR was downloaded from a remote location or a local one(only applicable to Maven repos, not Git or Pact)
-	 */
-	private boolean snapshotCheckSkip;
-
 	/**
 	 * If set to {@code false} will NOT delete stubs from a temporary
 	 * folder after running tests
@@ -241,14 +235,6 @@ public class StubRunnerProperties {
 		this.stubsMode = stubsMode;
 	}
 
-	public boolean isSnapshotCheckSkip() {
-		return this.snapshotCheckSkip;
-	}
-
-	public void setSnapshotCheckSkip(boolean snapshotCheckSkip) {
-		this.snapshotCheckSkip = snapshotCheckSkip;
-	}
-
 	public boolean isDeleteStubsAfterTest() {
 		return this.deleteStubsAfterTest;
 	}
@@ -278,7 +264,6 @@ public class StubRunnerProperties {
 				+ ", ids=" + Arrays.toString(this.ids) + ", classifier='" + this.classifier + '\''
 				+ ", setStubsPerConsumer='" + this.stubsPerConsumer + "', consumerName='" + this.consumerName + '\''
 				+ ", stubsMode='" + this.stubsMode + '\''
-				+ ", snapshotCheckSkip='" + this.snapshotCheckSkip + '\''
 				+ ", size of properties=" + this.properties.size()
 				+ '}';
 	}
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloaderSpec.groovy b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloaderSpec.groovy
index f98d130ac9..ccd7e8707d 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloaderSpec.groovy
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/AetherStubDownloaderSpec.groovy
@@ -3,6 +3,8 @@ package org.springframework.cloud.contract.stubrunner
 import io.specto.hoverfly.junit.HoverflyRule
 import org.eclipse.aether.RepositorySystemSession
 import org.junit.Rule
+import org.junit.rules.TemporaryFolder
+
 import org.springframework.cloud.contract.stubrunner.spring.StubRunnerProperties
 import org.springframework.util.ResourceUtils
 import spock.lang.Specification
@@ -13,7 +15,10 @@ class AetherStubDownloaderSpec extends Specification {
 	@Rule
 	HoverflyRule hoverflyRule = HoverflyRule.inSimulationMode("simulation.json")
 
-	def 'Should throw an exception when artifact not found'() {
+	@Rule
+	TemporaryFolder folder = new TemporaryFolder()
+
+	def 'should throw an exception when artifact not found in local m2'() {
 		given:
 			StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions = new StubRunnerOptionsBuilder()
 					.withStubsMode(StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.LOCAL)
@@ -22,126 +27,33 @@ class AetherStubDownloaderSpec extends Specification {
 			AetherStubDownloader aetherStubDownloader = new AetherStubDownloader(stubRunnerOptions)
 
 		when:
-			def jar = aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("non.existing.group", "missing-artifact-id", "1.0-SNAPSHOT"))
+			aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("non.existing.group", "missing-artifact-id", "1.0-SNAPSHOT"))
 
 		then:
 			IllegalStateException e = thrown(IllegalStateException)
 			e.message.contains("Exception occurred while trying to download a stub for group")
 	}
 
-	def 'Should throw an exception when a jar is in local m2 and not in remote repo'() {
+	def 'should throw an exception when local m2 gets replaced with a temp dir and a jar is not found in remote'() {
 		given:
 			StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions = new StubRunnerOptionsBuilder()
 					.withStubsMode(StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.REMOTE)
-					.withStubRepositoryRoot("https://test.jfrog.io/test/libs-snapshot-local")
+					.withStubRepositoryRoot("file://" + folder.newFolder().absolutePath)
 					.build()
-
-			AetherStubDownloader aetherStubDownloader = new AetherStubDownloader(stubRunnerOptions)
-
-		when:
-			def jar = aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("org.springframework.cloud", "spring-cloud-contract-spec", "+", ""))
-
-		then:
-			IllegalStateException e = thrown(IllegalStateException)
-			e.message.contains("The artifact was found in the local repository but you have explicitly stated that it should be downloaded from a remote one")
-	}
-
-	@RestoreSystemProperties
-	def 'Should not throw an exception when a jar is in local m2 and not in remote repo and system property disabled snapshot check'() {
-		given:
-			StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions = new StubRunnerOptionsBuilder()
-					.withStubsMode(StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.REMOTE)
-					.withStubRepositoryRoot("https://test.jfrog.io/test/libs-snapshot-local")
-					.build()
-			System.properties.setProperty("stubrunner.snapshot-check-skip", "true")
+		and:
+			String localRepo = AetherFactories.localRepositoryDirectory(true)
+			new File(localRepo, "org/springframework/cloud/spring-cloud-contract-spec"
+					.replaceAll("/", File.separator)).list().size() > 0
 
 		and:
 			AetherStubDownloader aetherStubDownloader = new AetherStubDownloader(stubRunnerOptions)
 
 		when:
-			def jar = aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("org.springframework.cloud", "spring-cloud-contract-spec", "+", ""))
+			aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("org.springframework.cloud", "spring-cloud-contract-spec", "+", ""))
 
 		then:
-			jar != null
-	}
-
-	@RestoreSystemProperties
-	def 'Should throw an exception when a jar is in local m2 and not in remote repo and system property disabled takes precedence over env'() {
-		given:
-			StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions = new StubRunnerOptionsBuilder()
-					.withStubsMode(StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.REMOTE)
-					.withStubRepositoryRoot("https://test.jfrog.io/test/libs-snapshot-local")
-					.build()
-			System.properties.setProperty("stubrunner.snapshot-check-skip", "false")
-
-		and:
-			StubRunnerPropertyUtils.FETCHER = new PropertyFetcher() {
-				@Override
-				String systemProp(String prop) {
-					return super.systemProp(prop)
-				}
-
-				@Override
-				String envVar(String prop) {
-					return "true"
-				}
-			}
-			AetherStubDownloader aetherStubDownloader = new AetherStubDownloader(stubRunnerOptions)
-
-		when:
-			def jar = aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("org.springframework.cloud", "spring-cloud-contract-spec", "+", ""))
-
-		then:
-			IllegalStateException e = thrown(IllegalStateException)
-			e.message.contains("The artifact was found in the local repository but you have explicitly stated that it should be downloaded from a remote one")
-	}
-
-	def 'Should not throw an exception when a jar is in local m2 and not in remote repo and env property disabled snapshot check'() {
-		given:
-			StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions = new StubRunnerOptionsBuilder()
-					.withStubsMode(StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.REMOTE)
-					.withStubRepositoryRoot("https://test.jfrog.io/test/libs-snapshot-local")
-					.build()
-
-		and:
-			StubRunnerPropertyUtils.FETCHER = new PropertyFetcher() {
-				@Override
-				String systemProp(String prop) {
-					return super.systemProp(prop)
-				}
-
-				@Override
-				String envVar(String prop) {
-					return "true"
-				}
-			}
-			AetherStubDownloader aetherStubDownloader = new AetherStubDownloader(stubRunnerOptions)
-
-		when:
-			def jar = aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("org.springframework.cloud", "spring-cloud-contract-spec", "+", ""))
-
-		then:
-			jar != null
-
-		cleanup:
-			StubRunnerPropertyUtils.FETCHER = new PropertyFetcher()
-	}
-
-	def 'Should not throw an exception when a jar is in local m2 and not in remote repo and option disabled snapshot check'() {
-		given:
-			StubRunnerOptions stubRunnerOptions = new StubRunnerOptionsBuilder()
-					.withStubsMode(StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.REMOTE)
-					.withStubRepositoryRoot("https://test.jfrog.io/test/libs-snapshot-local")
-					.withSnapshotCheckSkip(true)
-					.build()
-
-			AetherStubDownloader aetherStubDownloader = new AetherStubDownloader(stubRunnerOptions)
-
-		when:
-			def jar = aetherStubDownloader.downloadAndUnpackStubJar(new StubConfiguration("org.springframework.cloud", "spring-cloud-contract-spec", "+", ""))
-
-		then:
-			jar != null
+			IllegalArgumentException e = thrown(IllegalArgumentException)
+			e.message.contains("Could not find metadata org.springframework.cloud:spring-cloud-contract-spec/maven-metadata.xml in remote0")
 	}
 
 	@RestoreSystemProperties
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec.groovy b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec.groovy
index 63493ca351..bc5f79f859 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec.groovy
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-stub-runner/src/test/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/stubrunner/StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec.groovy
@@ -231,7 +231,7 @@ class StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec extends Specification {
 		given:
 			StubRunnerOptionsBuilder builder = builder.withOptions(new StubRunnerOptions(1, 2, new FileSystemResource("root"), StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.LOCAL,
 					"classifier", [new StubConfiguration("a:b:c")], [(new StubConfiguration("a:b:c")): 3], "foo", "bar",
-					new StubRunnerOptions.StubRunnerProxyOptions("host", 4), true, "consumer", "folder", true, false, [foo: "bar"]))
+					new StubRunnerOptions.StubRunnerProxyOptions("host", 4), true, "consumer", "folder", false, [foo: "bar"]))
 			builder.withStubs("foo:bar:baz")
 		when:
 			StubRunnerOptions options = builder.build()
@@ -250,7 +250,6 @@ class StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec extends Specification {
 			options.stubsPerConsumer == true
 			options.consumerName == "consumer"
 			options.mappingsOutputFolder == "folder"
-			options.snapshotCheckSkip == true
 			options.deleteStubsAfterTest == false
 			options.properties == [foo: "bar"]
 	}
@@ -260,7 +259,7 @@ class StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec extends Specification {
 			StubRunnerOptionsBuilder builder = builder.withOptions(new StubRunnerOptions(1, 2, new FileSystemResource("root"),
 					StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode.CLASSPATH, "classifier",
 					[new StubConfiguration("a:b:c")], [(new StubConfiguration("a:b:c")): 3], "username123", "password123",
-					new StubRunnerOptions.StubRunnerProxyOptions("host", 4), true, "consumer", "folder", true, false, [:]))
+					new StubRunnerOptions.StubRunnerProxyOptions("host", 4), true, "consumer", "folder", false, [:]))
 			builder.withStubs("foo:bar:baz")
 		when:
 			String options = builder.build().toString()
@@ -287,7 +286,6 @@ class StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec extends Specification {
 			System.setProperty("stubrunner.proxy.host", "host")
 			System.setProperty("stubrunner.proxy.port", "4")
 			System.setProperty("stubrunner.mappings-output-folder", "folder")
-			System.setProperty("stubrunner.snapshot-check-skip", "true")
 			System.setProperty("stubrunner.properties.foo-bar", "bar")
 			System.setProperty("stubrunner.properties.foo-baz", "baz")
 			System.setProperty("stubrunner.properties.bar.bar", "foo")
@@ -307,7 +305,6 @@ class StubRunnerOptionsBuilderSpec extends Specification {
 			options.stubsPerConsumer == true
 			options.consumerName == "consumer"
 			options.mappingsOutputFolder == "folder"
-			options.snapshotCheckSkip == true
 			options.properties == ["foo-bar": "bar", "foo-baz": "baz", "bar.bar": "foo"]
 	}
 }
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/ContractVerifierExtension.groovy b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/ContractVerifierExtension.groovy
index 5cabf8516e..3554305263 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/ContractVerifierExtension.groovy
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/ContractVerifierExtension.groovy
@@ -175,7 +175,10 @@ class ContractVerifierExtension {
 	/**
 	 * If set to {@code true} will not assert whether the downloaded stubs / contract
 	 * JAR was downloaded from a remote location or a local one(only applicable to Maven repos, not Git or Pact)
+	 *
+	 * @deprecated - with 2.1.0 this option is redundant
 	 */
+	@Deprecated
 	boolean contractsSnapshotCheckSkip = false
 
 	/**
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/GradleContractsDownloader.groovy b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/GradleContractsDownloader.groovy
index 527f5ece93..29c3efc7a9 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/GradleContractsDownloader.groovy
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-gradle-plugin/src/main/groovy/org/springframework/cloud/contract/verifier/plugin/GradleContractsDownloader.groovy
@@ -86,7 +86,6 @@ class GradleContractsDownloader {
 				.withStubsMode(extension.contractsMode)
 				.withUsername(extension.contractRepository.username)
 				.withPassword(extension.contractRepository.password)
-				.withSnapshotCheckSkip(extension.contractsSnapshotCheckSkip)
 				.withDeleteStubsAfterTest(extension.deleteStubsAfterTest)
 				.withProperties(extension.contractsProperties)
 		if (extension.contractRepository.proxyPort) {
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/ConvertMojo.java b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/ConvertMojo.java
index 639953ba16..1328801a79 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/ConvertMojo.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/ConvertMojo.java
@@ -145,8 +145,11 @@ public class  ConvertMojo extends AbstractMojo {
 	/**
 	 * If {@code true} then will not assert whether a stub / contract
 	 * JAR was downloaded from local or remote location
+	 *
+	 * @deprecated - with 2.1.0 this option is redundant
 	 */
 	@Parameter(property = "contractsSnapshotCheckSkip", defaultValue = "false")
+	@Deprecated
 	private boolean contractsSnapshotCheckSkip;
 
 
@@ -230,7 +233,7 @@ public class  ConvertMojo extends AbstractMojo {
 					this.contractsPath, this.contractsRepositoryUrl, this.contractsMode, getLog(),
 					this.contractsRepositoryUsername, this.contractsRepositoryPassword,
 					this.contractsRepositoryProxyHost, this.contractsRepositoryProxyPort,
-					this.contractsSnapshotCheckSkip, this.deleteStubsAfterTest, this.contractsProperties)
+					this.deleteStubsAfterTest, this.contractsProperties)
 					.downloadAndUnpackContractsIfRequired(config, this.contractsDirectory);
 	}
 
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/GenerateTestsMojo.java b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/GenerateTestsMojo.java
index 306bb604aa..99cd483dbc 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/GenerateTestsMojo.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/GenerateTestsMojo.java
@@ -207,8 +207,11 @@ public class GenerateTestsMojo extends AbstractMojo {
 	/**
 	 * If {@code true} then will not assert whether a stub / contract
 	 * JAR was downloaded from local or remote location
+	 *
+	 * @deprecated - with 2.1.0 this option is redundant
 	 */
 	@Parameter(property = "contractsSnapshotCheckSkip", defaultValue = "false")
+	@Deprecated
 	private boolean contractsSnapshotCheckSkip;
 
 	/**
@@ -246,7 +249,7 @@ public class GenerateTestsMojo extends AbstractMojo {
 				this.contractsPath, this.contractsRepositoryUrl, this.contractsMode, getLog(),
 				this.contractsRepositoryUsername, this.contractsRepositoryPassword,
 				this.contractsRepositoryProxyHost, this.contractsRepositoryProxyPort,
-				this.contractsSnapshotCheckSkip, this.deleteStubsAfterTest, this.contractsProperties).downloadAndUnpackContractsIfRequired(config, this.contractsDirectory);
+				this.deleteStubsAfterTest, this.contractsProperties).downloadAndUnpackContractsIfRequired(config, this.contractsDirectory);
 		getLog().info("Directory with contract is present at [" + contractsDirectory + "]");
 		setupConfig(config, contractsDirectory);
 		this.project.addTestCompileSourceRoot(this.generatedTestSourcesDir.getAbsolutePath());
diff --git a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/MavenContractsDownloader.java b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/MavenContractsDownloader.java
index 338ba8b5ab..bd1027495a 100644
--- a/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/MavenContractsDownloader.java
+++ b/spring-cloud-contract-tools/spring-cloud-contract-maven-plugin/src/main/java/org/springframework/cloud/contract/maven/verifier/MavenContractsDownloader.java
@@ -54,7 +54,6 @@ class MavenContractsDownloader {
 	private final String repositoryPassword;
 	private final String repositoryProxyHost;
 	private final Integer repositoryProxyPort;
-	private final boolean contractsSnapshotCheckSkip;
 	private final boolean deleteStubsAfterTest;
 	private final Map<String, String> contractsProperties;
 
@@ -62,8 +61,8 @@ class MavenContractsDownloader {
 			String contractsPath, String contractsRepositoryUrl,
 			StubRunnerProperties.StubsMode stubsMode, Log log, String repositoryUsername,
 			String repositoryPassword, String repositoryProxyHost,
-			Integer repositoryProxyPort, boolean contractsSnapshotCheckSkip,
-			boolean deleteStubsAfterTest, Map<String, String> contractsProperties) {
+			Integer repositoryProxyPort, boolean deleteStubsAfterTest,
+			Map<String, String> contractsProperties) {
 		this.project = project;
 		this.contractDependency = contractDependency;
 		this.contractsPath = contractsPath;
@@ -75,7 +74,6 @@ class MavenContractsDownloader {
 		this.repositoryProxyHost = repositoryProxyHost;
 		this.repositoryProxyPort = repositoryProxyPort;
 		this.stubDownloaderBuilderProvider = new StubDownloaderBuilderProvider();
-		this.contractsSnapshotCheckSkip = contractsSnapshotCheckSkip;
 		this.deleteStubsAfterTest = deleteStubsAfterTest;
 		this.contractsProperties = contractsProperties;
 	}
@@ -122,7 +120,6 @@ class MavenContractsDownloader {
 				.withStubsMode(this.stubsMode)
 				.withUsername(this.repositoryUsername)
 				.withPassword(this.repositoryPassword)
-				.withSnapshotCheckSkip(this.contractsSnapshotCheckSkip)
 				.withDeleteStubsAfterTest(this.deleteStubsAfterTest)
 				.withProperties(this.contractsProperties);
 		if (StringUtils.hasText(this.contractsRepositoryUrl)) {